Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

[dangermousie]

Am continuing my read of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" because I remember queenofthorns really liking it. (First attempt ended when I was 30 pages in, got sidetracked by another book and forgot about this one).

I am 100+ pages in and I will finish it this time because I enjoy the writing style. However, the plot doesn't really seem to exist so far which is a bit of an indulgence for an author more than 1/8 of the book in. Not to mention we haven't yet even been introduced to Jonathan Strange, who is one half of the title!

I think SC is trying too hard to be Dickens-like, but her characters aren't sharply drawn enough, she doesn't have the talent for backgrond quirks and quick sketches that Dickens did. This is no "Pickwick Papers." No character has so far caught my fancy. But a certain whimsicality of the writing is keeping me amused so I'll continue. Not to mention the description of society with magic treated like surgery or law, another sort of middle class profession.

Comments

[ancarett]

It really sparked for me just before page two hundred. Then I could barely put the book down. I agree, she digresses too much and so many of the early characters are simply unlovely in the sense of personality. But the combination of whimsy and dark peril that builds in the book makes it a worthwhile read.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the heads up! I guess if I get to 200+ and still don't care for it, I'll relegate it to metro book, i.e. something I read to and from work...

[sourisvho.livejournal.com]

I got this book for my birthday in February, but I haven't touched it yet. I'm very intrigued by the subject matter, but the size is daunting.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I'll let you know what I think. So far I am not enchanted (pun not intended).

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I bought this book shortly after it came out, but it lost me several chapters in. I will certainly pick it up again, but if I don't get into something quickly enough, and there are other books screaming for my attention, I'd rather move on than torture myself. With books, as with most things, I come back around eventually. This one happens to be on my upcoming winter reading list.

Like I was with with queenofthorns's comments, I'll be very interested to read yours. I want to like this book; it's certainly the sort of book that I would enjoy.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I will certainly pick it up again, but if I don't get into something quickly enough, and there are other books screaming for my attention

Exactly. I finish most books I pick up unless I hate it, and I am finishing this one, but so far the brouhaha about this escapes me.

The style of writing is amusing enough for a few pages, but for 800+? Not so much.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

Since I don't like Dickens much, it doesn't bug me that she doesn't write like him. If I had to compare her to another author, it would be Byatt; like Possession, JS&MN is best understood in retrospect. When you get there, you'll see why it was important to take that path.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, please tell me she is not like Byatte, because if she is like Byatt, I am done :)

Possession was deadly dull and ASB "fake" poetic style really ended up getting on my nerves. I finished it and still thought it was pretentious and meandering :P If I wanted to read about poets in love, I can read the Browning-Barrett letters: shorter, better written, and infinitely more emotional.

Heh, sorry, Byatt is a pet peeve of mine :)

The reason I brought up Dickens is because she does try for his writing style (IMO) and because he is one of the few authors that can write characters that are interesting and quirky enough I can forget about the plot (but not even Dickens takes so much time to get where he is going).

[jammer77.livejournal.com]

I have to admit that I had a hard time getting into the book but, somewhere along the line, it sucked me in and I *adored* it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon! *dies*