So (That's for you, John!), I've finally got this book in my hands - at least for the next three weeks, courtesy of the Odenton Library. I'd never heard of it until Kelly Link recommended it to me at Clarion. When I get home in mid-July, I find that it hasn't been published yet. No problem; I grab a few of the other titles on her "you-should-read" list and get started. And I wait for Susanna Clarke's book to come out.
Now I'd seen Clarke's name somewhere, but I couldn't remember where. Turns out she'd sold stories to a couple of Patrick Nielsen Hayden's Starlight anthologies, but I hadn't read those particular stories.
The book comes out and it's sold out everywhere. I look on Amazon and the thing's like #7 on their bestseller list. Plus it's twenty-eight bucks! (Okay, Amazon's cheaper, but by itself the book won't qualify for free shipping and this thing's bound to be a brick at 800 pages.) I think, "If it's that hot, Costco will have it." They don't.
I go to my local library and know good and well they won't have it. They'll have 25 copies of the latest James Patterson novel, but maybe two copies of Jonathan Strange. My expectations are fulfilled; the ONE copy they have is checked out.
By this time, I'm reading rave reviews in newspapers, magazines, just about everywhere. Neil Gaiman says "Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years." Several reviews state that the book is "Harry Potter for Adults." (Untrue. Harry Potter is Harry Potter for adults.)
But then I start talking with people who've read it, or as much of it as they could stand. "It's boring," "It's too long," "It doesn't go anywhere," are some of the comments I hear and for the most part, the comments come from people I respect. Then at World Fantasy, Betty Ballentine (of Ballentine Books) sits on a panel and says the book is absolutely unreadable. Hmmmm.... If there was ever a "find out for yourself" moment, this was it.
By the time I get back from World Fantasy, Costco has the book for about $17, I believe. But I decide to pass on it.
And then the brand new Odenton Library opens... (And of course, I'm there on opening day. Can you imagine being the first person in a brand new library? Well, that's another post for another time...)
The book isn't on the new arrivals shelf, the "You've Gotta Read It!" table, or anywhere else. So I go schlepping around the science fiction section and there it is. On the bottom shelf, just minding it's own business, exchanging pleasantries with Arthur C. Clarke's Rendevous with Rama. I look furtively in both directions, nab the book, and make a clean getaway.
Then the moment of truth. I start reading...
The book takes place in 1806 England. A member of the York society of magicians laments the fact that no one is practicing magic in England. But one of the members had heard of a Mr (It's a British book, so you don't DARE place a period after Mr, so we were severely warned by a panelist at World Fantasy.) Norrell, a practicing magician who just might possess the ability to restore magic to England.
Okay, so I just started last night and I'm only 30 pages into it. But here's what I think so far:
I expected the language to be more Dickens-like, more 19th-century. But it reads easily enough, almost like any modern British novel, with a few antiquated words and phrases thrown in.
The storyline/plot is very linear. A few clues of things to come have been placed in plain sight. Norrell is by far the most interesting character (There's a hint that one of the minor characters may become very important later, but it's too soon to tell.) , but not so interesting that I have to stop watching Pardon the Interruption to find out what he's going to do next. I'm interested, but not ravenously interested.
Actually, I'm a little surprised at how fast things are happening. Clarke could really have drawn this opening out much, much more. (I wonder how many pages her original draft was?) For a period novel, it moves pretty quickly.
I've heard that the glut of footnotes in the book are distracting for some readers. Not for me. I skip 'em. I figure if it's not important enough to be in the body of the text, why should I read it?
So will I keep reading? Yes. Will I finish it before I have to turn it in to the library? Are you kidding? Not a chance. It's on my Amazon wishlist, so maybe I'll get it for Christmas. If not, well, I'm sure I won't have to wait too long for Jonathan Strange & Mr. (American version) Norrell, starring George Clooney and Ben Afleck. Geez, what's the world coming to?
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