Monday, August 22, 2005

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

A few months ago I read the first hundred pages of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell and gave up. It was frustrating going, but the problem was mine, not Susanna Clarke's. It all started when Kelly Link recommended the book to me at Clarion last summer. She recommended several books to me and every one that I read I enjoyed tremendously. Back then, it was just another book on the list. I knew little about it. (I didn't even know that at the time it was still awaiting publication.)

I saw it come in when I was working at Barnes & Noble and was shocked at its staggering size. I tried to evade all talk/reviews/rumors about the book, but over and over I heard the inevitable "Harry Potter for Adults" tag being thrown around. I wanted to read it, but didn't want to shell out $28.00 to see if I'd like it. After all, I'd never read anything by Clarke.

When it finally came to my library, I had to wait. A long time. Then as I was ambling around the library one afternoon, there it was. So I grabbed it, took it home, fed the dog, and settled down to Part I: Mr Norrell.

After 100 pages, I turned it back in to the library.

I think most of the problem was with me, but possibly part of the problem was in the book's promotion. Bloomsbury heavily promoted the book, milking Neil Gaiman's "Unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years" quote to the nth degree, setting the book up to a standard impossible to meet. This combined with the "Harry Potter for Adults" (which was probably NOT devised by Bloomsbury) probably had a lot to do with my expectations for the novel.

In short, I expected something to happen during the first 100 pages.

Well... it doesn't. And it does.

When you think about it, Clarke has done something extraordinary. She's created a world out of a country – England – and then created a world within a world, the magical realm. It's also a lost world. At the beginning of the book, the York society of magicians laments the fact that magic, real magic, has vanished from England. With elegant language, rich description and a very light touch, Clarke creates a world (You could almost call it an alternate history.) that does not contain flashy, sensational 4th of July tpye fireworks, but nonetheless is magical in its atmosphere and characterizations. The world she creates and the characters that inhabit it reminded me of the world of Jane Austen: very proper, very British, and never, ever in a hurry.

Not exactly what you'd expect when you hear Gaiman's quote or the "Harry Potter for Adults" blurb. That's a different expectation.

The second time I picked up the book, my expectations were different. I felt more comfortable in Clarke's world. I didn't expect fireworks. I still didn't think a lot happened in the first 100 pages, but I was willing to go with the author.

My patience paid off. I suspect yours will too.

The book is not so much about what happens (Much of the "action" takes place off-stage until about the last third of the book.) as it is about what is suggested and implied. It's important to get inside the characters of Norrell and Strange. Just as importantly (maybe even more so), readers have to know how the rest of the characters will react to them. And since so much of what happens is implied, the reader is forced to look at the bigger picture of what's going on here. The implications of the story are quite large if you spend much time thinking about it (and you should).

Clarke has spent a lot of time and effort in getting the details just right. Sure, sometimes she goes overboard. Several of the footnotes could be sliced for my tastes; others are essential and engrossing. The most fascinating aspect for me was the books that were mentioned. Dozens of books of magic are alluded to and they're all fascinating. (I dare you to not speculate on just what types of wonderful things are lurking inside those volumes...)

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a book that requires patience. It's not a page-turner. It took me about a month to get through it. Any expectations of Harry Potter, Tolkien, high fantasy, or just about anything else will have to be abandoned if you're to enjoy the book. Don't compare it to anything else because there really isn't anything else to compare it to; in this, Gaiman is correct, and if that's what he means by his blurb, I'm inclined to agree with him. In this fast-food culture we live in, Jonathan Strange is a multi-course dinner to be savored. Pace yourself. Eat slowly. Enjoy.


Now Playing = "Nevada Fighter" – Michael Nesmith

No comments: