Glad you finished Strange and Norrell this time! I'm still working on it and kicking myself that I didn't get the paperback rather than the hardback, which is a brick and sometimes hard to manage! There wasn't a sequel (as yet?) but there is a book of short stories called The Ladies of Grace Adieu.
I adore the fussy prose of the book, which accurately echoes the mode of writing at that time. And I agree that while neither Norrell or Strange are very likable, they (and the other characters) seem so very real.
The paperback made a huge difference for me! (but mostly because a lot of my reading time is on the train, and the hardcover was definitely not something I could lug around with me!)
I've read and really liked The Ladies of Grace Adieu! I think I'd read enough of JSMN on my first attempt to have gotten a really good feel for the setting and so was able to appreciate the short stories in their full context. And given that context, the short fiction actually worked for me very well!
The prose mimicry is really impressive! And I agree, both Strange and Norrell feel very real, with their different faults.
JS&MN: I've only seen the show. I liked it, but I think the book would have bored me. I am really more interested in the relationship between Lady Pole and Arabella than in the one between Norrell and Strange. That said, for all that Norrell is an idiot for not explaining why he was so against making pacts with faeries, he's just a big introvert that loves books and doesn't like people (as in plural, he's okay with one person here and there).
It does seem like the show is way easier to get into than the book. The relationship between Lady Pole and Arabella is still important in the books, but the vast majority of it takes place offscreen there, so, I don't think the book would be very satisfying in that regard.
Norrell's introvertedness was a huge part of what made him endearing to me, because it was something I could readily sympathize with, yep.
BTW, I can't remember if you've read Stranger already, but if you haven't, you may be interested in checking it out. Actually while I was reading it I was thinking that it's the kind of book you would appreciate (IIRC, you're OK with YA, right?)
Ah, yeah, waiting for the paperback makes sense (both the hardcover and the ebook are pretty expensive). The good thing is that authors are doing self-pub for the sequel, and the ebook is much more reasonably priced!
I didn't make it through Strange and Norrell either. I bought it unread (which is strange for me) because it received such great reviews from everyone I knew online, and then I couldn't get past the first...quarter, maybe. I can deal with boring if there are characters I care about, but there just weren't. Maybe I should try it again! I've still got the giant paperback on my bookshelf, in pristine condition, waiting hopefully. :)
I voted for "Caves of Steel" in the poll, partly because that's the only one besides Sherlock Holmes that I know, but also partly because I used to absolutely love Asimov, but he didn't hold up all that well for me once I grew up, and I'm wondering if that would be the same for you.
Yeah, the buzz around it was really great. And I can totally see why -- it's a fantasy book unlike any other I've read, probably rivaling Tolkien in meticulousness of worldbuilding, and the style is very much what it's trying to emulate. It doesn't make it an easy book to read, however, and harder to be engrossed by. But I'm really glad to have finally read it. Working within its self-imposed constraints, it's a very impressive thing, and an enjoyable one.
(I think maybe what I've learned from my attempts is, if it doesn't "go" after a couple hundred pages, it's probably not the right time to be reading it. But I hope it takes off for you this time! :)
I used to absolutely love Asimov, but he didn't hold up all that well for me once I grew up, and I'm wondering if that would be the same for you.I'm wondering too. I've reread the robot short stories periodically, and the funny ones still work for me -- I love the Powell & Donovan ones. But I haven't tried rereading the longer and more serious works, and am wondering, too, if I
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Heh, well, I hope you enjoy it! (I think maybe what I've learned from my attempts is, if it doesn't "go" after a couple hundred pages, it's probably not the right time to be reading it. But I hope it takes off for you this time! :)
I am thrilled you finished it! (Aside: I'm doing Les Miserable for my 'did not finish once' so it will be a while..)
well, I really like what the book does with both Norrell and Strange, but I don't love either of them the way I normally love characters. That is precisely correct and I think it's more or less an universal feeling, from what I've seen. After the adaptation they normally change curtesy of Bertie Carvel's curls but that is another story. I also concur completely on the quality of the Strange/Norell relationship.
this doesn't feel like sufficient suffering for Lascelles. (Also, I didn't quite buy his motivation for going into Faerie in the first place.)Harsh but true. As for his motivation, I suspected some magical tinkering on maybe Childermass' part, because it did seem very straight-forward and like his feet ~carried~ him as in a fairytale, but I don't think the text supports this. More likely, it's a function of the more potent fairy spirits awoken in England at that time and Lascelles utter comtempt and/or
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I'm doing Les Miserable for my 'did not finish once' so it will be a while..
Good luck!!! That's probably as thick as JSMN, or bigger...
*googles Bertie Carvel* Ooh, he looks just right for Strange! (and I've heard that the show made both Strange and Norrell more likeable?
I suspected some magical tinkering on maybe Childermass' part, [...] but I don't think the text supports this.
I would like to think that... but yeah, I don't think the text supports that. I guess fairy meddling can explain it, though, in the spirit of some of the footnote vignettes. Hm...
We should totally do a Bulgakov childhood favorite reread together! (unless you have other candidates in mind) It seems to be co-leading in my poll, anyway, and I'd rather do Bulgakov than Conan Doyle.
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I adore the fussy prose of the book, which accurately echoes the mode of writing at that time. And I agree that while neither Norrell or Strange are very likable, they (and the other characters) seem so very real.
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I've read and really liked The Ladies of Grace Adieu! I think I'd read enough of JSMN on my first attempt to have gotten a really good feel for the setting and so was able to appreciate the short stories in their full context. And given that context, the short fiction actually worked for me very well!
The prose mimicry is really impressive! And I agree, both Strange and Norrell feel very real, with their different faults.
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Norrell's introvertedness was a huge part of what made him endearing to me, because it was something I could readily sympathize with, yep.
BTW, I can't remember if you've read Stranger already, but if you haven't, you may be interested in checking it out. Actually while I was reading it I was thinking that it's the kind of book you would appreciate (IIRC, you're OK with YA, right?)
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Nope, not yet, because I'm waiting for the paperback. I'm OK with YA, though it's not my preference.
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I voted for "Caves of Steel" in the poll, partly because that's the only one besides Sherlock Holmes that I know, but also partly because I used to absolutely love Asimov, but he didn't hold up all that well for me once I grew up, and I'm wondering if that would be the same for you.
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(I think maybe what I've learned from my attempts is, if it doesn't "go" after a couple hundred pages, it's probably not the right time to be reading it. But I hope it takes off for you this time! :)
I used to absolutely love Asimov, but he didn't hold up all that well for me once I grew up, and I'm wondering if that would be the same for you.I'm wondering too. I've reread the robot short stories periodically, and the funny ones still work for me -- I love the Powell & Donovan ones. But I haven't tried rereading the longer and more serious works, and am wondering, too, if I ( ... )
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well, I really like what the book does with both Norrell and Strange, but I don't love either of them the way I normally love characters.
That is precisely correct and I think it's more or less an universal feeling, from what I've seen. After the adaptation they normally change curtesy of Bertie Carvel's curls but that is another story. I also concur completely on the quality of the Strange/Norell relationship.
this doesn't feel like sufficient suffering for Lascelles. (Also, I didn't quite buy his motivation for going into Faerie in the first place.)Harsh but true. As for his motivation, I suspected some magical tinkering on maybe Childermass' part, because it did seem very straight-forward and like his feet ~carried~ him as in a fairytale, but I don't think the text supports this. More likely, it's a function of the more potent fairy spirits awoken in England at that time and Lascelles utter comtempt and/or ( ... )
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Good luck!!! That's probably as thick as JSMN, or bigger...
*googles Bertie Carvel* Ooh, he looks just right for Strange! (and I've heard that the show made both Strange and Norrell more likeable?
I suspected some magical tinkering on maybe Childermass' part, [...] but I don't think the text supports this.
I would like to think that... but yeah, I don't think the text supports that. I guess fairy meddling can explain it, though, in the spirit of some of the footnote vignettes. Hm...
We should totally do a Bulgakov childhood favorite reread together! (unless you have other candidates in mind) It seems to be co-leading in my poll, anyway, and I'd rather do Bulgakov than Conan Doyle.
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