Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

A R.I.P. II Challenge Book Review


I lost track but I think I took almost a half year to finish this book. It was a good book to dip into whenever I had some time so I had not felt any urgency to complete it (Edit: I must qualify that I took 3-4 months reading just 3-4 chapters and it was the R.I.P II Challenge that spurred me to read at a faster pace). A large part of this is due to Susanna Clarke's writing. It encouraged that sort of slow reading: It is subtle. meandering and filled with little details which you can savour slowly. Overall, there seems to be very little overt tension in the story - there is no big bad evil dark enemy and the survival of the world does not depend on one clear single Hero. The mood of the book is very close to real-life, which means things are interconnected and the story is driven forward by choices and external events. Even though a Prophecy is pronounced early in the book, it is vague, does not feature largely as a plot driver and only becomes clearer nearer the end of the book.

The central driving force of the book is magic and how 2 English gentlemen vie with each other in the magical arena. But this magic is not like the dungeons and dragons sort of magic, Susanna Clarke does not spend alot of time trying to fancy it up. Instead when the magic is performed, she describes it in a very matter of fact manner. Set in England and some parts of Europe at early decades of the 1900s, it includes some fantasy woven into some real historical events. Due to the era it is set in, Susanna Clarke also conveys a lovely, proper Edwardian English tone. The themes explored in the book are wide-ranging: pride, human nature, the dangers of toying with things we don't understand, rigid social class prejudice, and a hint of, perhaps, the power of love.

The book is divided into 3 parts, which Susanna Clarke titles as Volumes: (1) Mr Norrell (2) Jonathan Strange and (3) John Uskglass. For the most part of volume 1 and 2, Susanna Clarke lays the groundwork and intricate tapestry of the lives of all the characters. I've said it before: The tone of these 2 volumes is like that of listening to an old person telling a story. I felt like I didn't really know what it all meant and what this old person is trying to tell me, but I still wanted to hear more because of all the interesting things that she was saying. There were many curious things, motivations and the path of the story are not always clear so it is not like most other stories where one reads it to find out how things will turn out next. It is a story that is not really completely driven by plot, if you know what I mean. It is only in volume 3 that the pace picks up and events begin to be embroidered clearly together into a larger tapestry.

While I took the most part of the time reading volume 1 and the first half of volume 2, I took only about a week to complete the second half of volume 2 and volume 3. This is partly because of my own reading habits and preferences. When the pace of a story starts to be driven more by plot, I tend to get caught up and want to know the outcome. Thus, I was driven to push aside everything else and I finally finished the book late last night.

I like books which have characters that I sympathise or identify with, but even though I did not get that from Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, I felt I knew and understood every character well enough so that I came away very satisfied with this book. Although there was alot going on in the book, none of it was superfluous. I was upset with the ending, which left something unresolved, and gave me a bitter sense of regret. However, I think it is a good ending, as it is not fairy tale perfect. I am left with a sense of wonder and also admiration for Susanna Clarke's mind! How did she manage to think of everything? It is an incredible book which I think will suit anyone who enjoys intricacies and details.

Zombie

She loses herself every day
in the machinery called Life :
Work chipping
away certitude,
Obligations eroding identity.

She struggles, but
unlike the salmon,
who knows it is a fish
and swims to a place
because it has to spawn;

She, dead before her appointed hour,
continues shuffling through twilight passages.

© Copyright. All rights reserved.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I completed reading this book within 2-3 days. That's because I was rushing to finish it by Saturday so I could return it to the library and also I was home all day yesterday. It's a very good read - like many others who read this book, I had fun trying to figure out who the gods were before they were named in the stories. I'm having a hard time with one though - the one who's name Shadow always never seems to grasp. I didn't read this book very carefully. It was more like a fun quick read for me. I think if I have the mood, I'll try picking it up for a re-read some time in the future. Other than that, my next goal is to complete reading all the books I purchased in the past.

The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

This coming-of-age journey of a boy, David, who lost his mother to death, was a very difficult book to read in public places. At numerous points in the story, I had stop reading because I was afraid I couldn't control myself from bursting into unstoppable tears.

Somehow, this simple but cleverly crafted tale struck many raw nerves for me. Maybe because it was about a boy, who might be the same age as my son is now. Maybe it was about the loss of childhood but the attainment of the wisdom and kindness that might come from suffering if one learnt to grow up by facing one's fears. Whatever it was, I came away feeling that John Connolly wrote a mighty fine book that was imaginative, emotional and enlightening.

This book had none of the hovering writer's presence that I felt in reading John Connolly's book of short stories, Nocturnes. Once I started on the first sentence, I was immediately transported into David's world, entering his experiences, his mind and emotions. Though it seems a typical story about a child who loses a much-loved parent, and having to come to terms with living with a new mother and half-brother when his father remarries, The Book of Lost Things does not fall into the trite or cliche. As a real war with the Germans rages about him, a battle on his mind begins. There is never any doubt that David is slowly losing hold of this world and will enter into the world where stories come alive. When he hears books whispering to him and he falls into fits where he loses consciousness with increasing frequency, David eventually and inevitably hears his mother calling to him to save her. He decisively follows the voice and enters another realm where he walks the path of the Hero's Journey, battling monsters and facing his inner demons.

Throughout the book, I felt myself understanding more and more the message that John Connolly wanted to send but I never felt he was didactic or overbearing in putting it across. Instead, the Hero's Journey that David experiences enriches Connolly's moral-of-the-story. As David grows in understanding and courage, so too the sorrowful yet comforting feeling that this is truly the best way. That if a child should lose his innocence, it would best be lost to be replaced with these best qualities that might be born from suffering: to become a loving person with a forgiving heart; to be protective to those who might be weaker and even fair to the wicked. David ends his journey becoming such a person and more! How wonderful it would be for a mother to see her child grow to be such a fine young man!

I truly enjoyed reading this book, even though I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions, and ended up tearing or weeping many times over.

Books Not Read

This entry isn't about books I've read recently. It's about books I've borrowed from the library and NOT read. I'm in this rushed and stressed state of mind. I am unable to think straight and the books I picked up just demanded too much from me. So I didn't read them at all. Here are the reasons why:

1. The Book of Dave, Will Self

Promising premise and captivating blurb on the back cover, but the writer lost me from the start of the 9th line of the first page. Trying to be the next Anthony Burgess, I suppose, he wrote conversations and thoughts to reflect future vocabulary, speech patterns and pronunciations. One sentence of "Wot if Eye woz up vair, Carl thought, up vair lyke ve Flyin I?" is fine enough to grapple with. But when the frequency of such writing increased and I lost sense of what the characters were saying, I put down the book, never mustering anymore interest in picking it up again.

2. Nocturnes, by John Connolly

I wanted to read The Book of Lost Things which Chris reviewed beautifully, but my library reservation wasn't ready yet, so I picked up Connolly's anthology of scary stories to tide me over. I read a couple of the stories and they were interesting enough, but John Connolly's writing voice is very peculiar and its dryness seems to hover consistently over every story I read in the anthology, making it difficult for me to lose myself in any of the plots. I am ever conscious of John Connolly the writer, so it made me feel like I was going through an academic exercise, instead of enjoying myself reading stories. I read two and a half stories, then didn't continue with the rest of the collection.

3. Resonator, by Prentis Rollins

This was one book I borrowed without flipping through the contents first. I thought it would show me how writers wrote up the script for comics and graphic novels. I recall seeing something like a script in one of Neil Gaiman's books, so I thought this book might provide equally interesting enlightenment. Serves me right for not checking first. I found Rollins only wrote about the process of developing the story, and that took about 4-5 pages of the chapter. He did not show how he wrote up the script for the comic, except for one page which contained partial images from his original stories and just a bit of his comic script. I suppose it is because he is both the writer and the artist for the graphic novel, Resonator, he did not need to write much more than the dialogue for the script. In the end, I did not learn much from this book as a wanna-be-writer and I lost interest in reading the graphic novel itself. His artwork is very lush and detailed though and he does go into great lengths to describe his drawing process, with chapters on preproduction, pencilling, inking and lettering. I think it will be a better resource for an artist interested in drawing a comic or graphic novel.

4. Before Midnight, by Cameron Dokey.

I did not give this book a chance. I read the first page and then I felt I did not get a good enough hook right from the start - the pacing of the writing was not what I needed at this point - so I just stopped reading this. I think it might be a good story for light-reading but I just really want to sink into some "lose yourself into the story right from the start" type of story. This really didn't do it for me, right from the start.

5. Fantasy - The best of the Year, 2006 Edition

Read one and a half stories from this collection. Then no more interest. Too tired.


That's it. All the books I didn't read. I'm really out of it again at this point in time. Seems like life is bearing down on me again and I'm losing my mental capacity to sustain interest in reading. I didn't complete the Banned Books Challenge, which ended on 30 June. I seem to have energy only to knit while I watch TV/discs (Supernatural, Smallville, K-drama, that kind of thing) and do some sewing here and there when I can find the time. I really need to sink my teeth into some good escapist fiction. Just have to find the right one. I'm collecting The Book of Lost Things from the library reservation counter this weekend. I hope it will be the book.

Tiny Story

Carl V's Tiny Story competition motivated me to complete a story or two. It was a good exercise for me: made me think about being consise, telling a story, flow, plot, rhythm, etc. I don't think I wrote any great stories but it gave my engines a kick-start. I'm getting into the mindset of fiction writing and I will continue to do it. It was also satisfying to beat down my own negativity and self-criticism to see a story to the end. Finishing something gave me a sense of achievement.

I leave you with my other Tiny Story, which I did not submit to the competition. Like I said, nothing great but I'd love to hear your advise and constructive criticisms if you'd like to comment. It's still very much a learning period for me. I've never completed a full story before, and never focused properly on writing stories, so I have no illusions nor ego about this. I'd just like to get started and if I get to actually finish a story eventually, that is an achievement in itself at this point. One other thing I really suck at is writing titles. So my titles really suck big time.

(Sorry if I'm a little incoherent today, chatting with and listening to an almost 8-yr-old while writing is really distracting).



---------------------------------

We Have Decided


Mathew wasn't sure what he must do now that their secret is in jeopardy.

Hiding's not an option and running, even crazier. So best thing would be: "Letting it out by my own hands. Yes."

Straightening from a defeated crouch, his shakey voice croaked, "Can't take this anymore. Let's go. Time to - save our world." Cackling with ironic laughter, decision made.

"How?" She whispered anxiously.

"I don't know."

Going through locked doors, leading toward hidden dark places, heartbeats growing louder, blood racing quicker, as they approach the room. Both headed onward resolutely. Two of them will face - whatever, everything, together.



© Copyright. All rights reserved.

Dead High Yearbook

Dead High Yearbook by Ivan Velez is a comic that made me roll my eyes in exasperation by the time I got to the end of reading it. The packaging of the book is very nice, but this does not redeem the stories from bordering on inane. I felt like it was trying to be be innovative, cool and dark, but failing miserably because the writers missed the point and focussed on the shock factor instead of telling a good story.

I'm guessing this book is targetted at a teen audience, seeing all the characters are high school students. For a young person who has not seen much, this book might be fun and provide a few scares. It is a collection of stories telling the demise of young people from a high school, who will be entered into a yearbook that is put together by an editorial team of dead people. The characters include vampires, zombies, mutants and basically some individuals who refuse to die. For a jaded adult like me, though, the stories don't provide much new material. Admittedly some are quite gruesome and ickky but none give new perspectives nor do they entertain with fresh or clever twists.

So overall, it might be ok for an older teenager (I'd keep the visual blod and gore away from younger kids), but it would just be mindless and humourless reading for an adult.