Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell - Does it improve?

Post by **Zob** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 3:44 pm

I'm about 100 pages in, and it started off very well, quite sinister and I thought there might be a spooky little story in here, the trip to see Mr. Norrell was well-handled, as wer the introductory chapters.

The lo and behold it arrives in London and falls to pieces! tedious and verbose, the introduction to society thru the insufferable Drawlight is endless. The footnotes once quite interesting are now simply a chore.

It seems to me like a 3-400 page story is being dragged out to twice that length, does it improve at all? it seems the sinister and interesting has given way to boredom and farce.

Post by **I'm Murrin** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 4:35 pm

It's been a long time since I read it, but I think I found it a bit slow up until the second section, when Strange is introduced. I did like it overall.

Post by **Orlion** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 4:49 pm

Murrin wrote:It's been a long time since I read it, but I think I found it a bit slow up until the second section, when Strange is introduced. I did like it overall.

Yep. It's written like a Victorian novel, so if you've had trouble reading Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, you'll have difficulty with this novel also.

I, however, enjoyed it, footnotes and all.

Post by **Zob** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:31 pm

I love Dickens and I like Austen, but Clarke doesn't write near well-enough to pull it off, so far anyway. Oh well.

Post by **Vraith** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:41 pm

[quote="Orlion"

I, however, enjoyed it, footnotes and all.[/quote]

Those footnotes were actually my favorite part of the whole thing.
I enjoyed it mostly, but it wasn't all that and a trust fund as I was led to believe.

Post by **wayfriend** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 5:49 pm

If your asking if it gets markedly better as it goes along, then the answer is no. If you're not liking the beginning, nothing is going to pull you in. Just my opinion.

Post by **Fist and Faith** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:17 pm

I stopped after a couple hundred pages. I can't help but wonder if I would have finished it if I had gotten my first pair of reading glasses just before I started reading it, instead of just after. Heh. But it really wasn't doing for me what I'd hoped.

Post by **Zob** » Fri Jan 13, 2012 6:23 pm

wayfriend wrote:If your asking if it gets markedly better as it goes along, then the answer is no. If you're not liking the beginning, nothing is going to pull you in. Just my opinion.

I think you're right actually. From the magic in the Cathedral, it all went downhill from there.

Oh well, someone will enjoy it I guess, I'll give it to a charity shop. It's not what I'd hoped.

Post by **Avatar** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 6:29 am

Yeah, I didn't think it was that great myself. Not bad, but not what I'd hoped/expected.

Welcome to the Watch by the way.

--A

Post by **Endymion9** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:09 am

I tried reading it and gave up after about 200 pages. Just didn't like the writing style and nothing in the stories or characters was drawing me in.

So a few months later I tried what has worked in similar situations before, where I really wanted to know the story but was having difficulty reading and got the story as an audiobook. Even as an audiobook, I gave up about half way thru, ended up fast forwarding a lot and never found a section that insterested me.

Post by **mrsnull** » Sat Feb 18, 2012 6:19 am

Bought this book for Sarge at the library book sale. Now I am wondering if he will like it.

Post by **lmyhcsf** » Mon Feb 20, 2012 2:03 pm

Only read it once, and wasnt that overly impressed. But looking back after reading these posts, I do rem a lot of things that I did like. Maybe just get into the writing style?

Post by **BT Shire** » Tue Apr 17, 2012 12:30 am

Wow, I thought it was great. Definitely written in an older style, and it had a lot of digressions and didn't seem to have a unified plot. But I thought all those things made it charming. I found it witty, funny, creepy, and compelling.

Definitely the kind of book you are going to either love or hate. Not for everyone.

Post by **Avatar** » Wed May 09, 2012 6:42 am

Well, I'm reading it again to give it another chance.

--A

Post by **Avatar** » Wed May 16, 2012 5:50 am

So...second impressions...it was page 268 before I got a real hint of an underlying story. And page 500 before it started to materialise.

That story is interesting, but it's a little too understated if anything. The boring top layer is a little overwhelming.

Got about 100 pages to go...

--A

Post by **Hiro** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:50 am

'J.Strange and M. Norell' is one of the best (genre) books I've read in the past ten years. It's smart and subtle and wonderfully bittersweet in tone. Don't miss out.

Post by **Lady Revel** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:10 am

My opinion? Well, I read it years ago when it first came out. I finished it. It still sits on my bookcase. Meh. It was okay. I kind of liked the footnotes. If there were no footnotes I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Post by **Orlion** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 5:05 am

Lady Revel wrote:My opinion? Well, I read it years ago when it first came out. I finished it. It still sits on my bookcase. Meh. It was okay. I kind of liked the footnotes. If there were no footnotes I probably wouldn't have finished it.

The footnotes are what definitely made the book, I think. A good enough imitation of Victorian literature, but the footnotes are what give it life.

Post by **Avatar** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 11:14 am

I wanted a lot more about the Raven King.

--A

Kevin's Watch

Kevin's Watch

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell - Does it improve?

Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell - Does it improve?