The writing is still charming and wonderful, but I've reached the 25% mark and the pace has slowed considerably.  Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange have only just met.

I've checked the audio out from the library and will start listening as well as reading either today or Monday; hopefully that will get me over the slump in the middle.

Is a footnote still a footnote if it covers two pages?

Either way, the writing is gorgeous.  And thank god for it because 846 pages... o_O

Is it the ominous faeries I love so much? I just love writing "ominous faeries".  The setting? I don't know.  It's a long book, and slow, but so well done that those are compliments, not complaints.  It unfolds for the reader, if you will.  I loved it, and I'm not all that crazy about faeries, although I much prefer the scary ones to the Disney ones.

Library copy

It was a delight to come back to this after so many years. It remains a favorite of mine and when my husband and I started a long trip this mammoth leaped out of the library's audio section. We only got a third of the way through it on the trip, but we stayed with it - finishing in about a month. Simon Prebble's reading was very good and helped carry the book - my one criticism is that the female voices are same-y. This could be Prebble's limitation, or it could be Clarke's fault for failing to have a wide range of female characters. 

Clarke's writing captures the essence of the social comedy of Austen and her Victorian successors and delivers a beautifully conceived world of magic in Regency England. The plot revolves around the first two practical magicians England has seen in almost three centuries, a magical resurrection with horrible consequences for the lady involved, and the progress of a black butler as he navigates a complicated and abusive relationship with England and a Fairy. It's about so much more than that, of course. Clarke heavily foot-noted the book with citations to magical books, legends, historic accounts and definitions that make the world all the more real. The addition of atmospheric illustrations that are fresh and yet evoke era are a real bonus. I had to bring down my print edition so my husband didn't miss out.

It has been 15 years since publication, but I am willing to wait another 15 years if that's what it takes to read more about this world. I hope Ms. Clarke will do it! I must note, too, that the physical edition of Clarke's book of short stories 'The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories' is out of print.

I am not ADHD or anything, but I sometimes see a shiny before I finish a book, even ones I like, and don't get back to it. Happens to most readers, I think. So here are a few, some I first opened years ago. All novels this time out, because collections and anthologies can be returned to at any time without issue (except reviewing).

1. Name of The Rose, Umberto Eco

This is ridiculous. I've been reading it, off and on, for about five years. It's long, dense, and translated, mostly. There are still chunks of Latin, as well as religious jargon and lore. But the prose is gorgeous, and the combination of books, monastic life, and murder keep bringing me back.

2. Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry

There aren't a lot of 1,000 page Westerns out there, and this is probably the only one to ever win a Pulitzer. Beautifully written without being showy, but it takes a good while to get going. Still, I miss the characters.

3. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanna Clarke

Okay, a lot of these are doorstops, and this is another with seriously dense, intricate prose. The Victorian England setting also ensures many of the well-to-do characters are stuffy and dry. Still, the magic theory and use of Faery, along with Norrell's cantankerousness, are big draws for me.

4. The Eight, Katherine Neville

Chess, computer programming, and DNA are the cornerstones of this one, and it is fascinating. The characters are a little dull sometimes, and there are some doldrums that set in, but the story is intriguing enough that I need to find my way back.

5. The Alchemaster's Apprentice, Walter Moers

One of Moers's Zamonia novels, this one about a cat-like creature being fattened up for it's magical lard by an evil genius and learning alchemy while trying to escape. Fun, but a little too cutesy sometimes. Still, the flat-out weirdness and nifty lead, as well as my love for the author, keep scratching at the back of my brain.

6. Brittle Innings, Michael Bishop

SF/Horror with a golem, kinda, playing baseball in the Forties. He is, of course, a power hitter, but also a great fielder. It sounds perfect for me, yeah? The rub comes from the ineffectual narrator and rape as a major plot point. I tend to avoid that. But the core concept is still awesome.

7. The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson

This is a different kind of thing. The book is second in a popular series, and quite good. The magic systems are deep, the story clever and twisty, and the characters are almost all engaging. I didn't stop because of the book itself, or even because of a shiny. It's because I saw Sanderson in an interview and disliked him terribly. A pompous, superior and mean-spirited if that hour was anything to go by. Still, I believe you should separate the art from the artist in most cases. He hasn't done anything to except him from that, and I didn't stop reading Harlan Ellison or Piers Anthony because they were jerks, and the books really good, so I need to just get over it.

That's the list. What books are crying out for you to come back?

Bye!