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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
TEDIOUS. I love a big tome, but the pacing of this is glacial. I’m shocked that this is the same author who wrote Piranesi, which I loved. The world building is impressive, but I never felt like I cared enough about the characters (except Stephen) to be invested in the various sidequests / details in the footnotes.
I have never hated a book that I gave 3/5 so much, but I have to applaud Clarke for the labour put into this. I made it about 500 pages deep (as the sunk-cost fallacy nearly ate me alive) but after chapter 46 I finally had to accept that this wasn’t getting better and life is too short not to DNF.
I also don’t understand why “shewed” and “chused” were used (in lieu of showed or chose) as often as they were. I understand that Clarke was going for 19th century style, but I found it odd that these were the only major words that were changed. It took me right out of it and I found it more annoying / distracting the farther along I was. Regarding language, I think that you should to the bit fully or not at all.
I have never hated a book that I gave 3/5 so much, but I have to applaud Clarke for the labour put into this. I made it about 500 pages deep (as the sunk-cost fallacy nearly ate me alive) but after chapter 46 I finally had to accept that this wasn’t getting better and life is too short not to DNF.
I also don’t understand why “shewed” and “chused” were used (in lieu of showed or chose) as often as they were. I understand that Clarke was going for 19th century style, but I found it odd that these were the only major words that were changed. It took me right out of it and I found it more annoying / distracting the farther along I was. Regarding language, I think that you should to the bit fully or not at all.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I tried, I couldn't. The relief I felt when I read the plot online and could finally close the book was heavenly. For me it was paced entirely too slowly with cheap payoffs. Piranesi was a joy, this was a job.
ran put of time w my library copy, but would like to finish one day
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't mind slow books, but this overdid it... I also did not enjoy all the pompous formality and ways of Englishmen as portrayed in the book... Caused me to roll my eyes too much. Not enough female participation either.. Hated Norrell with all my might. But ultimately, I just didn't feel like reading it. I had to force myself to do it and that's not how reading should be done.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
I think the first time I read this, my enjoyment of it was hampered by entering with the wrong set of expectations. Fortunately, that's just the sort of thing a reread can correct.
This is a slow-building book, a carefully built book, one that lays its groundwork very deliberately. It unfolds at the speed of Austen or Dickens, and rewards patience in the same way. It is not a book that wants you to hurry.
The intertwining stories - mainly the magicians’ work toward reviving English magic and the fairy enchantment on Lady Pole, Stephen Black and (eventually) Arabella - emerge slowly and progress gradually over many years and many pages.
For chrissake, the first character in the title doesn't even show up until the end of Part 1.
But Clarke spends that time very carefully. Is every detail absolutely necessary? Perhaps not, but they enrich the tapestry of the overall whole.
Something that bothered me in 2005 and still bothers me now is how peripheral women's viewpoints are to the narrative. For all that Lady Pole and Arabella are central to the plot, we rarely see events through their eyes. Flora Graysteel and her aunt make a nice addition to the cast, but they only come in near the end. I like Mrs. Brandy the shopkeeper too, but she's there so briefly and then gone. There are certainly some pointed digs from the author about the unfair limits placed on women of this time and place, but I do find myself wishing for more interiority for Emma and Arabella.
This is a slow-building book, a carefully built book, one that lays its groundwork very deliberately. It unfolds at the speed of Austen or Dickens, and rewards patience in the same way. It is not a book that wants you to hurry.
The intertwining stories - mainly the magicians’ work toward reviving English magic and the fairy enchantment on Lady Pole, Stephen Black and (eventually) Arabella - emerge slowly and progress gradually over many years and many pages.
For chrissake, the first character in the title doesn't even show up until the end of Part 1.
But Clarke spends that time very carefully. Is every detail absolutely necessary? Perhaps not, but they enrich the tapestry of the overall whole.
Something that bothered me in 2005 and still bothers me now is how peripheral women's viewpoints are to the narrative. For all that Lady Pole and Arabella are central to the plot, we rarely see events through their eyes. Flora Graysteel and her aunt make a nice addition to the cast, but they only come in near the end. I like Mrs. Brandy the shopkeeper too, but she's there so briefly and then gone. There are certainly some pointed digs from the author about the unfair limits placed on women of this time and place, but I do find myself wishing for more interiority for Emma and Arabella.
slow-paced