A review by wormfood
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
2.0
Two years and two months later, and I have finished this damn book.
A story of such magnitude is a feat I can’t imagine having the skill let alone motivation to pursue. She captures perfectly the wonder and absurdity of magic. Hats off to Susanna. But goddamn can it be boring.
I can sense its genius practically glowing around its pages and it pisses me off that I’m clearly not clever enough to grasp it the way I want to. Like eating a pint of ice cream past the point of true enjoyment when your mouth is too cold to taste it. But you really like the flavor of the ice cream and you really enjoy the experience of eating ice cream. So you keep eating it anyway, bitterly wishing you would enjoy it the way you know you could.
One day, I will reread and annotate this incredible history with patience and a purer intent. Today, I give it 2 stars for encouraging me to suffer and wipe my hands of it.
A story of such magnitude is a feat I can’t imagine having the skill let alone motivation to pursue. She captures perfectly the wonder and absurdity of magic. Hats off to Susanna. But goddamn can it be boring.
I can sense its genius practically glowing around its pages and it pisses me off that I’m clearly not clever enough to grasp it the way I want to. Like eating a pint of ice cream past the point of true enjoyment when your mouth is too cold to taste it. But you really like the flavor of the ice cream and you really enjoy the experience of eating ice cream. So you keep eating it anyway, bitterly wishing you would enjoy it the way you know you could.
One day, I will reread and annotate this incredible history with patience and a purer intent. Today, I give it 2 stars for encouraging me to suffer and wipe my hands of it.