According to Wikipedia, Neil Gaiman said that this monolithic tome is "unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last seventy years." I'm a bit worried about this statement. As a general rule, I trust Mr. Gaiman. I acknowledge his fantasy brilliance and I appreciate his skill for writing plain novels as well as the graphic kind. But now I have to wonder...is the man off his rocker? Don't get me wrong. I 'enjoyed' JS and MR N, but I would not have lavished upon it so many awards. A hugo? 2004's Book of the Year? These achievements seem like misguided panegyric (this is such a fun word! Look it up for giggles!).
For one, I never really understood what 'magic' was in this world. If you're a David Eddings fan (and if you aren't- WHY AREN'T YOU???), then you'll recognize the 'will and the word' method of magic. With Harry Potter it was the wand thing. But just what is English Magic? I get that there are two basic versions: Enlightenment (Norrell and his books) and Romantic (The Raven King and his nature), but come on. I couldn't even figure out which spells would be hard or dangerous and which were basic child's play. It frustrates me when I can't understand the rules of a VERY practical book. Something confounding like Kelly Link, you just go with the flow. But a Victorian parody that doesn't fully explicate something? Seriously. Frustrated me. This is probably just a personal thing, but I figured I would throw it out there.
I agree with the myriad of people who have said that this book could be seriously condensed into a much more user-friendly version. I don't think I'm about to buy that every single bit of this novel was necessary. I'm pretty sure Clark isn't the next British Melville. (Don't even get me STARTED on the people who was to omit chapters from MOBY DICK. ANGER.)
And what on earth is up with Childermass? Honestly, he was my favorite character, and even he drove me to madness sometimes. Was he just going along with previously-forseen-Tarot-esque prophecy by staying with Mr. Norrel? Or was he just being incredibly stupid?
To sum it all up, in my opinion books either need to be deep, meaningful or interesting. For my first read-through, this novel acquired three strikes. I'm hoping, though, that it will not strike out. Perhaps in class my clouded and unfocused eyes will be opened by insights offered from my brilliant peers! : D
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