This is from Courtney

The link to the poem of the Raven King and you can follow the link at the bottom to notes.

Is this really a novel?

I don't know about you guys, but this really feels like a non-fiction narrative to me. I think that this speaks volumes to Susanna Clarke. She had to bring all these historical facts together and create situations where her characters could participate. She also had to keep the history of her characters true through the entire 846 pages. No wonder this book has been so critically acclaimed.

No wonder!

It doesn't really surprise me that Clarke received so much acclaim for this book. While it runs a little long and dry at times, she really did her homework! Reading Courtney's comment about the Napoleonic Wars and battles abroad just reminded me how much she incorporated world history into her work. I mean, Andy told us how much time he put into writing mere short stories with accuracy! Can you imagine 850 pages of believable historical fiction?

Not sure if this is news or not!

I just wanted to let those of you know (in case you were unaware) that New Line Cinemas is currently adapting this novel into a screenplay. There's not much info out there at this point since it's still in the writing phase, but thought that some of the other JS&MN (sorry, I'm lazy) fans might like something to look forward to in a year or so!

The beast of a book

Before I started reading the book I had heard several people say that it starts off slow and the first 100 pages or so are pretty boring. I did not find this to be the case as I was into it from the beginning and didnt feel it drag on until later in the book. I think this has to do with the fact that I took a liking to Mr. Norrell's character. I like Susanna Clark's subtle sarcasm and I found that the language itself was pretty easy to read. Although some of the footnotes were pretty funny, I found them to be a bit much. Overall I liked it a lot better than I thought I would, even though I think my hand is sore from holding that behemoth of a book open for so long.

The Footnote Fairy

Okay, so anyone who has had Dr. Beidler out of the English Dept. has had to have heard the phrase "footnote fairy"--that wonderful fairy that comes along right when you think you can't go on from the confusion and *poof* there is an explanation. This book has an army of footnote fairies at work, and whereas I usually hate footnotes, explanation or no, I actually enjoyed these. I loved the footnote early in the book when it told the story of Drawlight throwing the cat out the window...too funny.

Okay, I think I'm rambling, but I just wanted to mention that. See, footnote fairy...book on magic? Coincedence? I think not...hehe.

The Land of Faery

I am intrigued about the Land of Faery and exactly what sort of place or places that it is. How large do you think the other world is? Why do fairies know how to get between both places and most humans know nothing about the other land or how to reach it? It seems to be a mystical land that is filled with magic and happiness, but also is seems to be a dismal place where humans would not enjoy. It seems to be a land where the facade is of a perfect and fantastical which in reality is a horrible place to exist.

Lady Pole

Was Lady Pole always unappreciative, or did we never get to know her because she was always sick? Did her time in Lost Hope warp her perception of things? I was very upset with that character when Stephen came to deliver her finger, and all she could do is rant and rave about how horrible men were. She even kept Arabella from talking to Jonathan at Lost Hope. She was not my favorite character.