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Idea for a slow read - Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
Hi all, I was wondering if there'd be any enthusiasm for a group slow read of Susanna Clarke's _Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel_ - you'll remember we read and enjoyed here _Piranesi_ a while back. _Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel_ was her first novel and although I've wanted to read it for some time it's a bit intimidatingly long... the better part of 900 pages, so I have always shied off. A group read would, I think, help me persevere!
It's been turned into a seven part streamed series (on Amazon Prime here in the UK) which I have been enjoying, but strongly suspect that loads has been missed out.l in order to squash it into so few episodes. I downloaded the kindle sample and her writing style here is clear and enjoyable.
Any interest?
PS @Apocryphal you'll probably know better than the rest of us if we've tackled this book in the G+ days?
PPS @kcaryths the basic idea of the slow read is that we read a short section each week - endeavouring not to read past the section then have a short discussion on that bit. There are 69 chapters in this book so each week we'd cover a couple of chapters. I'd undertake to set up the schedule and such like... when we read _Arabian Nights_ in this way @NeilNjae did some truly excellent summaries, which I probably couldn't come near to, but it'd be something.
It's been turned into a seven part streamed series (on Amazon Prime here in the UK) which I have been enjoying, but strongly suspect that loads has been missed out.l in order to squash it into so few episodes. I downloaded the kindle sample and her writing style here is clear and enjoyable.
Any interest?
PS @Apocryphal you'll probably know better than the rest of us if we've tackled this book in the G+ days?
PPS @kcaryths the basic idea of the slow read is that we read a short section each week - endeavouring not to read past the section then have a short discussion on that bit. There are 69 chapters in this book so each week we'd cover a couple of chapters. I'd undertake to set up the schedule and such like... when we read _Arabian Nights_ in this way @NeilNjae did some truly excellent summaries, which I probably couldn't come near to, but it'd be something.
Comments
I read about half of Norrel & Strange some years ago before my attention wandered elsewhere. I'm not all that sure I'm interested in revisiting it, but I'll keep it under consideration for now. It seems like it ought to be a good candidate for a slow read, though I do wonder if enough happens in each 20 or 30 page section to have enough to talk about each week. Maybe @dr_mitch has some worthwhile insights, here. I suspect he's pretty familiar with the book and might even have gamed it.
I read it a while ago and enjoyed it. However, it was a while ago and I can't remember all the details. I remember it being a multi-layered book, with quite a lot happening to different aspects of the characters. There's also, IIRC, quite a bit of change to the characters throughout the book.
I think it's a decent candidate for a slow read, but I can't guarantee that it will actually work. I'm happy to give it a try.
I downloaded the kindle sample and have just finished whatever fraction of the book that makes it - her writing style (like Piranesi) is clear and direct, and IMHO very enjoyable. As probably most of us know it's another look at Napoleonic Britain (and to a small degree Europe) but not at all steampunky - it relies much more on traditional tales of the land and occupants of Fairy, who are remote, mercurial, and can't be trusted. Quite a lot of the background is presented in footnotes - I have no idea how this works in Audible but in print or kindle it's fine
It's one of the many Hugo winners I have never read so for that reason alone I would be interested. I'd need some time to track down a used copy from someone for cheap as I couldn't go the library route most likely since I would need it for a while.
Yeah, same. I'll see if I can find a used edition.
If there's enthusiasm I'll work out a schedule covering a roughly 6 month period (give or take) and see what that looks like.