I have made some progress on the great tome that is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. My reading partner, L, and I have not been able to have a discussion for a few weeks due to the holidays, but since I've had nothing to do all except take the decorations down, I figured today would be as good a day as any to pick this gigantic read back up.
Wow, am I glad I did!
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!!! (Select and highlight the text below to read further. Those of you who wish to avoid the spoilers, scroll down until you see regular text again.)
Mr Norrell has finally made his appearance to the gentleman of the Learned Society of York Magicians, much to the delight of the ever adorable Mr Honeyfoot and his counterpart, Mr Segundus. (Segundus, by the way, is a very intriguing character: he seems to be playing the role of the skeptic, and yet I'm also getting the feeling that he will be incredibly useful - for good or evil, I'm not sure yet - to Mr Norrell, maybe even becoming an ally to the little magician's master plan. But more on that later...) But Honeyfoot and Segundus, as well as the entire Society, are thrown for a loop: Mr Norrell will prove once and for all that he is a real magician or fail and be done with magic forever.
The catch? If he succeeds in proving his magic is real, then every single one of the gentlemen of the Learned Society will instead have to lay aside magic forever. Not even a card trick.
The prospect is daunting, as most of the men have nothing else to do except, as the narrator puts it, talk to their wives, neices, maidservants, etc. and drive them nuts. But after much deliberation, the Society members decide that it is time for the truth to be solidified: who is the real magician or magicians of England, and the only way to prove it is to let Mr Norrell take a stab at impressing the "elite" of York Society.
Mr Segundus, however, is the only who is able to get out of the agreement. He honestly does believe he is a magician too, though a less experienced one. Besides that, he truly yearns to know more about magic, unlike the other members of the Society, who seem merely content to study about magic and not how to use magic. How can he swear of the thing he loves the most? Mr Norrell, through his scarily dark and way-cool assistant, Childermass, agrees to Mr Segundus' plea to be exempted from signing the contract.
And thank goodness. Segundus witnesses a stunning display of real magic, along with all the members of the Society. The stones and statues of the great Cathedral of York literally cry out with the stories of that Church's history: the shadowed murder of a young girl and the burial of her murderer beneath the Church's halls, the memories of the battles fought outside her doors, the rampages and thievery that left the Church vacant and ruined, the stories go on, all in a cacophony that about drives the "magicians" senseless.
Once they realize how much their arrogance has proven them idiots, the members of the Learned Society of York Magicians trudge off to their homes, dejected and dumbfounded. Norrell really is a magician.
And he's brought real magic back to England.
I can't wait for the beginnings of Norrell's tamperings with London. His assistant, Childermass, is, I think, possibly the real brains behind the magician's dealings with society, or at the very least, his motivator. Just this description of Childermass puts "Suspicious" right across his forehead:
Mm, delicious! Clarke's style is so intriguing; once you start, it's very hard to stop... Maybe it's a good thing that the book is so long, to make sure your appetite is really satisfied! I can't wait to finish Chapter 4 and 5 tonight: The Friends of English Magic and Drawlight.
And I must needs leave off with my favorite quote of the day:
Aha! Words simply fail!
P.S. I shall also be starting The Hobbit for the LotR Read-Along, this month hosted by A Striped Armchair!
Wow, am I glad I did!
WARNING: Spoilers ahead!!! (Select and highlight the text below to read further. Those of you who wish to avoid the spoilers, scroll down until you see regular text again.)
Mr Norrell has finally made his appearance to the gentleman of the Learned Society of York Magicians, much to the delight of the ever adorable Mr Honeyfoot and his counterpart, Mr Segundus. (Segundus, by the way, is a very intriguing character: he seems to be playing the role of the skeptic, and yet I'm also getting the feeling that he will be incredibly useful - for good or evil, I'm not sure yet - to Mr Norrell, maybe even becoming an ally to the little magician's master plan. But more on that later...) But Honeyfoot and Segundus, as well as the entire Society, are thrown for a loop: Mr Norrell will prove once and for all that he is a real magician or fail and be done with magic forever.
The catch? If he succeeds in proving his magic is real, then every single one of the gentlemen of the Learned Society will instead have to lay aside magic forever. Not even a card trick.
The prospect is daunting, as most of the men have nothing else to do except, as the narrator puts it, talk to their wives, neices, maidservants, etc. and drive them nuts. But after much deliberation, the Society members decide that it is time for the truth to be solidified: who is the real magician or magicians of England, and the only way to prove it is to let Mr Norrell take a stab at impressing the "elite" of York Society.
Mr Segundus, however, is the only who is able to get out of the agreement. He honestly does believe he is a magician too, though a less experienced one. Besides that, he truly yearns to know more about magic, unlike the other members of the Society, who seem merely content to study about magic and not how to use magic. How can he swear of the thing he loves the most? Mr Norrell, through his scarily dark and way-cool assistant, Childermass, agrees to Mr Segundus' plea to be exempted from signing the contract.
And thank goodness. Segundus witnesses a stunning display of real magic, along with all the members of the Society. The stones and statues of the great Cathedral of York literally cry out with the stories of that Church's history: the shadowed murder of a young girl and the burial of her murderer beneath the Church's halls, the memories of the battles fought outside her doors, the rampages and thievery that left the Church vacant and ruined, the stories go on, all in a cacophony that about drives the "magicians" senseless.
Once they realize how much their arrogance has proven them idiots, the members of the Learned Society of York Magicians trudge off to their homes, dejected and dumbfounded. Norrell really is a magician.
And he's brought real magic back to England.
I can't wait for the beginnings of Norrell's tamperings with London. His assistant, Childermass, is, I think, possibly the real brains behind the magician's dealings with society, or at the very least, his motivator. Just this description of Childermass puts "Suspicious" right across his forehead:
Childermass knew the world. Childermass knew what games the children on street-corners are playing - games that all other grown-ups have long since forgotten. Childermass knew what old people by firesides are thinking of, though no one has asked them in years. Childermass knew what young men hear in the rattling of the drums and tooting of the pipes that makes them leave their homes and go to be soldiers - and he knew the half-eggcupful of glory and the barrelful of misery that awaits them. Childermass could look at a smart attory in the street and tell you what he had in his coat-tail pockets. And all that Childermass knew made him smile; and some of what he knew made him laugh out loud... (49)
Mm, delicious! Clarke's style is so intriguing; once you start, it's very hard to stop... Maybe it's a good thing that the book is so long, to make sure your appetite is really satisfied! I can't wait to finish Chapter 4 and 5 tonight: The Friends of English Magic and Drawlight.
And I must needs leave off with my favorite quote of the day:
As to whether or not Mr Norrel was in fact old, he was the sort of man who had been old at seventeen (31).
Aha! Words simply fail!
P.S. I shall also be starting The Hobbit for the LotR Read-Along, this month hosted by A Striped Armchair!
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