This is my second post in the ‘Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norrell’ readalong.
I have some bad news. I couldn’t read for most of the week because of a family emergency. I thought I will be able to catch up during the latter part of the week, but, unfortunately, it was not possible. I thought I will read atleast half of the second volume of the book and post on that, but I couldn’t even do that. I could read just fifty pages in the second volume. I apologize to fellow readalong participants for not being able to finish reading volume 2 and letting you down. I promise that I will catch up with you during the coming week.
My favourite parts of the second volume till now were the re-appearance of Mr.Segundus and Mr.Honeyfoot, the magic that Jonathan Strange did – the subtle one where he interchanges a book with its image in the mirror, so that the image is outside while the book is inside the mirror and the story told in the long footnote on the Master of Nottingham’s daughter. I also liked the references to Mr.Lewis (Matthew Gregory Lewis who wrote ‘The Monk’) and Mrs.Radcliffe (Ann Radcliffe who wrote ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’). I am looking forward to reading more.
Two of my favourite passages from volume 2 till now are these :
A great horse-chestnut leant over the road and made a pool of black shadow, and when the two riders reached the shadow it swallowed them up so that nothing remained of them except their voices.
If we measure a magician’s success by how much magic he does, then Absalom was no magician at all, for his spells hardly ever took effect. However, if instead we examine the amount of money a magician makes and allow that to be our yardstick, then Absalom was certainly one of the greatest English magicians who ever lived, for he was born in poverty and died a very rich man.
Here are the links to the thoughts of other participants of the readalong on volume 2.
Yasmine (Yasmine Rose’s Book Blog)
For more information on this readalong, do visit here or here.
[…] Vishy (Vishy’s Blog) TJ (My Book Strings) Yasmine (Yasmine Rose’s Book Blog) Fleur (Fleur in her World) […]
I hope all is ok with your family now. I think you will enjoy Volume II. I was able to finish it over the weekend, and it does indeed end with a bang.
Thanks TJ. Things are better now. I resumed reading volume 2 today and have reached around 430 pages. It is going well and the story’s pace has picked up. I love the fact that historical characters keep coming in the book – Lord Wellington and Francisco Goya. Nice to know that you were able to finish volume 2 over the weekend. Hope you are enjoying volume 3. Happy reading!
Sorry to hear about your family emergency, Vishy. I hope everything will be okay and things go back to normal. And no need for apologies, things like this happen all the time and they are a priority. Sending well wishes to you and your family.
As for the book, one good thing about not finishing volume 1 is that you still have wonderful things to discover. 😉
I didn’t catch the reference to The Monk (one of my favorite books) but I remember reading Ann Radcliffe’s name and remembered The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Susanna Clarke has a way with words, doesn’t she, ironic one moment, poetic the next, I really enjoy the images she creates.
Thanks for your wishes, Delia. Things are better now. I managed to do some reading today and am nearly halfway through volume 2.
Yes, I am looking forward to discovering all the wonderful surprises in the book. Especially the ending of volume 2.
I remember you telling me about ‘The Monk’ before. I want to read it sometime. The reference to the author of ‘The Monk’, Matthew Lewis, is in page 311 – “For a while he had tried to persuade the other Ministers that they should commission Mr.Beckford, Mr.Lewis and Mrs.Radcliffe to create dreams of vivid horror…”
I agree with you on Susanna Clarke’s way with words. Her prose is such a pleasure to read. My favourite passage today was this one (page 412) – “The dining-parlour lacked some of the convenience that other dining-parlours have; it was open to the sky and there was a young birch tree growing in the middle of it.” 🙂
sorry to hear about the emergency. Hope things are getting better now for you
Thanks Nish. Things a better now.
I am so sorry to hear about the emergency. But, at least we know that real people have real lives and sometimes we cannot make our goals! I love reading about whatever you write regardless of how many pages you have read.
Thanks Heidi. Things are better now. I managed to do some reading today.
Glad to hear everything is alright and that you have had time to read more of the book. I look forward to hearing about your reactions to the rest of Volume 2 and 3!
Thanks Yasmine. I am in the middle of volume 3 now and it is going well. The ending of volume 2 was heartbreaking. Hope Susanna Clarke doesn’t do something like that at the end of volume 3.
It’s getting good now! I have under 100 pages left to read and I can’t stop!!
Glad to know that, Yasmine 🙂 Hope you enjoy reading the last 100 pages 🙂
So sorry to hear that, Vishy. I hope everything’s alright now, all the best to your family!
The references were wonderful, weren’t they? And the magic as well, I had expected something completely different, more dramatic and that’s it, but the magic here is treated much more interestingly and better fitted into the world building. Enjoy the next volume 🙂
Thanks Bina. Things are better now and I hope they get back to normal soon.
Yes, the references are wonderful. Ann Racliffe keeps coming up again and again 🙂 I agree with you on the magic – it is very different than one expects. I loved the way the story blends history into it. I went and did some research on the Duke of Wellington after reading volume 2 and discovered some interesting things about him. The ending of volume 2 was heartbreaking. I am in the middle of volume 3 now and I hope there are some interesting surprises in store.
Sorry to hear this news Vishy though good to hear things have improved and that you have a book leading you along and friends reading with you, I’m really enjoying the read-along process, it’s relatively informal and reassuring to discover we all have similar thoughts, or if not, we understand why. I hope that’s how it is for your participants in this challenging read.
I have to get back to mine now too, I always seem to be the last one to finish reading, because life is constantly getting in the way of reading here! But I am a master of stealing brief moments. 🙂
Thanks Claire. Things are getting better now. I liked very much your thoughts on the read-along process – yes, it is wonderful to share thoughts on a book and discover more on why we had similar thoughts or different thoughts on the book. I hope you are enjoying the ‘Eugene Onegin’ readalong. I will stop by soon and read your second post on the readalong. I liked very much what you said about being a master of stealing brief moments 🙂
I only just saw your post. I had the flu and wasn’t reading online very regularly. I’m so sorry to hear you had a family emergency and hope everything is fine again and that it wasn’t anything bad.
Thanks Caroline. Things are better now. I have not been a good commenter these past few weeks. I will stop by soon at your blog.
I understand, no worries. It’s the same here. I just published a coupld of reviews because I’d written them a while ago.
Sorry to hear that, Vishy, but I’m relieved to read from your previous comments that things are better now. It’s good that you were able to read and post something. I’m sure you’ll catch up quickly enough!
Thanks Andrew. Things are better now. I caught up with my reading this week. It was nice.