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I'm currently
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, so don't be surprised if the recent reviews are a bit sparse.
Books by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
· published 2004 · last read 2022-08-13
★★★☆☆
First book I'm really sad that I'm reviewing it only so much later: I'd have more thoughts to share if I hadn't waited so long. This was my second attempt at reading this book – I bounced off hard at the slow pace and the stuffy old men the first time around, many years ago. Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars for me. It's undeniably a very well-crafted book. It has a lot going on. It has one hell of a vibe. And parts of that resonated with me – but a lot of the time I felt like … grudgingly appreciating the vibe while wishing to be literally anywhere else in that world! It's a constant discomfort, like Kafka, but turned down to 10%. This book is part of the 2022 Backlog Incident.
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke
· published 2020 · read 2024-01-12
★★★☆☆
Hard to rate this book – 3.5 rounded down for now, but may round up over time. Immaculate vibes, but a bit thin other than that. The first third or first half is quite cool, while we just vibe and try to figure out what's going on (how does the protagonist know all those things? etc). But then, we get enough hints to puzzle things out – and I think we are meant to; I never felt like being too much ahead of the curve, or like the author thought I'd be slow on the uptake. But then – what's left after that? The self-discovery of a person I could never quite feel for, at times painfully slow, and an ending that still has impeccable vibes – which means that it leaves me quietly wanting, just like the entire book. Regardless, I'm happy I read it – even if it was just a description of the House and its statues, that would've been entirely worth it. (Though maybe without the Capitalisation of very Proper Noun – look, I'd read German books if I wanted more of that!)