Jonathan Strange and Mr.Norell by Susanna Clarke
August 27th 2006 03:23
It arrived on the scene with the hush excitement of greatness. This was not some drab marketing gimmick like Harry Potter, this was a literary novel. It popped out like Athena, fully-formed, from the author's head where it had been festering for 10 long years. Everybody had thought the habit of reading was dead or in the last pangs of dying; if it was still alive it was thanks to a few nerdy types who collect in foul-smelling universities, those last bastions of culture which valiantly fight to survive the marauding forces of capitalism. And then Harry Potter came along and everybody started reading like there was no tomorrow. We had thought people stuffed to their ears with the paraphernalia of decadent capitalism wouldn't read and they were reading and how. Clearly, fantasy was the way to go but not the ersatz magic of Harry Potter but real magic, the real magic of those strange woods of pre-glasnost. And I the sinner, who had been seduced by dark forces of Potterish Capitalism was willing to be redeemed by reading this novel.
It is 1807's England and magic is tragically dead though the magicians are not. They form societies and read papers and are content to remain gentleman-magicians " which is to say they had never harmed any one by magic—nor ever done anyone the slightest good". Now a rogue magician called Mr.Norrell comes along who actually believes that he can do magic. What arrogance! Anyway to prove his point to doubting Thomases, he raises a few statues off their bases and makes a lot of sound and noise. It is clear Magic is back in England.
Norrell's nemesis soon comes in the form of Jonathan Strange, a country gentleman who has cultivated his magic on his own and not from reading books like Mr.Norrell. Mr.Norrell accepts Mr. Strange as his pupil but it immediately become clear that their ideas of magic differ widely until it becomes a schism worth of Rimbaud-Verlaine or George Sand- Musset, if only half so romantic. But that's much later.
Meanwhile, magic is coming back to England; the woods are advancing; the fairies are seizing the beautiful; and there are dark whispers that the Raven King is about to return. Meanwhile, there are such drab things called wars; Great Britain is plagued by Napoleon on the continent and it desperately requires the service of its magicians which Mr.Strange is only too happy to provide. While he is busy battling on the dark forces abroad, his own sweetheart is abducted by the fairies. If you think this would provide the book with the much-needed twist, you are mistaken. The abduction is required only to negate the false comforts offered by the fairies. The true revolution will be brought forth only by the True King of England. And the Raven King returns, only he is black.
There is nothing wrong in a Black King of Britain of course but it now becomes now clear why this magic is so real when Harry Potter is only ersatz. This magic is real because it allows us to contemplate the victory of Social Justice which is an adult adult virtue instead of making us regress to latency-period fantasies which is what Harry Potter does with us childish adults.
If you haven't felt the aw-shiver at such a prospect and found the narrative unremittingly dull, the magic phony, the story lackadaisical, well you are still in your latency period.
It is 1807's England and magic is tragically dead though the magicians are not. They form societies and read papers and are content to remain gentleman-magicians " which is to say they had never harmed any one by magic—nor ever done anyone the slightest good". Now a rogue magician called Mr.Norrell comes along who actually believes that he can do magic. What arrogance! Anyway to prove his point to doubting Thomases, he raises a few statues off their bases and makes a lot of sound and noise. It is clear Magic is back in England.
Norrell's nemesis soon comes in the form of Jonathan Strange, a country gentleman who has cultivated his magic on his own and not from reading books like Mr.Norrell. Mr.Norrell accepts Mr. Strange as his pupil but it immediately become clear that their ideas of magic differ widely until it becomes a schism worth of Rimbaud-Verlaine or George Sand- Musset, if only half so romantic. But that's much later.
Meanwhile, magic is coming back to England; the woods are advancing; the fairies are seizing the beautiful; and there are dark whispers that the Raven King is about to return. Meanwhile, there are such drab things called wars; Great Britain is plagued by Napoleon on the continent and it desperately requires the service of its magicians which Mr.Strange is only too happy to provide. While he is busy battling on the dark forces abroad, his own sweetheart is abducted by the fairies. If you think this would provide the book with the much-needed twist, you are mistaken. The abduction is required only to negate the false comforts offered by the fairies. The true revolution will be brought forth only by the True King of England. And the Raven King returns, only he is black.
There is nothing wrong in a Black King of Britain of course but it now becomes now clear why this magic is so real when Harry Potter is only ersatz. This magic is real because it allows us to contemplate the victory of Social Justice which is an adult adult virtue instead of making us regress to latency-period fantasies which is what Harry Potter does with us childish adults.
If you haven't felt the aw-shiver at such a prospect and found the narrative unremittingly dull, the magic phony, the story lackadaisical, well you are still in your latency period.
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