Book Blog: May 2007

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell: Susanna Clarke

Rating: 5 stars

May 14, 2007

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susanna Clarke) is right up my alley — clever plotting, dry Jane Austen-ish humor, and footnotes! In fiction! I am highly pleased. I’ll recommend the book to family and friends, of course, but nobody will read it because it’s the size of a telephone book and these days everyone is too busy for good fiction. They don’t know what they’re missing…

A Separate Peace; Peace Like A River

May 25, 2007

Read A Separate Peace (John Knowles) in one sitting last night; was left unimpressed. Ponderous coming-of-age stories set in mid-century American boys’ schools are generally trite, obnoxious and dull, and this was no exception. I scolded my mother for this recommendation, and she replied that the only reason it seemed like a decent read to her is that she’d just come off of Peace Like a River (Leif Enger), which she swears is one of the worst books ever written. (I haven’t read it, and certainly don’t intend to—the chapter titles alone set my Crap-o-Meter to High.)

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