Yesterday I finally finished "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell," and I have to say that the last 300 pages went a lot faster and easier than the first 700 pages. All in all it pays back for being a tough read - but I was glad to be shut of it.
And I was glad to be able to start "Kim," which I have been meaning to read for a long time. What a contrast! First off Kipling grips you by the throat by the end of the first page, and secondly he manages to communicate more of the complex atmosphere of India during the Raj in his first 100 pages than Susanna Clark is able to evoke about the relatively simple atmosphere of England in the 1800's within her first 500 pages.
I'd like to write more, but Kim has been rescued/captured by the chaplains of his father's old regiment and they've put him in English clothes with the intention of sending/sentencing him to an orphanage school. He was just rescued by his Pathan acquaintance/employer, but that cruel fellow is seeming as though he will turn him back over to the Sahibs.
I need to get back to poor Kim.
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2 comments:
I really enjoyed reading Jonathan Strange. I became an instant fan of Susanna Clarke shortly after that.
monster paperbag - As you can tell by my original post I'm very conflicted about Jonathan Strange and Susanna Clarke. It may not be her so much as it may be that I'm less patient with books as I get older. And I've discovered that there is a whole class of books I can listen to as booktapes but that I can't read anymore. One day I may post about an interesting discussion I had with an eighty or so year old woman at our local library who exclusively listens to books now. She must listen a lot because it seemed that she had listened to virtually every audio book there.
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