I am exhausted

I was up until 3 o’clock in the morning on Saturday playing World of Warcraft (it was a Arathi Basin battleground weekend and I had to grind enough Thick Clefthoof Leather to make my Strength of the Clefthoof set, which I finally did yesterday). Though I slept until 11 o’clock the following Sunday, staying awake that late often requires more than one night’s worth of recovery. Last night, I was kept awake by Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a wonderful book by Susanna Clarke. I have written about this in the past (though I am not certain that what I wrote managed the transition here), but I hate the writers of good books. There are many forms of media that can obtain a powerful hold over me; my addiction to World of Warcraft is evidence of this, though there are plenty of preceding examples equally suitable (Diablo 2, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance… the list goes on). None of them rival books in this regard. I have had many late nights and missed many meals due to attachment to a book. Though I don’t like to admit it, this is probably why I don’t read as much as I should. It is far easier to turn off a video game than to “turn off” a book. A book has to be finished for me to turn it off, and even then my fascination with the story often remains for days, distracting me and sometimes continuing to prevent my sleep.

As to the novel itself, it is one of the best I have read in a long while. It is a beautiful combination of high fantasy, depth of story, and literary prose to rival the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. People who know me know that this is not a comparison I throw around lightly. I hold the writing of Professor Tolkien in the highest of regards and Ms. Clarke is quite his equal in many regards. Her prose is captivating. It is at times witty and at others practically impenetrable, which suits the theme of the book (two 19th century British magicians) perfectly. It reads partly like a history and partly like a fairy story. Her characters are both serious and utterly foolish. This is why her prose is so fitting and entertaining. The story is deep and believable, which I believe is the most essential characteristic of fantasy. She sets down historical precedent for all of the magic worked by the two main characters. This history is both scholarly (there are footnotes strewn throughout the novel detailing various explanations of bits of magic) and mysterious (a full explanation of the workings of magic is never given, though the reader does not miss it). Ms. Clarke created a believable and magical England. Though I resent Ms. Clarke for making me so damn tired today (and for making her book so large; I could have read more during the daylight hours at work or on my commute were the book lighter), I highly recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell to everyone.