Frankenstein is another one of those books which I have been meaning to read for years but, somehow, never have. I never felt quite in the right mood to pick it up. Then I went to the Cheltenham Literary Festival and won a beautiful copy (along with some other great prizes).

Halloween was fast approaching and it seemed like the time was just right – so last week I settled down to enjoy it.

I knew that there would be no green monster with a bolt through his neck but I wasn’t prepared for quite how confused my feelings would become. I spent a huge proportion of the book firmly on the ‘monster’s’ side and only really started to question that right at the end.

I think my main problem is that I just didn’t like Victor Frankenstein. It seemed to me that he spent most of the time just complaining about how the monster had ruined his life but – whilst this was technically true – that was entirely his own fault and I found it very difficult to sympathise with him. If he had not abandoned his creation in the first place it is likely that none of the consequent catastrophes would have happened.

I realise of course that the book is meant to make us question the way we treat differences but – although I see that it is a fantastic book – my dislike of Victor Frankenstein is so great that it has left me wondering if I enjoyed the book at all.

I have been meaning to read Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell for a good while now – ever since I read Maggie Harcourt’s Unconventional, where it is mentioned as the main character’s favourite book. Somehow I have never got round to it.

However, I was browsing the bookshop at Cheltenham Literature Festival and it was just sitting on the shelf waiting for me. It was clearly a sign so I bought it.

Publisher’s Blurb

The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon, and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation’s past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London, he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious, fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young, handsome and daring, Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.

I started this book with very little knowledge of its content, beyond the fact that it is about two magicians. I was expecting a very fast paced, exciting read and was somewhat surprised to find that it is in fact quite slow and gentle. There is of course plenty of magic – which is inherently exciting – but the book isn’t really a page-turner.

That being said, I loved reading it. I enjoy long (1006 pages), slow books – especially at this time of year. For me it was the perfect accompaniment to an evening spent curled up in front of the fire. The characters are engaging – a must for me – and I genuinely cared about what happened to them. I also felt at a loss when i had finished it which is always a sign that I have been truly involved in a book.

This is a perfect read for long winter evenings and I will definitely be recommending it.

Book Details

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

ISBN: 9780747579885

Publisher: Bloomsbury

RRP: £10.99