Strange Fantasy

Having read Susanna Clarke's novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrel, I think I probably enjoyed her short story more because I was used to her writing style. She jumps around from place to place quite often, which I think is meant to inspire a sense that something mysterious is going on in each place, but the reader is allowed the ability to secretly view the mystery. Still, the reader isn't in on everything, the characters' personalities and secrets are usually pretty hard to read. Also, I think if I hadn't read her novel, I would be thoroughly confused reading this short story. A lot of the plot and characters revert back to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Jonathan Strange is actually one of the main characters in this short story, which I found intriguing but also kind of unoriginal. The short story actually seems to have taken place before the end of her novel, which makes me feel like this story was supposed to be in the novel, but the novel was too long already so she had to make them separate! Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was one of those books I could have read every day for the rest of my life, though, so I really enjoyed hearing more of the story. I just love the way Clarke writes about magic, like it's a well-known fact that it exists and if you try really hard you can find a gateway to the fairy world. She definitely made me believe in the Raven King, what can I say.

On another note, I ended up being pleased but saddened at the ending of Never Let Me Go. The last couple pages were beautiful, I certainly cried. I was upset at how nonchalantly Kathy left Tommy for the last time, though. There did not seem to be enough emotion in that scene, and it made me think maybe these kids do have a little less soul than others. But the last couple pages kind of made up for that I suppose. I love the fact that they were let down by the reality of no deferrals, and how Miss Emily and Madame explained the truth to Kathy and Tommy. This was like when a child, being told by your parents that there is really no Santa Claus...sorry if I spoiled it for someone. It is also like realizing that we really don't have much time to live; we can't get deferrals in real life either. Of course, I still have no answer as to why Kathy and Tommy didn't just run away from it all. I must admit I had my doubts about this book in the beginning, but I felt myself really involved in the characters' lives and very saddened by the idea of them having to go through what they did.