Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Fiction
Pages: 1024
I reached out my hand, England's rivers turned and flowed the other way.
I reached out my hand, my enemies's blood stopt in their veins.
I reached out my hand; thought and memory flew out of my enemie's heads like a flock of starlings.
My enemies crumpled like empty sacks.
I came to them out of mists and rain;
I came to them in dreams at midnight;
I came to them in a flock of ravens that filled a northern sky at dawn;
When they thought themselves safe I came to them in a cry that broke the silence of a winter wood.
The rain made a door for me and I went through it;
The stones made a throne for me and I sat upon it;
Three kingdoms were given to me to be mine forever;
England was given to me to be mine forever.
The nameless slave wore a silver crown;
The nameless slave was a king in a strange country.
The weapons that my enemies raised against him are venerated in Hell as holy relics;
Plans that my enemies made against me are preserved as holy texts;
Blood that I shed upon ancient battlefields is scraped from the strained earth by Hell's sacristans and placed in a vessel of silver and ivory.
I gave magic to England, a valuable inheritance
But Englishmen have despised my gift
Magic shall be written upon the sky by the rain but they shall not be able to read it;
Magic shall be written on the faces of the stony hills but their minds shall not be able to contain it;
In winter the barren trees shall be a black writing but they shall not understand it.
Two magicians shall appear in England.
The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me;
The first shall be governed by thieves and murderers; the second shall conspire at his own destruction;
The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache;
The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy's hand;
The first shall pass his life alone; he shall be his own gaoler;
The second shall tread lonely roads, the storm above his head, seeking a dark tower upon a high hillside.
I sit upon a black throne in the shadows but they shall not see me.
The rain shall make a door for me and I shall pass through it;
The stones shall make a throne for me and I shall sit upon it.
The nameless slave shall wear a silver crown;
The nameless slave shall be a king in a strange country.
I won't go into details because I've read and reviewed this book endless times, but you know what I love best? That for all the Raven King only appears in one scene, for less than three pages, he is this book. He's behind it, above it, within in, beyond it. I love that. But damn, I wish there was more of him.
I honestly don't have the words to express how much I love this book. If I tried it would probably just come out as incoherent squeaks and flailing. This is my all-time favourite book. If I had to have only one book to read for the rest of my life, this would be it. That's how much I love it. It's not just a book, it's a whole world contained within the pages and it's so real. It's the kind of book you lose yourself in and you look up once you've finished it and it takes a moment for the world around to readjust around you and you have to remind yourself that there is no English magic. I would make everyone read this. It's a masterpiece.
Fiction
Pages: 1024
I reached out my hand, England's rivers turned and flowed the other way.
I reached out my hand, my enemies's blood stopt in their veins.
I reached out my hand; thought and memory flew out of my enemie's heads like a flock of starlings.
My enemies crumpled like empty sacks.
I came to them out of mists and rain;
I came to them in dreams at midnight;
I came to them in a flock of ravens that filled a northern sky at dawn;
When they thought themselves safe I came to them in a cry that broke the silence of a winter wood.
The rain made a door for me and I went through it;
The stones made a throne for me and I sat upon it;
Three kingdoms were given to me to be mine forever;
England was given to me to be mine forever.
The nameless slave wore a silver crown;
The nameless slave was a king in a strange country.
The weapons that my enemies raised against him are venerated in Hell as holy relics;
Plans that my enemies made against me are preserved as holy texts;
Blood that I shed upon ancient battlefields is scraped from the strained earth by Hell's sacristans and placed in a vessel of silver and ivory.
I gave magic to England, a valuable inheritance
But Englishmen have despised my gift
Magic shall be written upon the sky by the rain but they shall not be able to read it;
Magic shall be written on the faces of the stony hills but their minds shall not be able to contain it;
In winter the barren trees shall be a black writing but they shall not understand it.
Two magicians shall appear in England.
The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me;
The first shall be governed by thieves and murderers; the second shall conspire at his own destruction;
The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache;
The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy's hand;
The first shall pass his life alone; he shall be his own gaoler;
The second shall tread lonely roads, the storm above his head, seeking a dark tower upon a high hillside.
I sit upon a black throne in the shadows but they shall not see me.
The rain shall make a door for me and I shall pass through it;
The stones shall make a throne for me and I shall sit upon it.
The nameless slave shall wear a silver crown;
The nameless slave shall be a king in a strange country.
I won't go into details because I've read and reviewed this book endless times, but you know what I love best? That for all the Raven King only appears in one scene, for less than three pages, he is this book. He's behind it, above it, within in, beyond it. I love that. But damn, I wish there was more of him.
I honestly don't have the words to express how much I love this book. If I tried it would probably just come out as incoherent squeaks and flailing. This is my all-time favourite book. If I had to have only one book to read for the rest of my life, this would be it. That's how much I love it. It's not just a book, it's a whole world contained within the pages and it's so real. It's the kind of book you lose yourself in and you look up once you've finished it and it takes a moment for the world around to readjust around you and you have to remind yourself that there is no English magic. I would make everyone read this. It's a masterpiece.