Ov er the last couple of weeks I’ve been reading Susanna Clarke’s Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. It’s a good book, but far too big. Every day as I was trying to read it on a rush hour tube I couldn’t help wondering why it needed to be over a thousand pages long. It’s divided into three sections, why couldn’t it have been published as three books.
And, of course, just after I finish reading it I find that there is a three volume edition as well. That looks far more manageable. I wish I’d known about it three weeks ago.