A review by turrean
The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke

mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
Opaque to me.

The design of the book is lovely, especially the cover. There’s a pretty font, though every word with the letter combination “ct” catches the eye with a hook from the t’s bar to the top of the c.  “Ct” is apparently a consonant blend, specifically a t-blend that ends a word. (Look, I have insomnia, and I just spent thirty minutes figuring out if this was a phoneme or a digraph or a platypus or whatever. I write this with great relief as I can now forget it.) 

The illustrations are quite formal & stylized; most look like church windows. 

The author’s note at the end conveyed more information about the story than the story did. The tale seems so fragmentary and unfinished. I am left bereft of the heft of meaning.