Childermass
I was thinking about this and am I alone in thinking that Childermass was my favorite character in that book. He just seemed like he had a great backstory that only Susanna Clarke knew about - his background in Tarot cards and various forms of inquiry come to mind. I think it would be very interesting to see at least a short story about how Childermass came to work for Mr Norrell and what sort of things he had done before. It was very easy for him to fall into the background yet every time he comes up he does something interesting. Is any one else with me?
posted by Brian at 3:12 AM
7 Comments:
I liked Childermass too, but just once, I'd like to see someone use the Tarot in their original form.
i like childermass too! he's such a dynamic character. like you said, he's always popping into the picture and doing something random.
about those tarot cards.. tarot cards were originally just another card game like Bridge. it wasn't until we crazy occultists got to it that the general use shifted towards divination purposes. So which of these original forms do you mean?
I loved Childermass. He seems to be such a minor character at the beginning but slowly becomes more integral to the plot - I'm hoping that in a sequel Clarke tells a story from his perspective and/or gives us his background and history in more detail.
I did, of course, mean Tarot as a card game, not as a divination tool. Fantasy writers seem to like leaving that part out.
Childermass really was an interesting character. I believe that if Clarke really wanted to stretch the story out like Robert Jordan did the Wheel of Time, she could publish an entire prequel about Childermass. But that's just speculation.
i agree with all of ya'll that childermass is by far one of the most interesting characters. however, i don't think i'd like a prequel or anything about him because i think that would take away from his mystery. i always enjoyed his random appearances and think that's a particular success of clarke's novel.
I like Childermass as well.. His character has such depth. He knows all these fabulous things but there is never any explanation to how he came about his knowledge. I would definately read a story devoted entirely to him and his life.
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