7) The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud


I had a little difficulty bracing myself to write this entry on this particular book... only because I loved it so much.

I simply cannot believe how emotionally tied I became with the novel and its characters. I haven't been pulled into the events of a book this closely for a long time. (I was sitting in the library, and everything simply fell away. There were barely words on the pages, just the story appearing before me, as if I were there.) Seriously, the last page hurt in a bittersweet sort of way. And this is what, the third time I've read this book? I don't know what makes Stroud's Bartimaeus Trilogy so clinching for me. I think for one part, it's Bartimaeus, as a djinni with an inexorable store of wit and dry sarcasm, I love hearing him speak in first person (I can't wait till his chapters come around). The main character, the young boy Nathaniel, is not particularly the nicest kid on the block, but I can't blame him either for his brusque upbringing. There is something about his determination, though naive at times, and at others simply arrogant, that appeals to me. He makes mistakes - huge mistakes, yet he has some scrap of responsibility (for one so young!) to admit his wrongdoing - and I see that reflected in my past, and my wrongdoings. If I could have had the courage, however silly and painful at the moment, to simply say the truth, the ends prove to be better. Nathaniel is arrogant and at times it irks me, but he learns slowly. In the trials he goes through, he learns (however slowly) that status is not everything. I see the importance of him taking on menial jobs and tasks as he pursues his goal as useful learning tools, and again I see parallels to my own life. And - I guess that's what makes this novel so extraordinary. I found this reading so valuable, because I related to young Nathaniel, and his thirst for knowledge. Although his master does not teach him sufficiently, he takes his own initiative and studies books to supplement his thirst. I remember that in me, and reading this again, I found that thirst I had has deadened in the face of my own platitudes. I have fallen into the habit of learning only what teachers teach, and that is all. But what if that is not sufficient? No, it is not sufficient - and in a way, Nathaniel, for all his arrogance, brattiness, immaturity, and youth, I have found that spark again. No, I will not settle for less, when I can do more.

Stroud is brilliant with his writing. He has characters that are real and events that flow without predictable twists and turns. The society the book is set in is not ours, for it contains magic, but the time period is in a fairly present setting. (There's references to modern things, like Saran Wrap *hehe*) I suppose it is an alternate history of sorts. And, Stroud is adept at complex plotting, for the references now will extend well into the last  book. Somehow the novel is a fast read (simply because I cannot put the book down - I am so sucked into the world, surroundings, smells, sounds). Stroud is vivid, and both humorous and serious.

I cannot give any greater recommendation than for this series.

(Of course, this does not mean I am turning my back to other great books I hold near and dear to my heart, such as The Old Kingdom series and The Time Master Trilogy. ^^ Simply, The Bartimaeus Trilogy joins the ranks of these books that are amaranthine.)

-Lila