What I like about The Devil & Miss Prym?
A lot of things.
What I feel about Paulo Coelho?
The greatest respect in the world.

Truly Coelho is a writer who speaks a universal language. His story is a simple story about human being. Just about human being, and how complicated their thinkings are in finding a simple meaning of life.

The first time I read TDMP I felt a familiar feeling. Before this I've read 'The Alchemist', one of his more successful book about the journey of a shepherd named Santiago in finding the buried treasure who finally realized that the buried treasure he was first seeking of is just near and the real treasure he found is himself. So as I start on TDMP I felt like I've known Coelho. His writings are so pure and 'readable', and although at times his subjects are complex, his way of explaining them are so easy that even a twelve years old can understand.

In TDMP, it started off with a stranger coming to the small dying town of Viscos, whose population of 281 people live in a peaceful quiet manner, with many of the young ones already migrated to other part of the country (it feels just like my kampung, dying little by little). The oldest is Berta, who has the special ability to see more than meets the outer layer of the world, and the youngest is the orphan barmaid Chantal Prym, whose main aim in life is to leave Viscos for good. Not anybody but Berta saw that the stranger who came to the town was a regular man... with devil on his side and nobody but Miss Prym saw that he came with a plan that would bring chaos to the town.

The game was simple. He told Chantal about some goldbars that he hid in the mountains, and offered Chantal (and the rest of Viscos) all those bars with one condition... that they should kill a person. Just one person, a sacrifice that would bring the dying Viscos wealth that can relive its Celtic glory. The story revolves around it, on how Miss Prym was to decide, to tell the people of Viscos or to run away with the goldbars... or IF she tell them would they be willing to do Evil for Good, or would they do Good and let Viscos die... Or if they decided not to do it whether it's because they're Good or just Coward by nature, afraid to make a change...

It's a battle of angels and demons...

I love it for it question the morality and rationality in simultaneous circle all at the same time. Miss Prym, who wasn't the most angelic person in the world, yet refuse to fall into the depth of evil just for the sake of goodness. The stranger, hellbound on proving to himself that Good does not exist just to justify his misery of losing his family. The town of Viscos, looking for reasons and excuses to justify and resolve the issues of their dying town. Berta, the one who would be sacrificed in the name of 'the greater good' fought back only to prove that she would not want to be the scapegoat of the situation. The devils, whispering irrational rationalities into the heart of everyone in order to possess the soul from Righteousness...

There is one passage that I love in this book,
"Very clever. Playing the part of a charitable soul was only for those who were afraid of taking a stand in life. it is always far easier to have faith in your own goodness than to confront others and fight for your rights. it is always easier to hear an insult and not retaliate than have the courage to fight back against someone stronger than yourself; we can always say we're not hurt by the stones others throw at us, and it's only at night - when we're alone and our wife or our husband or our school friend is asleep - that we can silently grieve over our own cowardice"    

Truth in the best words... 

(The design was created by the same guy who created the design for Neil Gaiman's novel STARDUST)

There are many differences of Susanna Clarke from JK Rowling. Although both writes about magic, while Rowling gave more attention on the whole studies of magic and more about a boy's adventure in fantasy, Clarke indeed focuses on the adult side of understanding of 'magick'. And the relationship between the human world and the sidhe; commonly known in malay society as 'orang bunian' whereas she calls them the Faeries.

And it seems that Clarke loves the Faeries very much to focus on this subject in The Ladies of Grace Adieu' after the introduction of the faery 'the man with thistled hair' and the legend of the Raven King in her debut 500 pages novel 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel'. TLOGA is a compilation of short stories pertaining magic and the subject of faeries. Clarke indeed makes...

What the hell am I talking about... writing like a boring book review. Sheesh

Okay so.  Unlike Rowling, Clarke focused more on the sinister side of magic; the lots of deceit and lies of the world of these faeries. There are 8 short stories other than the title story, each with its own quirkiness. Such as Mrs Mabb; a story about Mrs Mabb who was always heard of but never seen. Venetia Moore who had just return from nursing a friend was told by her sister that her 'boyfriend' is now smitten with Mrs Mabb and had leave everything even his militia to be with her. It triggered a 'war' between Venetia and Mrs Mabb which finally made her realized that Mrs Mabb isn't JUST an old widow she heard about. Mr Simonelli or The Fairy Widower tells a story of a clergyman (Mr Simonelli) who just realized that the first man he met when he came to his new parish is a Fairy widower who would abduct anyone he wants for his amusement and don't care what happened to them later. When the fairy widower suddenly wanted a new wife and had his eyes on the five sisters of Mr Simonelli's patronage, Mr Simonelli made it his mission to destroy the fairy widower once and for all. If you are familiar with the Raven King (John Uskglass) from 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel', there is also a story about him, and how a charcoal burner who has nothing was able to defeat John Uskglass; the world's greatest magician. Other good ones are in the likes of 'Duke of Wellington misplaces his horse' and 'Antickes and Frets' 

However might I advise those who wanted to read this to first read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrel since this book of short stories are somehow related to the subject of magick as she created in JSMN, for example, in The Ladies of Grace Adieu Jonathan Strange was in the story and it is actually a little part from JSMN book. Readers who started on LOGA without first read JSMN would find it puzzling at first because Susanna Clarke is one of the most peculiar writer I've ever seen. 

I love it because I love JSMN and I love peculiarity and how she can turn a simple history into a world of magic.
I may not ADORE it due to her underlining messages by the end of most stories, such as in 'The Duke of Wellington MIsplaces His Horse'

This may not be the book for you though, if you have a linear thoughts and not at all amused with magic and myths.