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Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

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3rdtimelucky's review against another edition

5.0

My one complaint is honestly that the footnotes weren't footnote-y enough!!!

Feels like it should be taught as an example of how to write with a big cast. In particular the blending of "majority" and "minority" perspectives. And the bar is low but I have to give points to a historical novel that remembers jews exist <333 Although a character who Is a book is SUCH a cool concept I wish it got more focus.

The slowly building confrontation between mysticism and stuffy Regency academy was done brilliantly but also unexpectedly hilarious.

I love noticing Clarke's interest in the sky & weather across this and Piranesi! Makes me want to reread Piranesi after this

dptillman's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

rajs's review against another edition

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4.0

Alternate history novel about magic returning to England. Starts out slow and dry, but the book is worth reading and definitely has funny moments

stoker's review against another edition

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5.0

I don’t know if this is the right word to describe this book but my experience reading this book was so delightful?!

The author masterfully crafted this book (which is astonishing for a debut author honestly).

The writing wasn’t clunky despite the book being 1000+ pages. Every scene felt important in either creating depth within a character or progressing the plot. This is even more remarkable when you see how many footnotes there are😭😭. Susanna made this book feel like a historical account too which is why I loved this book so much. The footnotes were the perfect touch.

The characters are definitely my favourite part of this book. Norrell is a jittery, stuck up little man that you are so frustrated with from the get go. The way he was pictured by the people he met was hilarious. Even though I didn’t like him, his PoV was interesting to read from, again showing how good the author is. Stranger’s arc was so fun to read about and his conclusion was perfect. The side characters were everything to me. Childermass, Stephen Black, Arabella Strange were my favourite and I will miss them all🥹

Deffo a new fave I will love this book forever.

luise96's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

cellardoor10's review against another edition

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4.0

The last little bit kind of drags, but I found the first 90% overall very charming. I can see why some people don't like this. I personally enjoyed the footnotes. I thought the charm, tone, and style made up some for the overly detailed long-form explanations of parts. There's very little character development anywhere, which is both irritating at times and a little bit explained by the time you reach the end, but given this book covers something like 11 years, it does seem striking.

I greatly enjoyed the snarky references to Lord Byron and his absurd travels across Europe. Overall, Clarke does a very good job weaving her fictions in with history in a fun "spot the Easter eggs" kind of way. That was really fun for me.