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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
on the whole the story needed the scaffolding it established, but it was tiresome to get through to finally see the conclusion. i'm different now for having read it, and i found the conclusion really satisfying, but i wish literally anyone else in the book had been the primary focus instead of gilbert norrell
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' is set in England in the early 19th century (1806-1817 to be precise), but in an alternative universe in which magic plays a significant part. The book is written in an easy, somewhat ironic style, and at times almost reads like a children's book.
Clarke is at her best when describing magic. In her world magic always has an eerie, otherworldly and uncomfortable quality. Most interesting is the account of Lady Pole and Stephen Black, two people who get enchanted by a mysterious man with 'thistledown hair'. Unfortunately, the accounts of magic and these haunting tales are few and far between, and Clarke devotes much too many pages to more mundane matters. These chapters give her story believability, as do her numerous notes, which provide a convincing background story to this world of magic.
The non-magical chapters without doubt are the origins of the connections to Jane Austen and Charles Dickens many people make. But Clarke misses both Austen's subtle psychology and Dickens's social undercurrents, and has only kept their overflow of words. Only too often the reader finds himself in strands of boring events, leaving more exciting tales aside. Even a tale of magic during the battle of Waterloo only feels like a digression from the main plot.
Thus, despite the easy prose, reading this novel often feels like plowing through pages in hope of finding a magical event once again. Luckily, during the last 200 pages the book finally finds the momentum and urge it should have had all along, and Clarke brings her book to nice and quite surprising finale. Three stars, because Clarke has managed to conjure a convincing world of magic, but no more, because I feel the book could be much, much shorter.
Portia Rosenberg's amateurish and all too literal illustrations add nothing to the book, and could easily be missed.
Clarke is at her best when describing magic. In her world magic always has an eerie, otherworldly and uncomfortable quality. Most interesting is the account of Lady Pole and Stephen Black, two people who get enchanted by a mysterious man with 'thistledown hair'. Unfortunately, the accounts of magic and these haunting tales are few and far between, and Clarke devotes much too many pages to more mundane matters. These chapters give her story believability, as do her numerous notes, which provide a convincing background story to this world of magic.
The non-magical chapters without doubt are the origins of the connections to Jane Austen and Charles Dickens many people make. But Clarke misses both Austen's subtle psychology and Dickens's social undercurrents, and has only kept their overflow of words. Only too often the reader finds himself in strands of boring events, leaving more exciting tales aside. Even a tale of magic during the battle of Waterloo only feels like a digression from the main plot.
Thus, despite the easy prose, reading this novel often feels like plowing through pages in hope of finding a magical event once again. Luckily, during the last 200 pages the book finally finds the momentum and urge it should have had all along, and Clarke brings her book to nice and quite surprising finale. Three stars, because Clarke has managed to conjure a convincing world of magic, but no more, because I feel the book could be much, much shorter.
Portia Rosenberg's amateurish and all too literal illustrations add nothing to the book, and could easily be missed.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a book! I would have rated it higher but I confess the slow meandering pace did ultimately put me off, especially when compared with how quickly everything resolved at the end.
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Currently shelving this one. I want to give it another go at a later date. I just couldn’t get into it right now.
In a word, this is Enthralling.
The characters... the magic... the twists …the plot.. it kept surprising me which only made me more invested!
Susanna must have been a fan of the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwall, a series I grew up with, the fact you pitch the return of magic, magic being ingrained into the world and the Napoleonic age... what a wonderful world that my inner child loved!
No spoilers but it is a LONG book and although it slowly builds up the characters, the plot and the world building.. without a doubt the ramp up to the ending.... it gets FAST!
This was fun.
The characters... the magic... the twists …the plot.. it kept surprising me which only made me more invested!
Susanna must have been a fan of the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwall, a series I grew up with, the fact you pitch the return of magic, magic being ingrained into the world and the Napoleonic age... what a wonderful world that my inner child loved!
No spoilers but it is a LONG book and although it slowly builds up the characters, the plot and the world building.. without a doubt the ramp up to the ending.... it gets FAST!
This was fun.