Reviews with content warning for War - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a cross between historical fiction and fantasy that follows these two men as they research magical history and practice and attempt to carve out a place for magic in England. I enjoyed reading about the eccentric magicians, but I think it's the secondary characters who really bring the story to life. The book is quite long, can be slow at times, and is heavily character-driven so I hesitate to recommend it to most, but for the right audience it is a delight. I loved the additional lore and context added through footnotes and thought it was a clever way to bring in more info and mirror the magical texts the characters might be reading.

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adrizeuza's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious sad slow-paced

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

4.25

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disastrousnetwork's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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nicolleschumacher's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

This is the longest book that I have read to date but I really enjoyed the journey of it. I found it to be very funny (the humour is very reminiscent of Jane Austen) but also interesting, definitely something that has to be reread to truly understand completely. I wish we saw more of Childermass as he was my favourite. I can see myself rereading this in the future as a comfort read as it’s not too heavy but it really engulfs you in the story and there is so much to discover and ponder on.

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jehansflowers's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

fuck i enjoyed this book. maybe its just bc i was listening to the audiobook at 1.9x speed, but i found it way more digestible than i was expecting. more than anything it was really just incredibly impressive. it was thoroughly well-researched, and melded that with the unique magic system and alternate history beautifully. honestly, very fun read.
my primary criticism is this: couldve been gayer

12/27/22 edit: didnt put a star rating on it before, but its getting 5 bc i still think about this book at least once a week

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