Scan barcode
dianagrilo's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and thought of, but it was, at times, a little slow paced. However I strongly recommend it to everyone who enjoys books about magic.
bantwalkers's review against another edition
5.0
I read somewhere that this was a melding of Jane Austen and J.R.R. Tolkien, which isn't a selling point for me. However, if I have been putting off those authors because I think they seem boring, and they are half as inventive, witty, and well-drawn as this, then I have done myself a great disservice.
Of course, I have read neither of those. Nor do I know much about what they write. I am not a huge fantasy fan, and I could not tell you what a comedy of manners is. So I have no real jumping-off point, but my own.
I feel hard pressed to call this book epic, even if it takes place during England's war with Napoleon, has quite a bit of magic and fantasy, about 20 important characters that it spends plenty of time with, and is 800 pages long. No . . . what I enjoyed about it is not its epicness, but its lack of that. Instead I appreciated how complete it was. We get the complete history of the two title characters, but Clarke spends a good deal of time fleshing out more minor characters also. The reader can easily become invested in each and every person, even the more villainous ones, because they are completely 3-dimensional (and not in some gimmicky, James Cameron-y way.) In that same vein, she doesn't give the magic short-shrift. It feels organic and believable. The characters never use the magic to get them out of some sort of suspense-filled moment. Most of the magic is well-planned, researched, and comes with consequences both good and bad. Some of it is just plain beautiful, like when Clarke tells of Norrell creating ships out of rain to mystify the French military. Other times it is quite wicked, as in the story of Stephen Black's naming.
I was also in awe of how historically accurate Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell seemed. That is not to say it is historically accurate. After all, magic was not used to defeat Napoleon. Was it? That's how it works too. When Strange or Norrell venture out of their drawing rooms or libraries, into 1800's England, one can't help but wonder, "Did this really happen?"
Of course, I have read neither of those. Nor do I know much about what they write. I am not a huge fantasy fan, and I could not tell you what a comedy of manners is. So I have no real jumping-off point, but my own.
I feel hard pressed to call this book epic, even if it takes place during England's war with Napoleon, has quite a bit of magic and fantasy, about 20 important characters that it spends plenty of time with, and is 800 pages long. No . . . what I enjoyed about it is not its epicness, but its lack of that. Instead I appreciated how complete it was. We get the complete history of the two title characters, but Clarke spends a good deal of time fleshing out more minor characters also. The reader can easily become invested in each and every person, even the more villainous ones, because they are completely 3-dimensional (and not in some gimmicky, James Cameron-y way.) In that same vein, she doesn't give the magic short-shrift. It feels organic and believable. The characters never use the magic to get them out of some sort of suspense-filled moment. Most of the magic is well-planned, researched, and comes with consequences both good and bad. Some of it is just plain beautiful, like when Clarke tells of Norrell creating ships out of rain to mystify the French military. Other times it is quite wicked, as in the story of Stephen Black's naming.
I was also in awe of how historically accurate Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell seemed. That is not to say it is historically accurate. After all, magic was not used to defeat Napoleon. Was it? That's how it works too. When Strange or Norrell venture out of their drawing rooms or libraries, into 1800's England, one can't help but wonder, "Did this really happen?"
undiscoveredanomaly's review against another edition
difficult to get through, not because of the sheer size but the overall complexity of the delivery and the fact that nothing happens. why is it so slow. there was no need. simply it felt as if i was sinking in syrup, the sweetness of a potentially fantastic read and the slow death that is the pace. i chose to live. i will not get back the hours i spent reading those 300 pages.
ocole10's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kirstar's review against another edition
BORING! Almost nothing happened and I kept waiting for something to happen. It was all talk. Very dreadful to read.
joshoonet's review against another edition
So. Slow. Paced.
Also not a fan of the 19th century writing style and not interested in politics
Also not a fan of the 19th century writing style and not interested in politics
swamp_gass's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This books feels like it took 10 years to write, oh it did. It also took 10 years to read. This book says nothing for hundreds of pages. It’s just two British white men at odds with each other for hundreds and hundreds of pages. The plot is so slow and uninteresting it was very difficult to stay invested. I did somehow make it through the whole book. I think I kept expecting and hoping it would get better or something interesting or of note would happen, but even when the plot climaxed it was somehow dull. Very disappointing.
mrsrccockrell's review against another edition
3.0
I couldn’t give this any more than 3 stars because it was just too long. It’s a great story and I love thick books, but they need to be thick for a reason.
baileysmusical's review
DNF at 12% which was a little over 100 pages. I enjoyed some of it but it didn’t keep my interest enough. Will probably try this one again sometime in the future.
krystalmath4's review against another edition
4.0
I DNF this book. It's not a bad book. The drier humor is great, and a lot of the dialogue and little events are pretty amusing. Stephen Black is my favorite. But it's sooo long and soooo slow moving. After about 500 pages, it grew to be a chore to read. And this was not helped when I learned it was made into a short series! I will gladly sacrifice some of the book details to watch the show and get the gist of this story much faster.
UPDATE:
I managed to finish this. Upon reading other reviews, apparently I hit the wall just before the story picks up. I agree. The last 300 pages were much smoother to get through.
With it finished, the ending was somewhat disappointing and tragic. I have so many questions. But it is really well done how many things throughout the book come together.
I do recommend this book, but take your time. I was able to finish it by reading something else alongside it.
UPDATE:
I managed to finish this. Upon reading other reviews, apparently I hit the wall just before the story picks up. I agree. The last 300 pages were much smoother to get through.
With it finished, the ending was somewhat disappointing and tragic. I have so many questions. But it is really well done how many things throughout the book come together.
I do recommend this book, but take your time. I was able to finish it by reading something else alongside it.