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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.
charlote_1347's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely brilliant read. The composition, the writing, the plot, the characters, the pacing, the MAGIC are all hypnotic and smooth as silk to read. Nothing interrupts the flow of the novel, nothing trips up the reader when it comes to facts or fiction, and nothing, I found, made me bored or impatient. The footnotes were imaginative and intriguing, and helped to set the scene and provide background information in a creative way. The switching narratives achieved a similar effect. My only complaints, if they can be called that, are with the ending and the gruelling complexity of some of the chapters. I found that the author included perhaps a tad too much at times, especially during the scenes with magic, and this prevented me from truly becoming immersed. And the ending, while brilliantly formulated, left things unresolved. A drawback with any book of this quality is that it'll leave you wanting more, which this one definitely did, but regardless of this, I would recommend it to anyone interested in a revolutionary novel which will blow their minds.
mayke's review against another edition
4.0
Finally read this book that's been on my shelves for years. Loved the setting in the 1800s. I needed a little bit of time to get into it, but once I was it was amazing and I couldn't stop reading. I wasn't sure where the book was going once I was past the first half of the book, but the plot didn't disappoint me at all. I enjoyed reading how everything fell into place in the end.
This book is about magic. I was very curious to see how the magic would be portrayed in this book, being historical and set in the 1800s. The way the writer wrote and described the magic, I could perfectly imagine how it would've been. Absolutely beautiful, eerie and mysterious.
This book is quite a brick, but it's a great read to pick up.
This book is about magic. I was very curious to see how the magic would be portrayed in this book, being historical and set in the 1800s. The way the writer wrote and described the magic, I could perfectly imagine how it would've been. Absolutely beautiful, eerie and mysterious.
This book is quite a brick, but it's a great read to pick up.
manjala's review against another edition
3.0
I find myself having difficulty describing my thoughts and feelings upon this book. I think it's one of the rare occasions where I actually preferred watching the TV series over reading it. (if you are interested in the story but feel daunted by the length of this book-- I heartily recommend watching the show!)
This one took me a long-ass time, because of the prose but also because I feel like lots of parts of the story felt too long winded and took me out of the immersion completely. On most days I struggled with picking up the book and doing some actual reading. At other times I found myself lost in the magic of a scene, enjoying the story and atmosphere immensely, and felt like the book wasn't as long as it felt most of the other moments I was reading. My conclusion thus far is that there are parts or scenes with dialogue that could've been made shorter or left out altogether.
Which brings me to my next point:
The writing style is very focused on dialogue between characters, and I was glad to have some visual reference from the TV series, otherwise it would've been quite difficult to keep the characters in my head straight and clearly pictured. Some environments, which were beautifully made in the show (such as the so called "Other Lands"), were barely described in the novel, which disappointed me. This is a problem I tend to have with classical novels in general, and as this felt like a English classic, I feel like it's more a problem on my part that other people might not have.
My last point is that the fact that there were barely any scenes from the point of view of either Norrell or Strange made it more difficult for me to get attached to both of them. Which is a shame in my opinion, since this story basically revolves around the pair of magicians in the first place!
This one took me a long-ass time, because of the prose but also because I feel like lots of parts of the story felt too long winded and took me out of the immersion completely. On most days I struggled with picking up the book and doing some actual reading. At other times I found myself lost in the magic of a scene, enjoying the story and atmosphere immensely, and felt like the book wasn't as long as it felt most of the other moments I was reading. My conclusion thus far is that there are parts or scenes with dialogue that could've been made shorter or left out altogether.
Which brings me to my next point:
The writing style is very focused on dialogue between characters, and I was glad to have some visual reference from the TV series, otherwise it would've been quite difficult to keep the characters in my head straight and clearly pictured. Some environments, which were beautifully made in the show (such as the so called "Other Lands"), were barely described in the novel, which disappointed me. This is a problem I tend to have with classical novels in general, and as this felt like a English classic, I feel like it's more a problem on my part that other people might not have.
My last point is that the fact that there were barely any scenes from the point of view of either Norrell or Strange made it more difficult for me to get attached to both of them. Which is a shame in my opinion, since this story basically revolves around the pair of magicians in the first place!
jwolflink3's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emilygray4's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
evescanlon's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sltah's review against another edition
4.0
For a book heavy on the portrayal of madness, the prose is incredibly clear, logical, stately and scientific. In one aspect the logical matches well with the parodized scholarly treatment of english magic, in another it forms nice contrast with the theme of irrationality. The description of marvels are calm and prescription-like, and there is no word wasted. Essentially the author is highly mindful of the craft she places in her work just as a magician minding the composition of his spell - there is not a surfeit of egotistical overflow/ramblings as in many novels (which do not decidedly weigh down on a book but I appreciate when someone tells a story well and conveys a philosophy both!).
theogb451's review against another edition
4.0
Frustrating but great. The atmosphere and ideas are so wonderful but the style of telling is meandering and hard to latch onto. It is a perfect pastiche of the one Dickens I have read: The Pickwick Papers but combining that with an actual strong story narrative is part of the issue for me, 4 not 5 stars.
andreaalegaspi's review against another edition
5.0
Was 1000+ pages needed? Not sure. But in the style of big English Classics, I finish this with no regret for any of the chapters. Loved this!!!! Susanna Clarke is truly a modern-day master of this genre.