Reviews - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

7.87k reviews for:

Well written, I loved the semi-academic prose and footnotes in this book. but I couldn't deal with the embarassment in some parts, and some of the other parts bugged me; hard to describe, but I dropped it around when Simon Black was getting trapped in the dreams of dancing

aperron's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

readingrobot's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bookishmagpie's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark funny mysterious 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

I would be perfectly content pursuing the end of this book forever. I'm so sad it ended.

Content Warnings

415alive's review against another edition

4.75

funny relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It’s just a delight to read. The closing third is a bit weaker, but it’s just a fascinating book that is written very much in the voice of a 19th century author. The historical sense of place is just unreal; it reads SO much like it’s of the era, but squeezes in a modern sensibility too. It’s also hilarious funny at points, and the footnotes rule.

mayurikaaa's review against another edition

5.0

I went into this knowing it would be an excellent because it was Susanna Clarke, and I was 100% correct. A really beautiful and compelling narrative of our titular characters that really drove the story, but had an excellent collection of side-characters that were equally as interesting. No one felt like a waste or somehow "minimal" in the story -- they were all fully fleshed out personas. Additionally, though the book is massive, Clarke did an excellent job of weaving between narratives to always keep the reader engaged.

The ending was certainly not what I was anticipated, but after further reflection, it really does fit the story quite smoothly, leading to a very satisfying end overall.

Truly an excellent read and I'm very glad that I finally got the chance to read it!