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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
I love this book SO MUCH. My second read and just as good. I love the narrator, I love the footnotes, I love the world building, I love that the tone switches from Austen style irony to dark and mysterious and moving and SC is incredible at both. No notes, one of my favourite books. I miss it already.
All I can do is echo the Washington Post review: “Many books are to be read, some are to be studied, and a few are meant to be lived in for weeks. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is of this last kind.” Now to watch the BBC Series and to continue living in this novel for a few more weeks ❤️
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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
I LOOOVED this!! Like maybe my 2nd favorite book of all time? Even though my copy was 1000 pages, I could have kept reading for another 1000. Susanna Clarke is an amazing amazing writer — witty, detailed in all the right ways (the footnotes are NOT too much), and heartfelt. The magical world she created within a very realistic 1800s England was wonderful and I loved the characters (even the ones I hated.)
It takes maybe 150 pages to get into, then is engaging, and then reaches I-cannot-put-this-down level.
It certainly has the feel of a classic novel, rather than one written in 2004 (in a good way, imo), but if you're looking for a typical fantasy/magic novel it might not be the right one for you.
It takes maybe 150 pages to get into, then is engaging, and then reaches I-cannot-put-this-down level.
It certainly has the feel of a classic novel, rather than one written in 2004 (in a good way, imo), but if you're looking for a typical fantasy/magic novel it might not be the right one for you.
For some reason I just couldn't get into this book. While there were many interesting things going on in this book, it moved too slowly to keep my attention and when life is busy or my other hobbies get in the way ... this leads to the rare occurrence in which I will actually leave a book unfinished ... blasphemy!
I will say that this book reads more like a classic than a modern novel. Maybe I say this only because I read the Count of Monte Cristo somewhat recently ... and the setting and style of writing seem be similar. Usually, this style is appealing to me ... when I'm in the mood for it ...
I will say that this book reads more like a classic than a modern novel. Maybe I say this only because I read the Count of Monte Cristo somewhat recently ... and the setting and style of writing seem be similar. Usually, this style is appealing to me ... when I'm in the mood for it ...
Set in the Regency Period, this is a story of English magicians. We begin with Mr Gilbert Norrell, a keen collector of books on magic, who sees himself as the only practical magician in England, the others like those of the York Society being merely theoretical magicians. He impresses government ministers when with the aid of the Faerie king manages to bring an influential politician's newly deceased fiancée back to life. He is then employed to contribute to the war effort against the French and he manages to create an illusory fleet out of rain to keep the French ships stuck in their ports.
The book, I feel could have done with a good editor, it is incredibly long weighing in at over 1000 pages, there are flashes of brilliance but it is a long slog from beginning to end. We have to plough through a quarter of the book until we meet the second character from the title, Jonathan Strange, a second practical magician, who seems more of a natural at magic than the more scholarly Norrell. This book has copious footnotes, unusual in a work of fiction, relating often to fictitious tomes on English magic. The language is a kind of faux-Victorian with archaic spellings sprinkled liberally throughout the text like "chuse" and"shewed". Some of the characters names like Drawlight, Childermass and Honeyfoot seem to have walked out of a Dickensian novel. Real historic characters like the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron enter the story but do little to enhance the story. The characters are rather dry and the reader doesn't get emotionally attached to them. If you are expecting a Hogwart's for Grown-ups you will be disappointed. Clarke has clearly read many Victorian and Regency writers and has the literary nous, but J K Rowling is much better at drawing you into the fantasy world she creates with characters who move you.
The book, I feel could have done with a good editor, it is incredibly long weighing in at over 1000 pages, there are flashes of brilliance but it is a long slog from beginning to end. We have to plough through a quarter of the book until we meet the second character from the title, Jonathan Strange, a second practical magician, who seems more of a natural at magic than the more scholarly Norrell. This book has copious footnotes, unusual in a work of fiction, relating often to fictitious tomes on English magic. The language is a kind of faux-Victorian with archaic spellings sprinkled liberally throughout the text like "chuse" and"shewed". Some of the characters names like Drawlight, Childermass and Honeyfoot seem to have walked out of a Dickensian novel. Real historic characters like the Duke of Wellington and Lord Byron enter the story but do little to enhance the story. The characters are rather dry and the reader doesn't get emotionally attached to them. If you are expecting a Hogwart's for Grown-ups you will be disappointed. Clarke has clearly read many Victorian and Regency writers and has the literary nous, but J K Rowling is much better at drawing you into the fantasy world she creates with characters who move you.