Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

15 reviews

m_a_j's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, War

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Blood, Murder

Minor: Antisemitism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark funny mysterious 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

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A story of many threads, full of mystery and wonder and dry wit, that comes together in a magnificent way at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, War

Minor: Slavery, Antisemitism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail

zondo's review against another edition

0.25

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I wanted to like this, but considering we got only 6% of the way into the book and had one g-word slur and a character saying "rich as a Jew" I'm gonna pass. I get it, the book was written in 2004 and is supposed to be set in Victorian England, but we could have put just a little more effort into not being antisemitic in the 21st century.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Antisemitism

wren_is_tired's review against another edition

3.75

challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Murder, Classism

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous challenging dark mysterious 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Classism

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Xenophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Gun violence, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury

leeshajoy's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark funny tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Classism

Minor: Sexism, Antisemitism

kirstym25's review against another edition

2.0

adventurous mysterious 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, War

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism

vaguelyredhead's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious 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: Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, War

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery

Minor: Sexism, Antisemitism

macliffe's review against another edition

3.0

funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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The 3 stars I gave this book are purely because Susanna Clark is a genius. I still can barely believe this book was written in The 21st Century. It perfectly captures the 19th or early 20th century British literary style, down to spellings and slang. The footnotes made the world feel so real, like a lost piece of history, grounded in reality yet fantastical. It could have been a perfect book. 
The fatal flaw of this book is simply its length. If it had been about 300 pages like Piranesi, it would have been flawless. But 800+ pages of no plot, or at most a vague and confusing plot, does not work, at least for me. This book could have easily been condensed to half its size, and I have no clue why it’s so long and slow. I think she learned from this book because Piranesi is the perfect length while still maintaining the fantastical magic, worldbuilding, and plotless mystery that she does so well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Racism

Minor: Antisemitism

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.5

slow-paced

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This book reads like a classic. I’ve seen it described as a slow burn but I’m not sure it’s burning towards anything really. The author clearly has mastery over characterization and tone, but I found it boring. I wished there had been more focus on the women of the story. And I wished that the characters did anything. There is never really a moment that the pace quickens. There is hardly a climax and even less of a conclusion. It wasn’t a bad way to spend 21 hours, but I probably wouldn’t reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Classism

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Antisemitism, Death of parent

Minor: Sexual assault