Reviews

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

tinylantern's review against another edition

I love Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi, so I thought I’d read her bestselling debut to explore more of the surreal worlds she has created. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell started off interesting with the cozy dark academia atmosphere, diverse characters, and the “practical” view of magic. I was also impressed by the author’s detailed footnotes no matter the length. Midway through part 2, there just seemed to be so many side stories going on and I could no longer keep up. It was tempting to skip through battle scenes but I worried I’d miss out on essential events. Marking this book DNF for now because I want to move on to the rest of my TBR list. Still considering picking it up again someday because I believe it’s worth finishing.

kelseyleftwich's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring relaxing tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

s_h_a_r_i's review against another edition

4.0

Beautifully written, but might have been more edible if it weren't as insanely long and long-winded.

jay_hobday's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

amyingomar's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jaxenne's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

ldillaway's review against another edition

5.0

This is book is not going to be for everyone…it’s a very slow burn, it’s incredibly long and meandering, and it honestly took a few hundred pages for it to hook me into the plot at all. But in the end, I loved it. It’s masterfully written, the world is beautifully realized and completely immersive, and (despite a number of comments I’ve seen to the contrary) I loved reading the footnotes and found the ending to be quite satisfactory.

lordbyron's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ckcarpenter2's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

hastyentreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0