Review by patchworkculture - Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

patchworkculture 's review for:

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

4.5

dark funny hopeful informative 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

I never really knew what Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was about, despite it being on my radar for many years. After finishing Piranesi, I was extra intrigued to read more of Clarke’s work. My friend and I moved JSMN higher up on our buddy read list. The story of the magicians spanned about a decade in early 1800s England. There were only a few moments where I thought, “Alright, where is this going?”, but otherwise the slow unfolding of the plot made me appreciate and savor all the historical elements (real and imagined) that made the book so rich and layered, as well as all the little moments that built up to effectuate change in the story’s circumstances or the character relationships. Clarke did an amazing job with the atmosphere, creating a tone that was whimsical and proper, yet macabre, eerie, and dark. I could feel the wildness of nature/magic and the grayness of the English climate. Fans of the book might like Sorcerer to the Crown (Cho), A Marvellous Light (Marske), and Moonwise (Gilman), and, though I haven’t read any Austen (I’ve watched adaptations), some of the narrator’s bite made me think of the social commentary in Middlemarch. That pointed voice invited the reader to chew on questions of class, gender, and race, which I would have been all too happy for the text to explore more openly. Though I enjoyed the book as it was, with its love of books, themes of friendship and scholarship, and the gargantuan task of returning magic to the land, I’ve had a few days to reflect on my reading experience, which made me realize that I would have liked more even though that surely would have made the book 2-3 times longer. It would have been entertaining to get more perspectives from the Other Lands and some of the women who were on the periphery. The racialized language used to describe the fair folk, the satire concerning the hypocrisy and foolishness of gentlemen, and the reference to the incompatibility of Christianity and fairies interested me in particular as ideas worth expanding on. Maybe it’s a testament to the world that Clarke built that there were so many other potential threads to follow. I look forward to reading the Ladies of Grace Adieu and seeing which stories bring me back to this setting.

Content Warnings