A review by tinylantern
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.

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.