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

4.0

"All magicians lie and this one more than most."

Exceptionally long, but purely magical. This is the gentleman's story of magic. If you enjoy 19th century etiquette (or the critique thereof), fairy tales, and excellent usage of footnotes, you will love this story. Seriously, this is what footnotes were made for.

It is very long and it is somewhat tedious, but it works as long as you remember that the story is about these two magicians and those they interact with more than about what they actually do (the magic is nonsensical). The long exchanges and apparent diversions are important to character building... except for the fairy tales, which are just delightful.