Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

The following review is written by my 15 year old daughter for whom I bought this book:

I’ve read a lot of reviews of the kindle version of this book stating that it is boring, (as if it were a fact.) Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to flat out say it’s boring is an insult to what I consider to be a masterpiece. Not my cup of tea would be the better thing to say. For me, it was a page turner, and I actually wish it were longer. I’m inclined to think that if it were infinitely long, I’d just keep on reading and reading!
Why do I love this book so much? The writing, for one thing. It’s beautiful, and I just love the way the author described things. I almost laughed out loud at some of the comic descriptions of characters, but other times the descriptions were just plain creepy or haunting.
The plot was also very interesting to me. The characters are fully fleshed out, and I came to feel as if I knew them. A lot of the book is spent describing things and on conversations between characters, without a lot actually happening, per sey, but to me, it just never got boring. Most of the actual action happens near the end. It’s not a thriller, but to me, it’s infinitely better. And no, this is not Harry Potter for grown ups. I personally prefer it to Harry Potter, but if it’s two magicians flinging fireballs at each other you’re looking for, this isn’t it. The magic tends to be things like walking through mirrors, making it rain, and conjuring up visions.
Like I said, everyone’s entitled to their opinions. This is mine. In short, this is a wonderfully well written book that is sometimes creepy, sometimes comic, and sometimes serious. It’s not for someone with a short attention span. The length never bothered me, but if you’re willing to commit, it honestly doesn’t take that long to read. I have already HIGHLY recommended this book to some of my friends, and over the years, I will go back and read it over and over again.

In 1806 magic is believed to be dead in England until a society of theoretical magicians uncovers Mr. Norrell, the first practicing magician of hundreds of years. Mr. Norrell is firmly in the public eye when another magician, Mr. Strange, emerges to become his student. Together, these very different magicians are tasked with returning magic to England.

That is a very rough description of a 1000 page book. Truthfully, theres a whole lot more going on but to say too much would be leading me into giving away spoilers.

As already mentioned, this is a very long book. In fact, its divided into three books, each named after the important magicians in the story (Strange, Norrell, and the long ago Raven King). A warning here Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is slowly paced and slow burning. The action and pace dont pick up until the climax in the last hundred pages or so.

So why, might you ask, would I read a book with 900 pages of build up? Because that build up is so enjoyable. Susanna Clarke is an excellent writer (shes using the style of classic nineteenth century authors), and her writing is not without humor. I was not at all expecting it, but often I would laugh out load upon reading a line. Take this quote for instance:

Houses, like people, are apt to become rather eccentric if left too much on their own; this house was the architectural equivalent of an old gentleman in a worn dressing-gown and torn slippers, who got up and went to bed at odd times of day, and who kept up a continual conversation with friends no one else could see.

I love the footnotes as well. Sometimes theyre just explaining a reference to a magical text, but often they are stories within a story, like the fairy tale about the Master of Nottinghams daughter and her quest to retrieve the magic ring. Other times she uses footnotes (as well as in text commentary) to skewer the prejudices of the age. Theres a certain irony in that Strange and Norrell are acceptable magicians because they are gentlemen, even though others such as Childermass would probably make just as good or better magicians.

If you pick this one up, youve got to have at least some interest in history or a liking of classic English writing like Jane Austin. If youre looking for the usual action adventure, medieval world type fantasy, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is not for you. If youre looking for something different, an original fantasy book, than this is the book for you.

This is without doubt one of the finest books I’ve ever read. I was a little unsure at first. The style is (deliberately) old-fashioned and the pace very slow. If you haven’t the patience for that, then this is not the book for you – I suspect that every one of the 1star reviews are due to style. It hasn’t been sliced and diced by an editor to hit the modern profit sweetspot of 70-80k words (and thank you so much Bloomsbury for understanding the need to leave it be. Cutting it to the desirable size for a new author would have destroyed it).

If you have the patience, or are a fan of 18th and 19th century fiction, then buy it! Buy it now! It’s fabulous. There’s a rich fictional history that is slowly exposed through footnotes, alongside a story of two deeply flawed men, each blundering along a magical path they believe they understand, but which is utterly obscured from their view. There are no obvious heroes or villains here. No clearcut moral values. Mistakes are made and consequences felt.

It’s rare I’ll read a book that has me exclaiming aloud at the actions of a character, knowing that it will cause mayhem and yet having only the dimmest notion what the consequences will be. It’s even rarer to read something where I truly don’t know where it’s going. There’s no wellworn literary path here, no tired story tropes.

Without saying too much and spoiling it I don’t know what else to say. Just buy it. Do it now.

Dazzling. Beautifully written and an extraordinary story – a real masterpiece. One of the best things I’ve read in ages. Steeped in magic to the point where it stays with you all day long, and colours the whole world around you in its image. I loved every one of the characters – even the villainous and overtly venal (Lascelles and poor, pathetic Drawlight, and the petty, spiteful Mr. Norrell. Every one of them, human or faery, is thoroughly well rounded and believable, and the whole thing sparkles from beginning to end. Loved every minute of it, and I actually feel bereft now that I have finished reading.

Captivating, fascinating, scary. Some aspects almost believable in that you wish they were true, others so frightening that you are very glad the life that might lie around the corner can never creep out to whisk you off to that appalling ballroom. Almost impossible to review seriously because it is so unusual it can only be compared with ‘Gormenghast’ in modern English literature, I’d like to know how much of this false magical history is true in some weird way about ancient legends and the beliefs of early 19th century mystics and sorcerers? I enjoyed it so much on my Kindle and on TV that aI went and bought the hardback 1st edition because I wanted the ‘thing’ of the book itself. It is really meaty and attractive in the hand and even has illustrations; they don’t quite compare to Mervyn Peake’s in artistic terms, but they belong to the story’s period and add greatly both to the volume’s atmosphere of dreadful fascination and to my hunch that it might be seriously valuable in twenty or thirty years. A real five star achievement for Susanna Clarke (and the TV actors and producers) can we have more magical frighteners of this quality please?

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