Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
much better upon the second reading. it's still an immensely slow build, though
Audio CD
Published Dec. 6, 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
4 stars
(163 reviews)
Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centred on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel. It inverts the Industrial Revolution conception of the North-South divide in England: in this book the North is romantic and magical, rather than rational and concrete.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
1 star
Tedious book. Nicely written, but about two thirds through I realized nothing more would happen, and quit.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
I fear I will never be satisfied by a book about magicians.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has some great ideas and pleasant prose, but the bones of the story don't hold together enough to make a satisfying book. Granted, it is Susanna's Clarke's first novel so some problems with the construction are to be expected, but what the book is sorely in need of is an aggressive editor. The book is simply too long: it's a rare thing that the book would be better if none of the main plot were changed but 200 pages of extraneous material were removed. It's inexcusable that the book does not begin to cohere until the third act after 600 odd pages of meandering. If the end came more quickly, then the unsatisfying mystique of it could be explained by a lack of development, but shoe horning in a half baked ending after …
I fear I will never be satisfied by a book about magicians.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell has some great ideas and pleasant prose, but the bones of the story don't hold together enough to make a satisfying book. Granted, it is Susanna's Clarke's first novel so some problems with the construction are to be expected, but what the book is sorely in need of is an aggressive editor. The book is simply too long: it's a rare thing that the book would be better if none of the main plot were changed but 200 pages of extraneous material were removed. It's inexcusable that the book does not begin to cohere until the third act after 600 odd pages of meandering. If the end came more quickly, then the unsatisfying mystique of it could be explained by a lack of development, but shoe horning in a half baked ending after a ream of pages is incredibly frustrating.
Part of the novel's problem is the attempt to fuse two novels in one: J&N attempts to be a story of magic and magicians, but also a period piece in the vein of Austen. And tonally, I think Clarke largely succeeds. The difficulty is the pacing - the presence of the very interesting magicians demands a certain velocity to the plot, some "action," that the comedy of manners dissuades. Every quibbling meeting with Norrell is time that could have been spent advancing the plot. This would almost be excused if the development of the characters were satisfying enough that the action of the plot was secondary, but after so many pages of conversation and development the characters go nowhere. Norrell becomes slightly less crotchety and that's about it. Secondary characters have major developments, but entirely in the last 50 pages of an 800+ page book. The mischievous fairy acting as the primary antagonist is never given any real power until the end of the novel, and is ultimately purposeless. While this illustrates the mischief of the fairy folk, it makes for a terrible antagonist. The magicians aren't even aware of him until nearly the end of the book! In the same vein, the entire subplot of the fairy and Stephen Black is given great significance but for no apparent reason. No apparent reason is the great takeaway of the ending: a lot happens, but for no apparent reason. Reference is made to ancient magicians and cryptic prophecies, but these threads winding through the book are never made explicit or developed enough to explain anything.
For long stretches of the book, Clarke doesn't even seem interested in advancing the plot. Norrell waves away concerns about Lady Pole (the source of later plot development), Arabella neglects to obviously magical problems with her husband (the magician!), and Strange forgets where he saw a lady without a finger. It requires an enormous suspension of disbelief to believe that these characters are simply that stupid as to ignore these signs, and the serial deflections kick the can of meaningful plot development back another 100 pages.
Focusing so much on the negative I don't want to give the impression that my experience with the book was bad - by no means. I liked the book, and would gladly pick up a sophomore effort, but J&N sorely needed an editor to rein in Clarke's excess. I'd say 1 star off for being way too long, and then another star for the poor plot development.
3.5 / 5
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Je crois qu'il s'agit de la deuxième ou troisième fois où j'ai commencé à lire ce long roman. J'ai lu plusieurs critiques qui confirmaient l'impression que j'avais gardé de ce livre : c'est lent, il ne se passe grand chose, et les digressions sont nombreuses. Mais cette fois, je suis allé au bout, et je ne le regrette pas. Là où je diverge des critiques que j'ai lues, c'est que je n'ai pas pensé "tout ça pour ça !" à la fin de ma lecture, bien au contraire. Même si le début (et même le milieu !) du roman est lent et qu'on ne comprend pas forcément où cela va nous amener, j'ai adoré la fin et j'ai finalement apprécié que tout cela ait été amené avec subtilité et en décrivant au préalable un univers précis et passionnant. Je ne sais pas si j'aurai le courage de relire ce pavé …
Je crois qu'il s'agit de la deuxième ou troisième fois où j'ai commencé à lire ce long roman. J'ai lu plusieurs critiques qui confirmaient l'impression que j'avais gardé de ce livre : c'est lent, il ne se passe grand chose, et les digressions sont nombreuses. Mais cette fois, je suis allé au bout, et je ne le regrette pas. Là où je diverge des critiques que j'ai lues, c'est que je n'ai pas pensé "tout ça pour ça !" à la fin de ma lecture, bien au contraire. Même si le début (et même le milieu !) du roman est lent et qu'on ne comprend pas forcément où cela va nous amener, j'ai adoré la fin et j'ai finalement apprécié que tout cela ait été amené avec subtilité et en décrivant au préalable un univers précis et passionnant. Je ne sais pas si j'aurai le courage de relire ce pavé un jour, mais j'en garderai certainement un très bon souvenir.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Fantastic and fun Victorian alternate history, in a world where old magic is rediscovered.
Review of 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
I thought I had read this before. And didn't like it much. It just came across as too self-conscious and pompous. But listening to it gave me a whole new appreciation for it. Loved this! And the reader was just amazing. Just perfectly "rainy and English," as a friend of mine put it recently.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
I just could not bring myself to finish the book. The story was nice, but the Jane Austen style was too annoying for me. The writing style is the sole reason I abandoned the book.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Sadly, I didn't care for this book - it just didn't engage me. I found the setting interesting, but not enough so to carry the book - and for me, the characters and the meandering plot were both lacking. I found it slow going, and it's only because I'm too stubborn to abandon a book half-read (unless it's TRULY awful) that I finished it at all.
This is not to say that it's not a good book, and I'm sure there are plenty of readers who will love it. It just wasn't for me.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This was a wonderful book. I found it extremely imaginative, it gave me the impression that inventing small side stories and fleshing-out details came very easily to the author, and it's all very enjoyable to read. The scale of the story is large, ambitious, and convincing, while at the same time, essentially a fairy tale.
My only complaint is exactly that: at times, the book was too much of a fairy tale. The magicians' powers seem immense in one field and very limited in another. This caused me to lose faith in any notion of measure for a magician's power. A magician can move whole cities, why can't they just win a war with a single word? Why can't they just assassinate someone in France? I'm not saying there should be specific rules, that would be silly and gamey, and I would still complain. But here, magic was totally random. …
This was a wonderful book. I found it extremely imaginative, it gave me the impression that inventing small side stories and fleshing-out details came very easily to the author, and it's all very enjoyable to read. The scale of the story is large, ambitious, and convincing, while at the same time, essentially a fairy tale.
My only complaint is exactly that: at times, the book was too much of a fairy tale. The magicians' powers seem immense in one field and very limited in another. This caused me to lose faith in any notion of measure for a magician's power. A magician can move whole cities, why can't they just win a war with a single word? Why can't they just assassinate someone in France? I'm not saying there should be specific rules, that would be silly and gamey, and I would still complain. But here, magic was totally random.
Other than that, the book is marvellously beautiful in every aspect.
Review of 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
What a delicious surprise. This was ... quite unlike anything I was expecting. It works at so many levels: the characters, the setting, the story. The prose. Oh, the words:
The day of the visit was preceded by stormy weather; rain had made long ragged pools in the bare, brown fields; wet roofs were like cold stone mirrors; and Mr. Honeyfoot's post-chaise travelled through a world that seemed to contain a much higher proportion of chill grey sky and a much smaller one of solid comfortable earth than was usually the case.
That brought me to a screeching halt just a few pages in. I had to reread it. Then slow down. Read it again. And, with a sigh, realize that this was not going to be a quick read. Not only is it a tome, I was going to have to read it at a gentler pace. And I …
What a delicious surprise. This was ... quite unlike anything I was expecting. It works at so many levels: the characters, the setting, the story. The prose. Oh, the words:
The day of the visit was preceded by stormy weather; rain had made long ragged pools in the bare, brown fields; wet roofs were like cold stone mirrors; and Mr. Honeyfoot's post-chaise travelled through a world that seemed to contain a much higher proportion of chill grey sky and a much smaller one of solid comfortable earth than was usually the case.
That brought me to a screeching halt just a few pages in. I had to reread it. Then slow down. Read it again. And, with a sigh, realize that this was not going to be a quick read. Not only is it a tome, I was going to have to read it at a gentler pace. And I did, and I savored it, and now I've just ordered the Audio CD because this has got to be an amazing experience to hear aloud.
Ms. Clarke has a way with words. What a pleasure it is to make her acquaintance.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
One of the most entertaining and well constructed books I have ever read. The author has a prodigious imagination and made the book and absolute delight to read. My one complain is that I could see some of the way things would end in the text before they occurred. This in addition to some awkward plot points made the ending a bit tedious. Overall though, a great read well worth your time.
Review of "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell Boxed Three Volume Collector's Edition" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This read was slow going at first, but I understand the purpose of the length exposition. By the last 200 pages everything was finally all falling together and I could hardly put the book down.
chadkoh reviewed Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Review of 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book is amazing. I listened to it after listening to Dickens's Christmas Carol (which was excellent) and the first two books in the Bartimaeus Trilogy (which are enjoyable). This was like the perfect mix. The imagination of Stroud with the writing skill of Dickens. It also reminds one of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Brilliant. I will certainly pick up an illustrated copy and read it in the years to come.
Review of 'Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell' on 'Goodreads'
This one is going to me a little while.
nekokat reviewed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Review of 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
This book is simply amazing. I think it may be the best novel of this length (more than 800 pages) that I've ever read. It's witty, compassionate, lyrical and masterfully paced. The characters are enchantingly eccentric, the footnotes are brilliant, and there wasn't a paragraph I found boring or unnecessary. Immersive, compelling, solidly grounded in fairy tale logic, historical fact, and English humor... very hard to put down!
Subjects
- Modern fiction
- Novelty