Magic is back ... and what a magical book it returns in. This was by far my favourite book of 2004, I have enjoyed reading it so much that I have even bought the (unabridged) audio book so that I can have someone else read it to me too! It has been a much talked about and publicised book, I doubt I could add anything else to try and persuade you that;
"yes - it is a good idea for you to beg, borrow, buy (not steal) this book and read it"
except to say that all the hype is true.
The book opens in 1806 in an alternate history to ours where magic was once very much part of the daily life. Now however it is very much theoretical with practising magicians having seemingly disappeared. One man though is determined to bring back practical magic, though he is not anxious for anyone else to know of his magic or how it is performed and finds, buys up and hoards all the books on the subject he can. He is Mr Norrell. Society is now awakened once again to the joys of magic with Mr Norrell helping the English defeat Napoleon (and bringing back to life a young rich lady engaged to a cabinet minister). On the wave of this new found enthusiasm for magic comes Jonathan Strange, seemingly the more 'natural' magician, he cannot find books to study from (because of course Mr Norrell is coveting them) but instead teaches himself and suddenly London has two practising magicians and the country becomes divided between the 'Norrellites' and 'Strangites'. In the background behind all these events and on the edge of every single page like a shadow is the Raven King, the last Magical King of the North.
That, as a synopsis, is merely scratching the surface though. Combining a 19th century writing style with history, alternate history, fantasy, magic, comedy of manners, the gothic tale and a very tongue in cheek, dry wit; (and, also at over 750 pages long or 30 CD discs for the audio book) there is a lot of depth to this book that no one single review could hope to capture. And even if it was tried don't forget to mention the footnotes, over 200 of them, throughout the book adding bits to the narrative, outlining the backstory and breathing life into an entire imagined catalogue of magical books and tales any one of which could have made a convincing story on their own. ( )

Magic is back ... and what a magical book it returns in. This was by far my favourite book of 2004, I have enjoyed reading it so much that I have even bought the (unabridged) audio book so that I can have someone else read it to me too! It has been a much talked about and publicised book, I doubt I could add anything else to try and persuade you that;
"yes - it is a good idea for you to beg, borrow, buy (not steal) this book and read it"
except to say that all the hype is true.
The book opens in 1806 in an alternate history to ours where magic was once very much part of the daily life. Now however it is very much theoretical with practising magicians having seemingly disappeared. One man though is determined to bring back practical magic, though he is not anxious for anyone else to know of his magic or how it is performed and finds, buys up and hoards all the books on the subject he can. He is Mr Norrell. Society is now awakened once again to the joys of magic with Mr Norrell helping the English defeat Napoleon (and bringing back to life a young rich lady engaged to a cabinet minister). On the wave of this new found enthusiasm for magic comes Jonathan Strange, seemingly the more 'natural' magician, he cannot find books to study from (because of course Mr Norrell is coveting them) but instead teaches himself and suddenly London has two practising magicians and the country becomes divided between the 'Norrellites' and 'Strangites'. In the background behind all these events and on the edge of every single page like a shadow is the Raven King, the last Magical King of the North.
That, as a synopsis, is merely scratching the surface though. Combining a 19th century writing style with history, alternate history, fantasy, magic, comedy of manners, the gothic tale and a very tongue in cheek, dry wit; (and, also at over 750 pages long or 30 CD discs for the audio book) there is a lot of depth to this book that no one single review could hope to capture. And even if it was tried don't forget to mention the footnotes, over 200 of them, throughout the book adding bits to the narrative, outlining the backstory and breathing life into an entire imagined catalogue of magical books and tales any one of which could have made a convincing story on their own. ( )

Jonathan Strange was fantastic. I mean absolutely brilliant. It seems cheating to enjoy the mannerisms of a novel writen *of* the 19th century as much as I do those which were written at the time, but it did lend an extra charm, to what was otherwise an excellent story of magic. And a story which has some of the creepiness of original English and Irish fairy tales. Loved it. ( )

Tolkien's aim in creating the world of 'The Lord of the Rings' was to create a mythology for England, one he felt was lacking. Susanna Clarke's book delivers, whether wittingly or not, a similar result with actually greater sophistication and recognition of social realities (compare the relationship of Childermass and Mr Norrell to that of Sam Gamgee and Frodo Baggins). A book of landscapes as much as of people, Clarke's story impresses on the reader the greater possibility of the land's endurance at a time of historically rapid industrial revolution than does Tolkien's rawer almost mystical depiction of befouled nature. Though haunted, Clarke's world possesses a greater hope than Tolkien's, whose obsession with a spiritual 'Long Defeat' leads to sentimentality and wishful thinking. Clarke's humour is also exquisitely dry, whereas Tolkien's is capering and simple ( )

20 words or less: Susanna Clarke weaves an intricate, character-based tale of English magic that is well worth the page count

My Rating: 4/5

Pros: Intricately crafted characters, extraordinary blending of historical England with magical elements, language that is intricate and elegant without being excessive or unintelligible

Cons: Slow pace won’t be for everyone, more character than plot driven, very little “action”

This past weekend I finally finished up Susanna Clarke's behemoth historical-fantasy tome Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel . The story is one of magic; men of magic, acts of magic, and books of magic. In one of the earliest passages of JS&MN, Mr. Norrell explains the difference between these books, dividing them into two categories “Books about Magic” and “Books of Magic.” Books about Magic are mundane, historical texts, with very little appeal to those interested in magic. Books of Magic, on the other hand, not only discuss but contain magic within their every page and word. Make no mistake; JS&MN is a book of magic.

At first glance, this book seems like it would be a chore. Over 750 pages, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a character study of two bibliophilic magicians set against early 19th century England. Think Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre and your junior year of high school. Instead of trying to ignore the trappings of the time period, Clarke embraces them, making the two titular magicians stand out against the mundane rather than being overshadowed by it. Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell both fall outside typical societal expectations and these differences ultimately made me connect with the characters more and care about their lives. Rather than struggling through each chapter, I was enthralled and often found myself reading much more than I expected.

The main focus of the book is on the two magicians and their conflicting views on the future of English magic. Should magical knowledge be hoarded for the righteous few or disseminated to the curious masses? What acts of magic are appropriate for a proper English magician? These and other questions of magical philosophy influence the paths Strange and Norrell take through the book, weaving around each other and several minor characters, each of which ultimately has a significant role to play when all is said and done. While the book was very dense, I would be at a loss to try and cut a single character or plot thread.

To be fair, this book is not for everyone. It is a very intricate, very subtle story. These are not Michael Bay’s magicians. As the title advertises, this is first and foremost the story of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell; two very multidimensional characters. My proposed litmus test would be to read the first 3 chapters or so until you get to the first act of magic. If that doesn’t move you to read more, chances are the rest of the book may not impress you. For me, once the curtain was drawn back and the magic behind the mundane revealed, I was entranced. ( )