Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell in The Alternative Worlds

Jan 23, 2020 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it it was amazing

Shelves: faerie, epistolary-narrative, mental-illness, captive-kidnapped, women-s-issues, alternate-history, set-in-uk, black-african-or-aa-hero, magician, audiobook

"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell" is truly an epic. I started this several years ago on audio, but I had to stop due to a change in my work/commute situation. Recently, and several years later, I was able to pick this up again. I was spurred in part by my love of Magic stories, historical fiction, epistolary and meta-fiction, and also because I had watched the miniseries, which is currently on Netflix. I was interested in this book, but I will admit it is a commitment. Things unfold very leisurel ...more

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Apr 08, 2015 Nicky rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favourites, historical-fiction-alternatehistory

This was a reread for me, so I knew exactly what I was in for — a long book, with digressions and ramblings. A book that echoes, pastiches, draws on the tradition of an older sort of novel, establishing a narrative of literature and scholarship around itself with its footnotes and references. A book of magic, and fallible people, and old enchantment. It’s a novel other people have found badly paced, slow, boring, full of unlikeable characters, unbearable, etc.

Obviously, because this was a reread This was a reread for me, so I knew exactly what I was in for — a long book, with digressions and ramblings. A book that echoes, pastiches, draws on the tradition of an older sort of novel, establishing a narrative of literature and scholarship around itself with its footnotes and references. A book of magic, and fallible people, and old enchantment. It’s a novel other people have found badly paced, slow, boring, full of unlikeable characters, unbearable, etc.

Obviously, because this was a reread, I didn’t find the pacing terrible or the characters so unlikeable as to ruin it; in fact, now I’ve finished it, I could almost be tempted to begin again right now. I love this book even more than I did the first time I read it. Clarke creates a wonderfully rich world, full of people who act like people — self-interested; lazy; careless; fearful; brave; heroic; clever… It strikes me that it’s easier to list dozens of ways you can be less than ideal than it is to come up with dozens of ways to be ideal, so perhaps there’s some truth in saying that this book is heavy on the less-than-ideal characters. Which is fine, by my lights, because so is life. If you spend time in the world, you see all the major characters doing things both good and bad, making sins of commission and omission, quarrelling and loving.

I find it an incredibly rich world, and I was sorry to be finished. I want to know what Strange and Norrell study, what Childermass does, whether Arabella ever sees Strange again, what the new King is like… I love the way it uses some of our legends and stories about magic and fairies, but adds to them and draws them together. I loved that it was a really solid read, something I could lose myself in. I love reading all the time, but I especially love it when a book opens a new world to me instead of just letting me observe that world, and that’s how I feel about Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I could feel while reading as though if I turned and looked at a mirror, it might be a door leading to who-knows-where — and while under Clarke’s spell, I’d take that door in a heartbeat.

Originally posted on my blog. ...more

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Mar 21, 2011 ~Geektastic~ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, owned, favorites, reviewed, fantasy, alternate-history

What can I possibly say that will convey to you the depth of my love for this book? In all honesty, I really cannot find the right words, but I will write this anyway.

I read this monstrous doorstop of a book a little over a year ago, and I remember very little of anything else from that time; I was immersed within the first few pages, and only returned to reality when it was unavoidable. I read it at work, I read it while eating, I read it while very nearly sleeping. I read it in a box, I read What can I possibly say that will convey to you the depth of my love for this book? In all honesty, I really cannot find the right words, but I will write this anyway.

I read this monstrous doorstop of a book a little over a year ago, and I remember very little of anything else from that time; I was immersed within the first few pages, and only returned to reality when it was unavoidable. I read it at work, I read it while eating, I read it while very nearly sleeping. I read it in a box, I read it with a fox, I read it wearing socks….the point is, it was almost impossible for me to set it down for more than five minutes. It wasn’t the over-arching plot that grabbed my attention so much as the little details, the off-kilter but believable alter-England of the story, that held me hostage for a wonderful week. It does not surprise me that it took Susanna Clarke ten years to create the intricate web of plot, character and history that makes this story so engrossing.

Basically, in an alternate English history, magic once existed in the world but has been relegated to the realm of academia by the 19th century. However, a few magicians still practice the ancient arts and these practitioners have been employed by Parliament to fight in the name of England. Said magicians, the titular Strange and Norrell , are two very different men with opposing motivations who come together for the sake of a common cause, but find themselves unable to remain a team for long. Interwoven into the fabric of the story is the history of the Raven King, a legendary and mysterious figure that obsesses Jonathan Strange and informs much of the lore that has kept magic alive in the hearts of scholars. It is also important to note that in this realm of Clarke’s creation, the world of Faerie runs parallel to the world of men, and Strange and Norrell face a much greater threat than the French when the troublesome creatures of that world begin interfering in their own.

One of the key aspects that makes this book so fantastic is the fact Clarke doesn’t merely rely on the occasional reference to frock coats and carriages to create a Georgian world; this story reads like a 19th century British novel, with its focus on subplots, multiple characters and convoluted motivations. It combines the homely humor of Dickens, the wry behavioral observations of Austen, a bit of Wilkie Collins mystery and some George MacDonald fantasy thrown in for good measure. And yet, while it is strongly rooted in 19th century novelistic tradition, it has an altogether different, dreamy quality when the creatures of Faerie are involved. Gradual shifts from the muck-laden streets of London to the otherworldly realm of Faerie occur quite frequently, but Clarke manages to make these transitions both subtle and abrupt simultaneously, so the two seem to bleed into each other and create a believable symbiosis of magic and mundane. In this vein, Clarke has not only constructed two believable worlds, but she has imbued them with so much history that she has included footnotes to outline them even further. I know what you are thinking: footnotes? Fictional footnotes?? Isn’t that tedious? No. No it is not.

(To be continued, probably)
...more

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May 03, 2011 Daniel Roy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, favorite, historical

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is one of those books that I absolutely adore, and yet find myself hard-pressed to recommend without a suitable disclaimer attached. So here is said disclaimer: this novel is slow-moving, tends to wander, and requires a lot of patience and a sizeable investment of time. If you make this investment, however, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell will reward you in spades.

The novel takes place in the 19th Century, and concerns itself with two English magicians, Gilbert Norr Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is one of those books that I absolutely adore, and yet find myself hard-pressed to recommend without a suitable disclaimer attached. So here is said disclaimer: this novel is slow-moving, tends to wander, and requires a lot of patience and a sizeable investment of time. If you make this investment, however, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell will reward you in spades.

The novel takes place in the 19th Century, and concerns itself with two English magicians, Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange, who set about to restore English magic. Far from throwing fireballs and duelling dragons, Norrell and Strange are beset by much more mundane challenges: the battle for English magic is one of reputation, so the main obstacles to the main characters' goal are English society and etiquette... not to mention each other.

Though it might not sound breathtaking when summed up like this, the main strength of Susanna Clarke's novel is actually in this formidable restraint she demonstrates throughout the book. Her world, although populated by magicians capable of moving entire cities from one continent to the other, and Faeries as old as Humanity itself, is actually rooted in a deep historical realism you would normally associate with period dramas. Ultimately, this serves Clarke's stronger fantastic elements: since they exist in such a vividly realistic world, they are all the more fantastic for it.

The characters of Norrell and Strange, much like the rest of Clarke's world, are depicted with restraint and humor, and throughout the course of the novel, become vivid, complex, and unforgettable characters. Mr. Norrell, for instance, far from being an exhuberant sorceror, is an insecure middle-aged man who is obsessed with preventing English magic from escaping his grasp. Strange, more excentric (yet still in every way a British gentleman), serves as a delicious counterpoint to Norrell's cavalier attitude, and the friendship and rivalry that grows between them over the years is definitely the highlight of the book.

This is one of these novels that I read slowly, over the course of 2 months, savoring one chapter every night before bedtime. By the time I reached the last chapters, I found myself looking forward to the evening, when I would once again spend time with the characters I loved so much. Most of the novel is slow and the plot tends to wander without apparent purpose, but the ending is deeply satisfying, and I am left hoping another 800-page sequel is in the works.

Some critics have mislabelled Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell as a "Harry Potter for adults." This couldn't be any farther from the truth, and does Clarke's novel a big disservice. While both are concerned with magicians, the comparison ends there. That being said, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is definitely a mature, intricate story. Much like, say, an aged whiskey, it is not for inexperienced palates, but those readers who like their novels to be as complex as their drinks will find Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell an unforgettable delight. ...more

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Aug 29, 2011 Ryandake rated it liked it

the first time i tried to read this book, i think i threw it down at about 150 pages while shouting "get on with it!"

the second time i just kept shouting at it every 30 pages or so, and skimmed a lot, and read on, because so many people have said it's a wonderful book.

in some ways it is. the language can be delightful and it certainly nails perfectly the stereotype of the dialect at the time. it's a good setup for a novel and contains a lot of very inventive ideas.

but the execution is lacking--y ...more

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May 12, 2011 Suz rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, non-men-sff-authors, fantasy, award-winner, 2013-women-genre-writers-challenge, world-fantasy-challenge

O. M. Gawd, I didn't think I'd ever finish this book.

I have two reading challenges I'm trying to complete this year:
1. To read all of the World Fantasy novel winners
2. To finish 12 books by new-to-me women genre authors.

This book fit both challenges, which is the only reason why I bothered finishing it (I started it in September).

I know where this book was going - to be a detailed, period piece with all of the societal foibles and all that jazz. And to some extent it worked. There were interest ...more

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