blacksphinx's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
If you are someone who is any level of dedicated to the occult arts, particularly those you learn extensively out of books like ancient astrology, grimoire magic, traditional witchcraft, or a reconstructionist polytheism, this book is for us. The society of magicians in York is so true to many groups and individuals I have met that I felt compelled to read the first page and a half out loud to the occultists and close friends of occultists I met up with while reading this book, who could not stop smiling and shaking their head at it. If you feel the same way about those opening paragraphs, it is worth your time to continue on with the entire tome.
What ultimately robbed it from being 5 Stars in my eyes is that it was too long! This book is fantastic but it didn't need to be over 800 pages. It is maddening how many times characters not sharing information with each other prevents the right action from occurring until hundreds of pages later. There was a point where I thought I was never going to finish this damn thing and I felt about it akin to a textbook I was reading for class. And then we finally get a large jolt of plot progression in the last ~150 so pages that was so satisfying it kept me from from going down to a flat 4 Stars.
Sidenote: this book contains period-typical racism, in both remarks made about Jewish people and one of our main PoV characters being a Black man in London in the early 1800's.
What ultimately robbed it from being 5 Stars in my eyes is that it was too long! This book is fantastic but it didn't need to be over 800 pages. It is maddening how many times characters not sharing information with each other prevents the right action from occurring until hundreds of pages later. There was a point where I thought I was never going to finish this damn thing and I felt about it akin to a textbook I was reading for class. And then we finally get a large jolt of plot progression in the last ~150 so pages that was so satisfying it kept me from from going down to a flat 4 Stars.
Sidenote: this book contains period-typical racism, in both remarks made about Jewish people and one of our main PoV characters being a Black man in London in the early 1800's.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Mental illness, Grief, Classism, Murder, Animal death, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Racism, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Alcohol, and Sexism
Minor: Antisemitism, Transphobia, and Fatphobia
kelsea's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: War
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
clara_mai's review against another edition
3.5
- impressively intricate world building (the history of magic in England)
- historical aspect well executed with lots of fun references (the Shelleys appear!)
- rich, gothic atmosphere
- lush descriptions of the faerie world and the magic
- writing style embodies historical period
- beautiful illustrations accompany the story
- narrative style keeps the characters at a distance
- little emotional impact
- would have liked to see critique of/commentary on British Imperialism as magic was constantly used in favour of the government
- although I think this needed to be a long book, it could have been a *little* shorter
- ending not really satisfying, feels like it doesn't do the rest of the story justice
now very interested in reading Piranesi, a significantly shorter and much more recent work by Susanna Clarke that I've had my eye on for a while
- historical aspect well executed with lots of fun references (the Shelleys appear!)
- rich, gothic atmosphere
- lush descriptions of the faerie world and the magic
- writing style embodies historical period
- beautiful illustrations accompany the story
- narrative style keeps the characters at a distance
- little emotional impact
- would have liked to see critique of/commentary on British Imperialism as magic was constantly used in favour of the government
- although I think this needed to be a long book, it could have been a *little* shorter
- ending not really satisfying, feels like it doesn't do the rest of the story justice
now very interested in reading Piranesi, a significantly shorter and much more recent work by Susanna Clarke that I've had my eye on for a while
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, War, and Sexism
anniup's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Sexism, War, Death, Racism, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Slavery and Mental illness
pvbobrien's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Sexism, and Slavery
kathleencoughlin's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a cross between historical fiction and fantasy that follows these two men as they research magical history and practice and attempt to carve out a place for magic in England. I enjoyed reading about the eccentric magicians, but I think it's the secondary characters who really bring the story to life. The book is quite long, can be slow at times, and is heavily character-driven so I hesitate to recommend it to most, but for the right audience it is a delight. I loved the additional lore and context added through footnotes and thought it was a clever way to bring in more info and mirror the magical texts the characters might be reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Gaslighting, War, and Sexism
Minor: Murder and Death of parent
afion's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, War, Racism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Colonisation, Slavery, Ableism, Body horror, Antisemitism, and Animal death
Minor: Incest and Self harm
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is the thickest book I’ve read for quite some time and in some ways it was an overwhelming read for me since English isn’t my first language. It was a a good challenge for me and I’m glad that I have achieved it. Now on to the review, what are my thoughts about this book:
The plot
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is about England in the 19th century. The book is an alternative version of our own reality.
Once upon a time magic used to be strong and overflowing in England but over the centuries magic has slowly been disappearing all over the country. But while practicing magicians have disappeared, theoretical magicians have lived on. Mr Norrell is determined to change the magical foundations at which his reality is based. He becomes the first practicing magicians in centuries and tries to make the job respectable again. He travels to London to show England what real magic looks like but everything changes when he meets Jonathan Strange. He takes Jonathan on as his pupil and together they try to bring magic back to England, even thought they both have different views on what this means precisely.
The book has a slow start since a lot of different stories are being told throughout the book and it takes some time for them all to fit together. After 200+ story’s the pacing becomes better and around 700+ pages the story takes flight and every storyline gets connected. I enjoyed the book, a lot, but I feel like the book could have been told in less pages with the same effect. And that’s just a shame, in my opinion.
Writingstyle
The author chose to write the book in a more classical writingstyle reminiscent of the time the story takes place in. This makes the book a bit heavier to read but it does set the mood. The writer uses a lot of footnotes to further explain plot points and to deepen the worldbuilding. I did sometimes enjoy them but sometimes it did give the book sla stiffness that I associate with schoolbooks and research papers. Again it sets the tone but it does make the pacing of the book slower and the story heavier.
Characters
This book has some wonderfully complicated characters that I really enjoyed. I did find it a bit disappointing that the focus between pages 600-800 of the book was more on Jonathan, it felt like Norrell disappeared for a bit. It was especially disappointing since Norrell did do important things in that part of the book that happens largely of screen. I would have like a more 50/50 view of the characters since it felt to me like I was reading a different book in the same universe. I cannot explain it better.
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in this book is incredibly detailed and I’m my opinion it’s the best aspect of the book. Yes, there is a lot of it to go through but it makes for a very believable world.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to more seasoned readers. It can be a bit of a challenge but it’s worth reading it.
The plot
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is about England in the 19th century. The book is an alternative version of our own reality.
Once upon a time magic used to be strong and overflowing in England but over the centuries magic has slowly been disappearing all over the country. But while practicing magicians have disappeared, theoretical magicians have lived on. Mr Norrell is determined to change the magical foundations at which his reality is based. He becomes the first practicing magicians in centuries and tries to make the job respectable again. He travels to London to show England what real magic looks like but everything changes when he meets Jonathan Strange. He takes Jonathan on as his pupil and together they try to bring magic back to England, even thought they both have different views on what this means precisely.
The book has a slow start since a lot of different stories are being told throughout the book and it takes some time for them all to fit together. After 200+ story’s the pacing becomes better and around 700+ pages the story takes flight and every storyline gets connected. I enjoyed the book, a lot, but I feel like the book could have been told in less pages with the same effect. And that’s just a shame, in my opinion.
Writingstyle
The author chose to write the book in a more classical writingstyle reminiscent of the time the story takes place in. This makes the book a bit heavier to read but it does set the mood. The writer uses a lot of footnotes to further explain plot points and to deepen the worldbuilding. I did sometimes enjoy them but sometimes it did give the book sla stiffness that I associate with schoolbooks and research papers. Again it sets the tone but it does make the pacing of the book slower and the story heavier.
Characters
This book has some wonderfully complicated characters that I really enjoyed. I did find it a bit disappointing that the focus between pages 600-800 of the book was more on Jonathan, it felt like Norrell disappeared for a bit. It was especially disappointing since Norrell did do important things in that part of the book that happens largely of screen. I would have like a more 50/50 view of the characters since it felt to me like I was reading a different book in the same universe. I cannot explain it better.
Worldbuilding
The worldbuilding in this book is incredibly detailed and I’m my opinion it’s the best aspect of the book. Yes, there is a lot of it to go through but it makes for a very believable world.
Recommendations
I would recommend this book to more seasoned readers. It can be a bit of a challenge but it’s worth reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic friendship, War, Colonisation, Classism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, and Death
rikucarstairs's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have finished this book!!!
cool.
mmmmmmmm
So the first I had heard of Susanna Clarke was earlier this year when my friend recommended Piranesi to my boyfriend, then my boyfriend recommended it to me.
Piranesi was great and it drove me insane.
Then I went to a Barnes and Noble with some friends, and saw this book. The cover looked vaguely familiar, but overall I knew nothing of the book.
I was excited by how thick it was, and I had read some quotes from the novel which were fun, and the writing seemed interesting, so I bought it and also chose to read it immediately.
This book was great!
but man, you really have to submit yourself to it.
like, the thing about reading a book that is more than like, 700 pages is you REALLY just have to submit yourself to it.
like
"I've been reading this book for a month, it's barely halfway, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be reading it, or when I'll be able to read my next book, and that's ok".
and besides that, the biggest thing about reading this book was how long winded absolutely everything was.
the author would introduce a character that seemingly has nothing to do with anything, then eventually the character will talk about one of the main characters or possibly interact with someone
but essentially you just really have to trust the author, and go along for the ride.
like, idk who this woman is, but now I know that she is a widow who owns a shop
(and then one of the main characters will enter her shop), and then like we never talk about her again.
so for the most part the story is told through the eyes of others, which was very interesting, and I had wondered about that as a concept for a while.
what would it be like to write a story where we follow the people around the main character, rather than just the main character?
and this book really follows through with this idea.
that said this book was very roundabout and you had to know everything about everything before getting to something a bit substantial and actually move forward with the plot.
that said tho, I had a pretty decent time :)
you really had to pay attention to what was going on, because everything was very subtle, but man were those subtle things often hilarious.
this book was really quite full of mirth. Like the character who talks over everyone and never listens, talking about how he hates people who talk a lot and never listen (while his friend just stares at him drily).
idk, the author puts a lot of trust into the reader, and does not spoon-feed everything. This book treated me like an adult, and it was a good time.
idk, as someone who has read a lot of YA books, it's honestly quite refreshing to read something that is challenging and thick.
I definitely had to push through this book tho, and force myself to read because there were times when I wanted to do something else that was more fun and exciting.
overall I enjoyed reading this book, and I had fun with it. It was definitely a commitment, and I look forward to reading other long books in my future.
now in terms of the characters...
I started off this book enjoying Mr. Norrell. I was amused by how quiet he was, and how much he did not want to be around people.
the more the book progressed tho, the more he did things that were definitely in character, but also terrible, and towards the end of it I was over it and over him and I was very frustrated with who he was and all that he had done.
Mr. Norrell is a terrible and selfish man who only cares about magic and his books, and he does everything in his power to keep these things to himself and also make sure that everyone else agrees with his and only his perceptions of magic.
Jonathan Strange does not get introduced into the novel until like 200 pages into it.
He was definitely a more interesting character the entire time. He starts off quite charming, and gets some development later on that is questionable, and by the end he does some stuff that's like, "whoa".
I don't think Jonathan Strange deserved his wife. She deserved better.
The man with the thistle down hair was quite amusing, and honestly he was like one of my favorite characters XD
he was just so extreme! and always spoke with exclamations! and he was dense as hell XD
i mean like was he terrible? Yes absolutely.
but he was also fun to read
Lady Pole deserves her revenge, and she needed more screen time. Where is my sequel following her and doing exacting revenge on the person who did her wrong?
Drawlight and Lascelles had dark endings that I would have never seen coming.
Childermass was also pretty interesting, and I was always amazed by how much patience he had, because damn. He is very smart and competent, and I am interested to see what he does next now that he's on his own. (But isn't that funny? the book is over and there is no more...and yet)
Stephen Black was quite charming, and I most appreciated his interactions with the man with the thistle down hair.
anyway there were LOTS of characters, and this book follows all of them.
in terms of the ending, it was very interesting to see everything resolved separately. Like, there's no big battle or anything, and not everyone meets up in the end to share information with each other.
rather, everyone did something wherever they were, and it all triggered something else, until we got to the end.
it was interesting.
i guess I'm just used to like, adventure novels where there is a big mystery, and everyone has a different piece of the puzzle, and the whole time I'm dying because I just need everyone to get into the same room together to talk
but not here.
there were definitely some intense moments, and parts where I needed to find out what happens next, for the next scene to cut to a different character
idk, would I read this book again?
probably not.
did I enjoy it?
yes.
am I glad I read it?
definitely, because I feel more excited to read all the books that I wasn't ready to read before. I hope to read some more thick(tm) books. I feel like I'm growing as a reader, and now that I want to read more adult books, there are a lot out there that are waiting for me :)
4 stars tho, because this book is slow and drags a bit, and I enjoy high speed adventures a lot.
but this was definitely also a good time <3
also man, I'm so over magic, omg. I do not want to read another book with magic in it for a WHILE. (not including any way the wind blows)
cool.
mmmmmmmm
So the first I had heard of Susanna Clarke was earlier this year when my friend recommended Piranesi to my boyfriend, then my boyfriend recommended it to me.
Piranesi was great and it drove me insane.
Then I went to a Barnes and Noble with some friends, and saw this book. The cover looked vaguely familiar, but overall I knew nothing of the book.
I was excited by how thick it was, and I had read some quotes from the novel which were fun, and the writing seemed interesting, so I bought it and also chose to read it immediately.
This book was great!
but man, you really have to submit yourself to it.
like, the thing about reading a book that is more than like, 700 pages is you REALLY just have to submit yourself to it.
like
"I've been reading this book for a month, it's barely halfway, I don't know how much longer I'm going to be reading it, or when I'll be able to read my next book, and that's ok".
and besides that, the biggest thing about reading this book was how long winded absolutely everything was.
the author would introduce a character that seemingly has nothing to do with anything, then eventually the character will talk about one of the main characters or possibly interact with someone
but essentially you just really have to trust the author, and go along for the ride.
like, idk who this woman is, but now I know that she is a widow who owns a shop
(and then one of the main characters will enter her shop), and then like we never talk about her again.
so for the most part the story is told through the eyes of others, which was very interesting, and I had wondered about that as a concept for a while.
what would it be like to write a story where we follow the people around the main character, rather than just the main character?
and this book really follows through with this idea.
that said this book was very roundabout and you had to know everything about everything before getting to something a bit substantial and actually move forward with the plot.
that said tho, I had a pretty decent time :)
you really had to pay attention to what was going on, because everything was very subtle, but man were those subtle things often hilarious.
this book was really quite full of mirth. Like the character who talks over everyone and never listens, talking about how he hates people who talk a lot and never listen (while his friend just stares at him drily).
idk, the author puts a lot of trust into the reader, and does not spoon-feed everything. This book treated me like an adult, and it was a good time.
idk, as someone who has read a lot of YA books, it's honestly quite refreshing to read something that is challenging and thick.
I definitely had to push through this book tho, and force myself to read because there were times when I wanted to do something else that was more fun and exciting.
overall I enjoyed reading this book, and I had fun with it. It was definitely a commitment, and I look forward to reading other long books in my future.
now in terms of the characters...
I started off this book enjoying Mr. Norrell. I was amused by how quiet he was, and how much he did not want to be around people.
the more the book progressed tho, the more he did things that were definitely in character, but also terrible, and towards the end of it I was over it and over him and I was very frustrated with who he was and all that he had done.
Mr. Norrell is a terrible and selfish man who only cares about magic and his books, and he does everything in his power to keep these things to himself and also make sure that everyone else agrees with his and only his perceptions of magic.
Jonathan Strange does not get introduced into the novel until like 200 pages into it.
He was definitely a more interesting character the entire time. He starts off quite charming, and gets some development later on that is questionable, and by the end he does some stuff that's like, "whoa".
I don't think Jonathan Strange deserved his wife. She deserved better.
The man with the thistle down hair was quite amusing, and honestly he was like one of my favorite characters XD
he was just so extreme! and always spoke with exclamations! and he was dense as hell XD
i mean like was he terrible? Yes absolutely.
but he was also fun to read
Lady Pole deserves her revenge, and she needed more screen time. Where is my sequel following her and doing exacting revenge on the person who did her wrong?
Drawlight and Lascelles had dark endings that I would have never seen coming.
Childermass was also pretty interesting, and I was always amazed by how much patience he had, because damn. He is very smart and competent, and I am interested to see what he does next now that he's on his own. (But isn't that funny? the book is over and there is no more...and yet)
Stephen Black was quite charming, and I most appreciated his interactions with the man with the thistle down hair.
anyway there were LOTS of characters, and this book follows all of them.
in terms of the ending, it was very interesting to see everything resolved separately. Like, there's no big battle or anything, and not everyone meets up in the end to share information with each other.
rather, everyone did something wherever they were, and it all triggered something else, until we got to the end.
it was interesting.
i guess I'm just used to like, adventure novels where there is a big mystery, and everyone has a different piece of the puzzle, and the whole time I'm dying because I just need everyone to get into the same room together to talk
but not here.
there were definitely some intense moments, and parts where I needed to find out what happens next, for the next scene to cut to a different character
idk, would I read this book again?
probably not.
did I enjoy it?
yes.
am I glad I read it?
definitely, because I feel more excited to read all the books that I wasn't ready to read before. I hope to read some more thick(tm) books. I feel like I'm growing as a reader, and now that I want to read more adult books, there are a lot out there that are waiting for me :)
4 stars tho, because this book is slow and drags a bit, and I enjoy high speed adventures a lot.
but this was definitely also a good time <3
also man, I'm so over magic, omg. I do not want to read another book with magic in it for a WHILE. (not including any way the wind blows)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Racism
featherbrain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Emotional abuse, and Gun violence
Moderate: Animal death, Mental illness, Alcohol, Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Slavery, Toxic friendship, and Violence