Reviews

Jonathan Strange & il Signor Norrell by Susanna Clarke

rosalindpoet's review against another edition

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5.0

i feel like everything that can be said about this has been said by more articulate people. i wonder if i'll ever read it again?

talanafaye's review against another edition

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challenging informative slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

uselessmathom's review against another edition

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5.0

Nothing like a visit to Goodreads after an amazing read to get mad.

jayne24davies's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.0

shmadsie's review against another edition

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4.0

That ending was quite satisfying. Also, I am super shocked this didn't feel anywhere near as long as it was.

Strange and Norrell being stuck with each other is both poetic justice and very clearly every person's endgame whether they knew it or not and I loved that.

bjs242's review against another edition

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slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thought it was well written and enjoyable. I don’t have any complaints other than it was hard for me to read. Like the sentences were hard to read. It wasn’t difficult to want to read

Also it was physically hard to read because it’s heavy

charlietuna92's review against another edition

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5.0

Recommended to me by a friend and I’m sad to say I didn’t read it sooner. Clarke’s mastery of tone and characters is superb. I thoroughly enjoyed the alternate history aspect of this novel which I feel sets it apart from many other books in the fantasy genre. It was well-written, clever, detailed, and though long, worth reading every paragraph. Loved it!

hannahhacq's review against another edition

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So long-winded!

sfljack's review against another edition

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2.0

I wanted to like it, I really did. I mean, it started out with an interesting premise, after over 300 years, one talented practitioner tries to bring English magic back to popularity in Victorian England. If the story falls flat, it's because there is very little magic in it. The sense of wonder that should have been there is buried under endless footnotes to books that most of us will never be able to find, let alone read (if they even exist at all)! In general I gave it two stars for an interesting premise, but only two for very poor execution.

clownonthemoon's review against another edition

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5.0

Sincerity moment: this is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s a master class in historical fantasy, and I can think of very few pieces of media that make me so happy to revisit them