Reviews tagging 'War'

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke

23 reviews

kanadrallegria's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Was quite slow at the beginning, but did get going after a while. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: War and Slavery

Minor: Forced institutionalization and Mental illness

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: War

Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization

robin_reads's review against another edition

Everyone keeps saying to wait for the plot to unfold but I can’t wait anymore. I like slow and intricate books but this is not it for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Misogyny, War, and Racism

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 

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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

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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

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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

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Forced institutionalization, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Animal death, Classism, Gaslighting, War, and Sexism

Minor: Murder and Death of parent

adrizeuza's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Racism

disastrousnetwork's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Racial slurs, and War

nicolleschumacher's review against another edition

funny informative lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.5

This is the longest book that I have read to date but I really enjoyed the journey of it. I found it to be very funny (the humour is very reminiscent of Jane Austen) but also interesting, definitely something that has to be reread to truly understand completely. I wish we saw more of Childermass as he was my favourite. I can see myself rereading this in the future as a comfort read as it’s not too heavy but it really engulfs you in the story and there is so much to discover and ponder on. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Racism, and Gore

Minor: Sexism, War, and Confinement