A review by athryn
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
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
5.0
Put off reading this for a long time after buying it, the hazards of having so many books in ones TBR pile.
Glad I finally did, it's fantastic. Umberto Eco had an essay in the edition of The Name of the Rose I read that talked about creating a complete world when he wrote his books, and this book does the same thing. It feels like history, a fully realized world, not just what we know of England and the Napoleonic/Regency era, but all of the fantasy elements were well grounded. I love some of the digressions and whole stories going on in the footnotes (I think I sadly missed a couple before I realized that the Kindle was cutting them off,) which really added to the whole world.
Strange and Norrell are really just in the end a couple of nerds, aren't they?
Glad I finally did, it's fantastic. Umberto Eco had an essay in the edition of The Name of the Rose I read that talked about creating a complete world when he wrote his books, and this book does the same thing. It feels like history, a fully realized world, not just what we know of England and the Napoleonic/Regency era, but all of the fantasy elements were well grounded. I love some of the digressions and whole stories going on in the footnotes (I think I sadly missed a couple before I realized that the Kindle was cutting them off,) which really added to the whole world.
Strange and Norrell are really just in the end a couple of nerds, aren't they?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death and Racism