A review by rikucarstairs
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
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