A review by snowbenton
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke
3.0
This book felt like a hipster version of Vanity Fair, and while I love Thackeray for his slowly developing story and growth of characters and the world around them, Clarke has too modern a style to handle that effort with any sort of grace. This is a plodding book, and the attempt at witty asides and footnotes served to make me roll my eyes more than appreciate her wit. This book patted itself on the back far too often for my liking and was not well-written enough to justify its length.
If you can forgive it for its shortcomings and unnecessarily long chapters, it is an interesting idea: what happens in the early 1800s if magic has been gone from England for years, and one old crotchety magician begins to bring it back? How will his celebrity change the face of England as admirers flock to his side and he gets involved in the war with France? What happens when his apprentice begins to overshadow and question him?
I would recommend to surly hipsters and lovers of old-style books.
If you can forgive it for its shortcomings and unnecessarily long chapters, it is an interesting idea: what happens in the early 1800s if magic has been gone from England for years, and one old crotchety magician begins to bring it back? How will his celebrity change the face of England as admirers flock to his side and he gets involved in the war with France? What happens when his apprentice begins to overshadow and question him?
I would recommend to surly hipsters and lovers of old-style books.