A review by ginbott
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
4.0
I actually wanted to give this book a 3.5 star rating, but feeling generous so rounding up...
Coming in at over 1000 pages, this book is a bit of an undertaking. It takes a while to get into, and get used to the constant stream of footnotes.
In parts the narrative does drag a bit, but that is in large part due to my personal intense dislike for one of the major characters in the story: Mr Norrell. He is so irredeemable, hateful, frustratingly condescending and convinced of his own actions that sometimes it was a struggle to keep with it.
On the other hand there are a lot of things that speak for the book. Certainly it is an ambituous undertaking, and it is very enjoyabable to read a book that plays with the victorian style novel. Clarke present a host of characters described in ways familiar from e.g. an Austen novel, yet they read as more modern, more rounded, less confined to speaking pleasantries. She mixes modern sentiment with the older style very well.
The third part of the novel really builds momentum well and the last 200/300 pages are a thrill to read and it is at that point that it becomes difficult to put the novel down.
However, you do feel like, could we not have arrived here a bit sooner.
I felt the fairy 'gentleman' segments were a bit repetitive and after a while I got the point about the nature of his actions and his effect on those around him.
All in all, the book could have done with some serious trimming, but Clarke had created an elaborate, intriguing world, rich with detail, so stick with it, there is plenty to enjoy.
Coming in at over 1000 pages, this book is a bit of an undertaking. It takes a while to get into, and get used to the constant stream of footnotes.
In parts the narrative does drag a bit, but that is in large part due to my personal intense dislike for one of the major characters in the story: Mr Norrell. He is so irredeemable, hateful, frustratingly condescending and convinced of his own actions that sometimes it was a struggle to keep with it.
On the other hand there are a lot of things that speak for the book. Certainly it is an ambituous undertaking, and it is very enjoyabable to read a book that plays with the victorian style novel. Clarke present a host of characters described in ways familiar from e.g. an Austen novel, yet they read as more modern, more rounded, less confined to speaking pleasantries. She mixes modern sentiment with the older style very well.
The third part of the novel really builds momentum well and the last 200/300 pages are a thrill to read and it is at that point that it becomes difficult to put the novel down.
However, you do feel like, could we not have arrived here a bit sooner.
I felt the fairy 'gentleman' segments were a bit repetitive and after a while I got the point about the nature of his actions and his effect on those around him.
All in all, the book could have done with some serious trimming, but Clarke had created an elaborate, intriguing world, rich with detail, so stick with it, there is plenty to enjoy.