Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

I have to admit it - what finally induced me to buy Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was its length.

People who had not read it kept telling me how good a book it was. People who had started to read it said that it was obviously a good book, but they just didn't like it that much as it was very dry, very slow, very detailed and very long - and then they'd look at me and say that I would probably like it.

But as I said, what finally tipped me over was its length. I was traveling in Britain at the time with long train journeys ahead of me and no book to read. With a healthy appreciation of how much my luggage already weighed, I decided I wanted one large book instead of many small ones.

I've not regretted it. This book is not for the easily intimidated reader, but it is very clever and full of dry humor (my husband sat across from me on the train journeys and he said that I chuckled constantly while reading the book).

The book is set in a fictitious England during the time of the Napoleonic Wars. The premise is: What if magic had once been real in England - how could it be brought back? Mr Norrell and Jonathan Strange are the magicians who re-introduce magic to England. (Mr Norrell largely through knowledge derived from books and Jonathan Strange through natural talent and audacity.)

Susanna Clarke has a great deal of fun mocking academics and their petty squabbles. From this mocking her two heroes are not entirely spared (especially Mr Norrell). The book is very appropriately named as the base story is the friendship and squabbles (ranging from minor disagreements to downright character assassination) between these two men.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is one of those beautiful books that there's more to notice every time it's read. The first time I read it, the subplot that got my attention was between Jonathan Strange and his wife Arabella. The second time, I noticed the descriptions of magic, and specifically magic as being part of England (I suspect that this will remain one of my favorite parts of the book). And, of course, the thread about Stephen Black is impossible to forget, no matter what reading of the book I'm on.

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is very long with very dry humor, and is not a book for everyone (but then, what book is?). It is clever and absorbing, though, with commentaries on the past and present.

Comments

[Kerry]

I very much enjoyed reading this book and, oddly enough, didn't find it long or dry. I'm sure that it will repay re-reading because of the complexities of the plot.

The author is very skilful and, partly because of the period setting, the story
never seems particularly unlikely.