Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – August 1, 2006

One of the most ambitious and difficult novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading, Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a mind-bogglingly complex literary masterpiece that breathes new life into the fantasy genre by making it old again.Written as if Charles Dickens and Jane Austen conspired to write an epic fantasy novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell concerns two magicians—the titular Strange and Norrell—and their burgeoning friendship and later rivalry during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century. Working with the intent of "bringing magic back to England," Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell have completely different philosophies regarding magic and its practical use. Mr Norrell is reclusive, snobbish, and studious; he believes magic should only be performed after one has accounted for all of the possible outcome (preferably after reading tomes and tomes of dense books). Jonathan Strange, on the other hand, is young, brash, and flashy; in his eyes, the boundaries of magic should be pushed with an almost reckless abandon.However, both Strange and Norrell's meddling in the magical arts end up catching the attention of powerful and nefarious beings beyond their ability to comprehend, with disastrous results for Europe and those they hold dear.Prior to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, I'd only read Susanna Clark's most recent novel, Piranesi, a short magical story with hidden depths. I really enjoyed Piranesi, and that novel almost acts as an appetizer to the delights one will find within the pages of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I mean, there are footnotes in this novel that contain more imagination than most modern fiction released in any given year. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell can almost be viewed as a novel made up stories—literally hundreds of stories and plots and literary asides and myths and fables—that weave together to tell an epic tale of friendship, rivalry, and dark magic. By the time I finished this book, I really felt as if I'd just read an alternate history of Great Britain during the early 1800s.With all that said (and I say this in the strongest possible terms), most readers will find Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell an extremely difficult read. It's literary stylings—from its depiction of character development, dialogue, and action to its almost maddening tendency to chase down arcane rabbit trails—are firmly rooted in the literary tradition of Charles Dickens, Leo Tolstoy, and Alexander Dumas (with nods to C.S Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and George MacDonald). Some people will absolutely hate the way this book is written, paced, and executed. I, for one, loved it—but I'm also here to tell you that it's not for everyone.Though Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a long book, it's best viewed as one novel split into three volumes made up of dozens of almost self-contained chapters that tell an overarching narrative that spans 10 years.If one is up to the task, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is an immensely satisfying, exhausting, and rewarding read. It whet my appetite to read more literary classics that inspired it, and it gave me a greater appreciation for a more intellectual style of writing. Also, this book is so funny—the use of wry British dialogue brought a smile to my face every time a witty or self-depreciating aside was made. Additionally, the pen-and-ink illustrations by Portia Rosenberg are a beautiful touch.Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is nothing short of a masterpiece. It absolutely blows my mind that this was Susanna Clark's debut novel—I cannot imagine the herculean task is must of been to write this book (seriously, Piranesi could've literally been a footnote in this novel). From the battlefields of Waterloo and the canals of Venice to the Kingdoms of Faerie and the dark enchanted mansions of the Gentleman with Thistle-Down Hair, I'd follow Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell down to the depths of Hell to fight the Raven King himself if it meant spending more time with these two gentlemen magicians.

The thing about this book is that it is long. That's it, really. If it were shorter and to the point, the great many negative reviews here would be positive. Most of the people who didn't like this book just grew impatient with it. And I'm not faulting those people; this book is really, really long. It's easy to lose your patience with it.However, everyone has had the experience of reading a truly great book and then being sad when it was over. "I wish it had been longer," we think. In the spirit of that, Clarke has written a book that is less about conflicts and stories and more about the very act of story-telling. She has created smart, interesting, and unique characters, put them in a rich, evocative world, and then she's let them go about their business, having funny conversations, dealing cleverly with small problems, and creating and breaking relationships with one another.Although I grew a little annoyed at the start by the rambling style of plotting, once I saw it for what it was -- a sort of bedtime story that your parents just add onto every night so that it might never end -- I began to enjoy it quite a bit. Clarke is a gifted writer, and her world was so well-rounded that even when nothing much seemed to be happening in it, it was still a joy to visit.At its most basic, the story is about two magicians who develop a friendship/rivalry over the state of magic in England. They are (without much realizing it) at odds to the story's biggest antagonist, a deceptively kind and magical spirit known only as the gentleman with the thistledown hair. If the book is to be said to be about anything at all, it is about the consequences and ramifications of this unlikely triangle of magicians. Even so, the ultimate conclusion of this plot is done so hastily and obliquely that Clarke seems openly to announce that it is not really the point of the book.The vivid and archaic tone of voice of the book is quite enrapturing for those who aren't in a hurry to get anywhere, and although the constant footnotes seem unevenly applied (some footnotes seem necessary to understand the story, while others discuss things that barely have any connection at all to the plot), they are almost as entertaining as the book itself. Clarke, it seems, has crammed every magical idea she could come up with into them, including how that magic would fit in the larger world that we more regularly experience (the footnote that details the conflicts between magicians and priests was my favorite). In fact, ironically, I found that it was the magical aspect of the story that bothered me the most.The book treats magic as if it were no less common to people than Latin: something old, once ubiquitous, but no longer in use. Norrell and Strange are responsible for bringing magic back into use, and with it they get church statues to talk as well as foil the forces of Napoleon's army. Unfortunately, magic (much like time travel) can be a tough element to have in a story unless there are clear and recognizable limits to its use. If anything really can happen, then it makes what DOES happen less interesting or at least less at risk. It is never obvious what rules govern the magic that Norrell, Strange, and Mr. Thistledown Hair are utilizing, and so, when they are suddenly able to do something amazing (walk through mirrors) or are suddenly NOT able to do something they could once before (locate people through bowls of water), the reader is asked simply to believe that, yes, suddenly these rules have always existed.It was the same reason I stopped reading HARRY POTTER: writers of magical worlds often seem to have the least work to do in creating conflict or tension. A new rule is introduced, or a magical exception is made to an old one. It seems a little cheap, and if this WERE a story-driven novel, I'm sure this arbitrary wizardry would've dropped my enjoyment of the book. However, being so obviously about the mere joy of fiction, the book only uses these few cheap tricks to keep some semblance of a trajectory to the otherwise static, playground world of the book's various heroes and villains. There are a few satisfying resolves to some of the book's questions, but the end result, really, is just about enjoying those questions for as long as you can.

One of the great authors of our time.Excellent voice, plot, characters, world and phrasing. A delight.Perfectly normal people in a strange world. Echoes of Tolkien, Austen, Lewis.

Este libro es una verdadera obra maestra. Yo lo tengo en mi top 10 de fantasía, junto con Babel de R.F. Kuang. La cosa es, si estás buscando acción, adrenalina y escenas súper impresionantes de combate con magia; no las vas a encontrar aquí. Este libro no es para todos (eso no quiere decir que no sea bueno), es más cómo una ficción histórica con magia para condimentar la narrativa; pero si son de los pacientes que deciden darle una oportunidad, no se van a arrepentir.

Intrigas, reinos perdidos, história, guerras napoleonicas, tudo isso e muito mais está aqui nessa obra. Suzanna Clarke domina as palavras, cria personagens psicologicamente ricos, brinca com nossas percepções, é uma verdadeira "contadora de histórias".Ela consegue unir a pompa superficial da aristocracia e da fleuma inglesas à circunstância de um conto de fantasia, de magia.Recomendo demais para quem gosta de algo como se Downton Abbey tivesse sido escrita por Neil Gaiman.

Beautifully written and extremely funny.

Este es sin duda uno de los mejores libros que he leído. Al principio estaba un poco insegura. El estilo es (deliberadamente) anticuado y el ritmo es muy lento. Si no tienes paciencia para eso, entonces este no es el libro para ti; sospecho que cada una de las reseñas de 1 estrella se debe al estilo. Un editor no lo ha cortado ni cortado en cubitos para alcanzar el punto de beneficio moderno de 70-80k palabras (y muchas gracias Bloomsbury por entender la necesidad de dejarlo así. Cortarlo al tamaño deseado para un nuevo autor lo habría destruido).Si tienes paciencia o eres fanático de la ficción de los siglos XVIII y XIX, ¡cómprala! ¡Cómprelo ahora! Es fabuloso. Hay una rica historia ficticia que se expone lentamente a través de notas al pie de página, junto con la historia de dos hombres profundamente defectuosos, cada uno de ellos tropezando por un camino mágico que creen entender, pero que está completamente oculto en su punto de vista. Aquí no hay héroes ni villanos obvios. Sin valores morales claros. Se cometen errores y se sienten las consecuencias.Es raro que lea un libro que me haga exclamar en voz alta las acciones de un personaje, sabiendo que causará caos y, sin embargo, teniendo la más mínima noción de cuáles serán las consecuencias. Es aún más raro leer algo en el que realmente no sé hacia dónde va. No hay un camino literario bien gastado aquí, ni historias cansadas.Sin decir demasiado y estropearlo no sé qué más decir. Solo cómpralo. Hazlo ahora.

OK, here comes a long and a perfectly earnest one for a change.I must say that I was thoroughly impressed by Susanna Clarke's book start to finish, even though reading it was an ambitious undertaking in the weeks following my first child's birth. I won't pretend to be too objective, then, when I say that the amazing tale of the two English magicians has in a sense become intertwined in my imagination with a very magical time of my own life.I can see why it would be so polarizing, however, especially in a post-Harry Potter world. People hear "England and Magic" and reckon that they'll get some thrilling quidditch action and some tender insights into the joys and hurts of growing up, but that's not to be found here. Instead, we get a wonderful and at times whimsical mash up of classic Regency-era literature (like Pride and Prejudice or Vanity Fair with modern-day magical realism along the lines of One Hundred Years of Solitude or Midnight's Children.The huge page count, the interminable footnotes (many of which, incidentally, are more amusing and creative than the main story they append), the coy affectation of period spellings like "shew" or "surprize"...in a lesser book, these seeming indulgences would be infuriating, but the way they are employed by the author was brilliant, they just drew you in even further. Also, it becomes apparent only over many many pages that this is not just a work of alt-historical fiction, positing strange events during a time and at a place well known to most readers of English Lit, but a sly redesign of English history to render a fantasy setting at the same time familiar as it is uncanny. Well known figures from the period such as King George III (the "mad" one), the Duke of Wellington and even Lord Byron play active parts as well as Ms. Clarke's beautifully rendered duo and their assorted friends, foes and contemporaries.Was it absolute perfection? Of course not. I particularly didn't care for Lascelles sudden turn to sociopathy, or his saw-it-coming-a-mile-away ultimate demise But a tour-de-force, and a unique, humorous, and moving reading experience start-to-finish that I cannot recommend highly enough to those with the patience and the time to devote to it.