Neil Gaiman said, apparently, that 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last 70 years. That is possible, though it does seem extremely generous, even if by English we take 'coming from England' rather than 'written in the ... Read review
The two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long ... more
to behold me. The year is 1806 and centuries have passed since practical magic faded into England's past. But scholars of its glorious history discover that one magician remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose talent sends a thrill through the country. Yet the cautious fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young handsome and daring Strange is the very antithesis of Norrell. And so begins a dangerous and dazzling battle between these two great men that will lead them into wars personal battles and places they should not have dared to enter.
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Enter the dazzling world of nineteenth century magicians fighting Napoleon's advancing ... more
army - and fighting between themselves Two magicians shall appear in England. The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me... The year is 1806. England is beleaguered by the long war with Napoleon and centuries have passed since practical magicians faded into the nation's past. But scholars of this glorious history discover that one remains: the reclusive Mr Norrell whose displays of magic send a thrill through the country. Proceeding to London he raises a beautiful woman from the dead and summons an army of ghostly ships to terrify the French. Yet the cautious fussy Norrell is challenged by the emergence of another magician: the brilliant novice Jonathan Strange. Young handsome and daring Strange is the very opposite of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men which overwhelms the one between England and France. And their own obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts are going to cause more trouble than they can imagine.
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Advantages: interesting concept, well written, great imagery Disadvantages: too long, lack of character development, fails to emotionally connect
...age - at least until Jonathan Strange appears, to become his pupil and, eventually, his apostate and rival.
The book is huge, but it flows well, following the main two magician characters as well as incorporating side stories of all kinds concerning individuals somehow enmeshed in the magicians' actions, notably a certain lady Pole brought to life from death at the beggining of Mr Norrell's public career and several other humans enchanted ... ...of the book is interesting, the research impressive and the style accomplished. And yet, 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' fails to delight. First and foremost it is decidedly too long: at over 780 pages the story has neither sufficient breadth nor depth to fill all that space. It is a remarkable achievement of the author that she manages to sustain enough interest in the reader to persevere till the end: there is not enough epic action, nor enough ... more
Neil Gaiman said, apparently, that 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is unquestionably the finest English novel of the fantastic written in the last 70 years. That is possible, though it does seem extremely generous, even if by English we take 'coming from England' rather than 'written in the English language' and even if we use fairly narrow definition of 'the fantastic'.
'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is, however, an unquestionably impressive debut. It's a well-written, cleverly designed pastiche of an early 19th century novel, with a clear ascendancy in Jane Austen and sharing her combination of ironic detachment and gentle empathy towards the characters. Complete with lengthy digressions (mercifully relegated to footnotes), noticeable archaisms in spelling ('chuse') and an eloquent narrator appearing from time to time on the surface of the story in order to speak directly to the reader, 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is indeed all of its time. Its time, being, obviously, the time the action takes place rather than the time it was actually written.
'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is both fantasy and alternative history: it is set in our world, not in some parallel Faerie nor never-heard-of Neverland, but here in England. At the first glance it seems to be England we know or at least have heard of. Subsequently, we learn that it used to be divided into the Southern and the Northern part, and the latter had been ruled for 300 years by the Raven King. The Raven King - the least seen and most felt character in the novel - is John Uskglass, the greatest English magician, brought up in Faerie and came back to England to rule its Northern half (as well as a kingdom in Faerie and one on the bordrs of Hell) from Newcastle.
At the time the story takes place (1807-1817) all that is ancient history. England is now ruled, as it was in our version of events, by the mad King George, while Duke Wellington is fighting Napoleon. Interest in magic still exists but the magicians of modern era are, erm... theoretical magicians. They study history of magic and don't even try to perform any. Magic is, as everybody knows, gone from England. Or so it seems until the mysterious Mr Norrell makes the stone figures of the York Minster walk and speak. Mr Norrell eventually moves from his Yorkshire obscurity to London, where he enters the government service. He is the greatest (and the only) magician of the age - at least until Jonathan Strange appears, to become his pupil and, eventually, his apostate and rival.
The book is huge, but it flows well, following the main two magician characters as well as incorporating side stories of all kinds concerning individuals somehow enmeshed in the magicians' actions, notably a certain lady Pole brought to life from death at the beggining of Mr Norrell's public career and several other humans enchanted by inhabitants of Faerie.
The concept of the book is interesting, the research impressive and the style accomplished. And yet, 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' fails to delight. First and foremost it is decidedly too long: at over 780 pages the story has neither sufficient breadth nor depth to fill all that space. It is a remarkable achievement of the author that she manages to sustain enough interest in the reader to persevere till the end: there is not enough epic action, nor enough intellectual musings and virtually no character development to justify plodding on, but on the reader plods, for some reason. Unfortunately, plodding it mostly is.
The style, as I said before, is definitely reminiscent of the novels of the time. This makes it a very clever book but also a less accessible one - not because the writing is difficult, but because it seems cold. What worked for alien and mythical settings of Tolkien's epic doesn't, somehow, work for a rational and fairly domesticated settings and scenes of the majority of 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell'. The more dramatic and otherworldly the novel becomes, the less alienating the effect of the antiquated style is and the more appropriate it becomes.
The settings are rendered well: especially the English countryside and Venice. For some reason Regency London, in which a lot of the story takes place, is not so evocatively described. Perhaps because Venice looks now roughly as it looked then, while London has changed rather dramatically.
Imagery pertaining to magic is indeed, one of the achievements of the book: warship illusions made from rain, King's Highway behind the mirrors, bleak enchanted moors and whirling columns of perpetual darkness stay with the reader for a while afterwards and are probably the best thing in the novel altogether.
The historical research looks pretty good to me: I am not very knowledgeable about Napoleonic wars but from what I know about for example the build up to Waterloo it seems to be described very accurately. The interweaving of the historical detail with the magical intervention is wonderfully seamless.
The bibliography and footnotes referencing (fictional) works of magic is extremely detailed. I don't know how many readers will actually devote much attention to them at first reading, but they are there and the fans of the book will undoubtedly go back to savour and immerse themselves in that world.
The characters are perhaps one of the main problems of the novel: not one of them seems particularly well developed, they are drawn with few strokes of charcoal each. Norrell is paranoid, cautious and introverted while Strange is whimsical, sociable and capable of great drama. There are many more, from enchanted black butler Stephen to Mr Norrell's rather mysterious servant and factotum Childermass, but they all remain a tantalizing possibility - which is a disappointment, as surely, a book of 800 pages should allow for some character development.
Is there an underlying theme or message, then? Is there, ehm, a moral in the story? The main conflict is between two kinds of magic, one that is restrained, civilized and rational and the other which is wild, natural (as sky, as trees, as fairies) and - literally - mad. It's the old and important argument between the Classical and the Romantic, between the Apollonian and the Dionysian, but - somehow - it fails to become anything else but a convenient plot device, a pivot for the construction of the novel rather then the reason to write it.
'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is a broad and shimmeringly fluent, but ultimately empty exercise. There is everything there: magic, prophecies, fairies, other worlds hidden behind mirrors, deep love that reaches beyond the grave, politics and history, gentle humour and rather terrifyingly gothic madness, even a noticeable cameo by Lord Byron. But something is missing. This kind of book needs to engage emotions and - at least for me - 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' failed to do so. I admired it a lot, I liked the concept which seemed very original, and I will remember many inspired images. But at the end of the day I didn't care much.
***Verdict***
I would give 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' three and half stars if it was possible. As it is, I settle on three, one taken off for lack of character development and emotional pull, the other for being plainly to long by at least 200 pages. However, if there is a sequel, I will read it. Probably.
Reluctantly recommended: if you have a free, lazy weekend and like atmospheric fantasy with humans of this world and fairies, read it: you might enjoy it and it might leave you with some memorable images. But don't expect an epic sweep or a moral message or breathtaking action.
***
'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell' is available on Amazon for £12.59 which includes 30% discount on the cover price of £17.99.
So far only a hardback edition is available, and a very handsome it is, with white OR black cover and, uniquely for an adult book, illustrated with moody, scary, charcoal drawings by Portia Rosenberg.
Advantages: An enchanting story Disadvantages: The footnotes can annoy and the language can be a bit tricky.
...is even more worried when Jonathan Strange appears on the scene, not knowing whether to treat him as a student, an equal or a rival. Starting as the former, the two soon develop contrasting ideas concerning magic and are soon in competition. Will it be a fight to the death or will they ever be able to see eye to eye?
It's tough to explain what effect this book has. It does sound quite dull and, in truth, in places it can be. But it's almost as if ... ...seemingly possessing forenames, apart from Jonathan Strange himself. Once this rather stiff and unusual writing style is adapted to, however, it does become a lot easier to read. In the early parts of the book, however, they style meant that the narrator sounded like a venerable old gentleman in my head and for the first few days, I kept hearing the voice of Patrick Stewart reading the words to me.
The use of footnotes can be a cause for concern, ...
Soho_Black 30.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Advantages: Good story, well developed characters, Disadvantages: Very, very long
...around the main characters of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel. Britian has a long tradition of magic, however this is now confined to theory rather than practice, and the men who call themselves magicians are simply scholars of magical history, none have managed to practise magic at all - it is firmly believed that magic in Britain is dead - until, that is, that Mr Norrel proclaims himself to be the only living, practical magician of the age! Detemined ... ...Norrel's own. This man is Jonathan Strange, an independent man of means, who comes only to magic after hearing a strange prophecy recited to him by a vagabond. His holds no stock by the prophecy, but with no other career planned, the idea of magic catches his fancy and he is soon being heralded as a new magaician, and a rival for Mr Norrel. In time he becomes his pupil, but with so opposing ideas on magic and it's restoration, it can only be a matter ...
daisydaisym 28.11.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Advantages: Fiction and History linked seamlessly Disadvantages: Longwinded at times and excessive footnotes
...gentlemen by the name of Jonathan Strange decides to become a magician after a chance meeting with a street sorceror and Norrell recognising his skill agrees to tutor him in the theory of magic. Soon it becomes apparant that not only is Strange an excellent pupil but he is also a rival to Norrell. Norrell is a cautious man and believes magic should be regulated and controlled, Strange however has different ideas. The two, with their strong personalities, ... ...begin leading them to part ways.
Events conspire against them as magic is on the increase in England and the faeries once again begin enchanting and abducting people away to faerie and something must be done....but what?
*Opinion*
The book is written very much in the language of the old classics which is surprising as it was first published in 2004. It was Susannah Clarke's debut novel. The language is not difficult to understand and portrays ...
maz2909 27.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Advantages: Wonderful prose, very imaginative Disadvantages: Rather long (and thus rather heavy in hardback!)
...craves, and his first pupil, Jonathan Strange, has rather different ideas about things, ideas which Norrell wants to suppress. Before long, the magicians have become embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars, have met the king and have earned the enmity of a powerful denizen of the fairy worlds. Tensions mount between the two, one of them falls in love, and some of their closest associates betray their trust. From here, the plot twists and turns in unexpected ... ...or the slow march of English politics. There are triumphs and tragedies, there is intrigue and excitement and the magical mixes with the mundane. In short, we have a rare beast, here. A story of the fantastic which doesn't follow the quests and wars formula. There is no merry band of adventurers in search of treasure. There are no great armies sweeping across the worlds - or at least, none which didn't exist in reality. We have a story about people ...
DavidBedford 13.07.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
Advantages: Very original and thoroughly absorbing Disadvantages: Rather heavy! (especially if you read in the bath like I do!)
This book had me intrigued from the start. The story is of two magicians in England in the early 1800s Regency era who try and revive magic in a country where magic has been almost forgotten for hundred of years.
The story follows the two magicians (Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell) whilst they help the govenrment and the military (particularly Wellington) in their battle against Napoleon and the story has a great deal of interesting detail ... ...must have been which i found fascinating.
The two main characters in the book are quite different and have opposing views on many areas of magic but they are bound together by their mutual love of magic and ultimately need each other by the final chapters of the book.
The book is divided into three separate volumes:
Volume 1 - Mr Norrell
Volume 2 - Mr Strange
Volume 3 - John Uskglass
John Uskglass is a fictional magician who in the book once ...
Pip111 01.12.2005 (02.12.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
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