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Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

#1 User is offline   Werthead 

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Posted 26 June 2008 - 11:26 PM

From the blog.

Quote

Released in 2004, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was a huge success for its author, who had spent ten years writing the novel. It sat on the bestseller lists for quite some time, was hugely promoted (for over a year I couldn't go into either of my local Waterstones without seeing the book everywhere) and won both the 2005 Hugo Award and World Fantasy Awardfor Best Novel. Unusually for a self-proclaimed fantasy novel, it was also longlisted for the 2005 Booker Prize (which normally prefers authors who refuse to admit their novels are SF or fantasy, such as Margaret Atwood). Time Magazine also named it the best novel of 2004.

The book opens in the early 19th Century. Britain used to be a centre of magical prowess and for three hundred years a powerful magician ruled a magical kingdom in the north (based around Newcastle) before disappearing, but in recent centuries magic has faded out of view and become purely a theoretical science. A theoretical magician, John Segundus, discovers a 'real' magician named Mr. Gilbert Norrell and reluctantly convinces him to make his magical prowess known to the public at large. At first resistant to the idea, Norrell soon changes his mind and finds himself the toast of London society and is greatly valued by the King and Parliament for the magical aid he gives in the war against Napoleon. However, Norrell's profile is soon upstaged by the emergence of a new magician, the young and handsome Jonathan Strange. Norrell sees Strange as headstrong and dangerous, whilst Strange thinks Norrell is controlling and old-fashioned. As their feud escalates across the years, a lord of faerie, known only as the 'gentleman with thistledown hair', returns to Earth and sets in motion a number of villainous plans that ensnares a beautiful young woman and a black servant of kingly countenance.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is a terrific and major accomplishment in fantasy writing: the recreation of a 19th Century novel as if it was written by Dickens or Austen with magic merely part of the backdrop. It is a rich book dripping in atmosphere and, at times, humour that is reminiscent of Jack Vance but fits in with the time period. The core of the plot - the rivalry between the two magicians - is simple, but the details that embellish it make it far more complex and involving. The book is accompanied by intriguing and amusing footnotes and some excellent Victorian-esque illustrations by Portia Rosenberg.

Indeed, for much of its considerable length the book looks like it's going to walk off with top marks. Unfortunately, it hits a snag about two-thirds of the way into the volume that threatens to unbalance the whole enterprise. Having already channelled Dickens and Austen with the merest dash of Tolstoy in the short battle sequences, Clarke seems to have decided that what the book really needed was some kind of extended European adventure in which our main characters are put through hell and back, suffering illnesses and bouts of insanity, almost as if she wanted to put Strange through a Byron or Keats-esque nightmarish wringer for the sheer hell of it. And it seems to go on forever. If I hadn't been on holiday at the time with this as the only book to hand, I question whether I could have gotten through it. The book does recover somewhat towards the end, with an intriguing reapproachment between Strange and Norrell that unfolds in a totally unexpected way with a somewhat appropriate ending, but the unexpected, extended interlude of misery into a story enlivened by its earlier, lighter moments is a jarring tonal shift that makes it difficult to recommend the book unreservedly.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell (***½) is a book that very nearly achieves greatness through is rich character-building, its lavish descriptions and lively humour, but is let down by an unnecessarily long and drawn out latter third. If you can bear with it, the novel does ultimately end with a fitting conclusion, but it's possible you may lose interest before that point.

The novel is published by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom and by Tor in the USA. A short story collection expanding on characters from the novel, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, was released in 2006. Clarke is currently working on a sequel to the novel.

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#2 User is online   QuickTidal 

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Posted 27 June 2008 - 03:38 AM

Werthead;339608 said:



I thought I was the only one who got snagged in that middle section. Phew, thank gods I'm not crazy. Once through it though, I enjoyed the rest.
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#3 User is offline   Varunwe 

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Posted 27 June 2008 - 06:15 PM

I got snagged a lot earlier, and never came through. This is probably the only fantasy book I truly hate. Two stupid wizards, neither managing much interesting or funny, who are outshone by the secondary characters. The tone of the book was childish and footnotes shouldn't last for pages. The breakpoint for me was at the end of the second section, when Strange shows what a hypocritical SOB he is and Clarke lets him of easy.
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#4 User is offline   pat5150 

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Posted 29 June 2008 - 06:24 PM

If you've read my recent post I wrote in Krakow, then you know how I feel about this one. . .

Patrick
For book reviews, author interviews, giveaways, related articles and news, and much more, check out www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com
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#5 User is offline   Ursus 

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Posted 29 June 2008 - 11:10 PM

Aww, c'mon, are dragons and magical swords really a requirement for a good book?
JS&mN would probably be on my ranking, not in the top but certainly as a damn good book. It doesnt have dragons, magical swords, demons or simpering princesses, the main character doesnt kill someone or save the world and all existance every thrid page and hey, thats whats so good about it. I cant specify it better because i sure wouldnt call it exciting. Nonetheless i had a smile on my lips when i closed the book and i look forward to re-reading it in another year or two.
Fantasy is an extremly conservative genre and four times out of five when you pick up an unknown author you have read it all twenty times before. JS&mN is a break from mainstream fantasy, it feels refreshing to read and the slow tempo and the peculiar narrative works for me. Sortof a cozy book rather than the usual nonstop action adventure.
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#6 User is online   Tiste Simeon 

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 01:56 AM

Is it wrong that I got bored and didn't finish this book? Admittedly life was very busy and I just didn't have time to sit down and read such a novel, but at the same time nothing was really happening...
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#7 User is offline   Paran 

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 02:45 AM

Tiste Simeon, I' totally with you. While the writing is great and the details keep you going (especially about the Dark King), it does really drag... a lot... and often. Frankly, I'm still tangled in the middle - unfinished, 2 years and counting. Ugggh, what a waste of my time. Taught me to be very wary of fantasy books hailed by literary types.
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#8 User is offline   Valgard 

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 10:28 AM

I must admit I loved this book didn't drag at all for me. I especially enjoyed the footnotes they were masterfully written and really added a lot to the whole experience. The footnotes basically made the world feel alive with a long history to it. The fairy aspects of the story were some of the best I think Susanna Clarke managed to really capture the horror of the fairies alongside their allure brilliantly and better than any other author I have read. If you did enjoy her book I recommend her second book which is a collection of short stories about Fairies. It is called "The Ladies of Grace Adieu".
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#9 User is offline   Ursus 

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Posted 30 June 2008 - 11:10 AM

Oh? Another book? Needs looking up, thanks :mad:
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#10 User is offline   Varunwe 

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Posted 01 July 2008 - 04:52 PM

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Aww, c'mon, are dragons and magical swords really a requirement for a good book?


If it was, Eragon would be good. Which I would much rather reread than the boring JS&MN. Who could do with a dragon chewing down on them or a magical sword in their gut.

Was anyone else allergic to 'Oh' for months after reading JS&MN?
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