Title: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Author: Susanna Clarke
Rating Out of 5: 3 (On the fence about this one)
My Bookshelves: Alternate history, Historical fiction, Magic
Dates read: 7th – 23rd March 2020
Pace: Slow
Format: Novel
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year: 2004
5th sentence, 74th page: He said that he had always thought that it was a pity that magic was not more commonly used in England; he said it pained him to see Mrs Bloodworth and her daughters washing and sweeping and cooking and cleaning from dawn to dusk when they ought, in his opinion, to be sitting on cushions in jewel-spangled gowns eating comfits.
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 antithesis of Norrell. So begins a dangerous battle between these two great men. Their obsessions and secret dabblings with the dark arts will cause more trouble than they can imagine.
To be honest, I didn’t get all the way through this book. It was just really not my pace. Or my style. But I did get most of the way through. And then I skimmed the rest of the pages to at least get a bit of a gist of what the story was about and how it all ended.
The irony? Sitting down to write this review… I still don’t have any strong feelings or thoughts about this story.
Don’t get me wrong, I did really like the style of writing and storytelling. There was something in that alone that kept me hooked for quite a while. But I didn’t feel this overwhelming need to pick the book up and keep reading. My emotions were really just “meh” about it. Which is why I skimmed to the end. I was curious, but I wasn’t that bothered either. And since I have so many other books that I can’t wait to see what will happen next…
All in all, if you really love historical fictions that read a little bit like a telling of history. This may actually be the book for you. I can’t really fault it. But for me, who likes a bit more page-turning in my stories… I just didn’t quite get the yay feeling out of it.
Earth and Skye 