Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel by Susanna Clarke Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: A Novel
Book Review: What's so wonderful
Summary: 2 Stars
Well I've read Tolkien, several times,Pullman,Cornwell, and numerous fantasy authors over time, am a great fan of Rowling, Gemmill and others. I read the hype then the reviews and decided to read through from start to finish to find this wonder of fantasy many here have written of.It was a grind, ideal for the Norrells of the world no doubt, those with little imagination perhaps, but it seemed to me a poor mix of historical narrative, and cartoon fiction, lacking real humour, any excitement, no mystery, and sadly any belief. I could live alongside Aragorn, assist Harry Potter, ride with Pullmans Polar Bears, fight alongside Sharpe, but all I'd do in S&N is find a warm corner to sleep.
Comparable to Austen, Dickens you have to be bewitched, comparable to real fantasy never in a million years.
Too long, too simple, too much narrative, too little real content, grown up Harry Potter, I'll stay a 55 year old kid thanks.
Book Review: Falling Flat
Summary: 3 Stars
I ordered this book from the library and was overjoyed to be the first in Hong Kong to borrow it. But a hundred or so pages in and began to fear that this book was not going to deliver the goods. A great idea, some fascinating characters but I felt the storyline was not sufficiently well written. It lacked suspense, anticipation and direction. Avenues of adventure were not investigated fully. And because in some areas there was a considerable amount of over writing the real lines of interest were not adequately developed. Nevertheless it was an enjoyable read, although a very long one, and worth just about the effort.Book Review: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke
Summary: 5 Stars
How good is this novel? Well, very good. Is it quite as good as the hype? Of course not. No book is - just because a book get many, many five-star reviews doesn't mean it's any better than five stars. That's the thing with hype - it builds cumulatively, so people think something will be simply out-of-this-world amazing, and then they're obviously disappointed. So, no, this book is no better than any other great novel you could go and pick up, but that doesn't stop it being great.I'd reccommend it, obviously. It's written excellently (though, it is a first novel and Clarke does still need to hone her style a little - it ain't perfect; the Austenesque-ness is occasionally overdone, and it gets a little heavy). It's arch, flamboyant, knowing and witty. It moves from an entertaining comedy of manners during the first part, into a dark tale of rival magicians in the final third. If anything, there are toop many characters and too broad a panorama. There's a lot to hold in the head in 800 pages. By the end, rationing myself to a chapter per day as I was, I was even thankful for it to be over. But that isn't to say I didn't enjoy every page.
Clarke's built a fully-realised world, rather like Tolkein did. Ignore the comparisons to Harry Potter for a start, too. This is almost infinitely superior in terms of writing, character, and intelligence. It's not Harry Potter for grown-ups. (Then, nor is it Philip Pullman for grown-ups either, because Philip Pullman is better and already for grown-ups anyway...I digress...)
Yes, anyway, I've said in a rather rambling, incoherent way, but this is a great book. It's rich, entertaining and rewarding. It doesn't exactly *tell" you anything, doesn't impart some knowledge of higher meaning, but it's a terific story, told in a charming style, and with charming characters. Apparently there's a sequel in the works. Bring it on, I say. So will hundreds of others.
Book Review: Enchantment, gentlemen magicians and a bit of Byron...
Summary: 5 Stars
It might seem somewhat redundant to just keep adding to the praise and acclaim already heaped on Susanna Clarke's debut novel. But I confess...I just can't help it. What can I say in my defence? Its just *that* good. Apparently this hefty tome was ten years in the making and I'd gladly wait another ten years for a sequel just as good.Simply put "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" is a charming read - a gripping narrative, a well-researched premise and innumerable sparkling bursts of imaginative brilliance make for a delicious experience. Set is an alternative England, an England where magic was once endemic, it boasts a generous cast of characters - from the divine, to the dastardly, to the downright nasty - and charts the return of England's lost magic in the early nineteenth century. Magic's return, heralded by the emergence of two very different gentleman-magicians, is anything but smooth and precipitates a number of magical crises. A noble lady looses a little finger and her freedom to a malicious faery, a two-penny street sorceror claims to possess a most precious book written by no other than John Uskglass, the Raven King, the most powerful magician of all time and Brussels temporarily relocates to somewhere west of the Mississippi. Along the way we become acquainted with any number of nineteeth century big-wigs - Lord Liverpool, George III and the Duke of Wellington - not to mention a particularly suave and...erm...Byronic Byron.
The proof of the pudding is in its length. A book this long could sink like a brick but in fact 800 pages is far from arduous; Clarke's prose slips down so easily that chapters fly by. I know that the Booker passed it by...but it tends to pass all excellent, non-pretentious entertaining fiction by. What "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell" promises is a cracking, enchanting read, something very rarely rewarded with official prizes. I'd quite merrily recommend it to all adults, no matter what you like to read - be it historical fiction, fantasy/sci-fi fiction, contemporary fiction, its all here, in one perfectly packaged plethora of pages.
If only England was such a place.
Book Review: one long yawn
Summary: 2 Stars
I really think this is quite a pitiful effort. To compare this favourably to Tolkein or Pullman beggars belief. I've made it 500 pages in and I still don't care about a single character or anything that might happen to them. Strange assists Wellington against the French in battle, yet you learn nothing about the war, there's no description of the battlefields or even the scenary. The narrative is strictly linear, this happened then that happened then this happened, this just isn't a quality novel.