Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
by Susanna Clarke
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Book Summary Information
Author: Susanna ClarkeEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-08-30
ISBN: 1582346038
Number of pages: 800
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Book Reviews of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
Book Review: Best Book I've Read in Years!
Summary: 5 Stars
I knew this day would come....
I knew that one day, I would turn the page and find that there were no more words...
I remember, like other reviewers, many times where I checked to see how many pages I had left....not because I wanted to be rid of them but because I worried their numbers grew too few...
My only solace is that a sequel of sorts will be written.
Jonathon Strange & Mr. Norrell stared at me from the bookshelf in every bookstore I encountered. I would pick it up, open it to a random page and find a spattering of seemingly dull dialogue. I would put it neatly back upon the shelf and walk on. Still I couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something good. Almost as an afterthought, I picked it up cheap at Walmart. From the very first page, I recognized that Clarke is a master at her craft....imagine, this is only her first novel!
This isn't a novel that is easily sorted into a particular genre. I've seen it placed in fantasy and fiction, and it won the Hugo award...most commonly awarded to works of science fiction. Yet most people have come close to describing Clarke's style when they compare her to Austen and Dickens. Clarke weaves a meandering tale over the social fabric of old England. Yet, in using the word meandering, a very positive connotation is intended. Clarke employs a series of long footnotes that work to secure the reality that she creates and foreshadow events in the tale. I've never read a fantasy novel that created a world and system as believable and concrete as Clarke's.
True, this isn't a novel for the thrill-a-minute type. I dare say, however, that this is because Clarke has created something that truly lives up to the label of high art. As good as Tolkien's books may be, and as much as he may be the father of the fantastic, Clark has achieved something more difficult...hers is an exercise in wit and subtlety.
In fact, JS & MN is humorous and witty from the very first page. In an interview, Clarke says that her favorite author is Austen; I dare say that Austen would look quite favorably upon the way Clarke uses the social fabric of her society to invoke irony and wit.
At the same time, the plot itself is higly suspenseful to those that enjoy a good tale about human nature. Others have already written enough about the details of the plot, and as with any movie or novel, I always contend that one is best off not knowing any of the specifics of the plot. Be it enough to say that Clarke juggles a wide array of characters and subplots with such skill that it seems IMPOSSIBLE that this is her first novel.
Finally, Clarke's general use of language is simply enchanting. She has a way of describing scenes that breath life into them. She is one of those rare writers that know precisely which couple of details will allow an entire picture to unfold in the mind of the reader.
I could write a good deal longer in praise of this book, but A) others have done just that and B) I would undoubtedly repeat myself. Suffice it to say, I don't understand why this book isn't better known. Sure, literary publications cried for joy at its coming, but every person I've mentioned it to (at least 20 and counting) has never even heard of it. I can only hope that the book gains recognition through word of mouth, because it deserves to be an absolute classic. Upon finishing the tale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, I have determined one thing: Whether Ms. Clarke decides to write about cherry pits or the anatomy of giraffes, I will read every word she publishes.
Summary of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
The international bestseller, finally in paperback!
Time magazine?s #1 book of the year ? 11 weeks and counting on the New York Times bestseller list ? Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award ? Longlisted for the Booker prize ? A Book Sense pick ? People Top Ten Books of the year ? Salon.com Top Ten of 2004 ? New York Times Notable Books of the Year ? Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction 2004 ? Nancy Pearl?s Top 12 Books of 2004 ? Washington Post Book World Best of 2004 ? San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2004 ? Chicago Tribune Best of 2004 ? Seattle Times 25 Best Books of 2004 ? Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 12 Books of 2004 ? Village Voice ?Top Shelf? ? Raleigh News & Observer Best of 2004 ? Rocky Mountain News critics? favorites of 2004 ? Kansas City Star 100 Noteworthy Books of 2004 ? Fort Worth Star-Telegram 10 Best Books of 2004 ? Hartford Courant Best Books of 2004
Susanna Clarke?s brilliant first novel is an utterly compelling epic tale of nineteenth-century England and the two very different magicians who, as teacher and pupil and then as rivals, emerge to change its history. Sold in 21 languages, with a major motion picture from New Line on the way, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a tour de force that has captured the imagination of readers worldwide.
Time magazine?s #1 book of the year ? 11 weeks and counting on the New York Times bestseller list ? Shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award ? Longlisted for the Booker prize ? A Book Sense pick ? People Top Ten Books of the year ? Salon.com Top Ten of 2004 ? New York Times Notable Books of the Year ? Christian Science Monitor Best Fiction 2004 ? Nancy Pearl?s Top 12 Books of 2004 ? Washington Post Book World Best of 2004 ? San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2004 ? Chicago Tribune Best of 2004 ? Seattle Times 25 Best Books of 2004 ? Atlanta Journal-Constitution Top 12 Books of 2004 ? Village Voice ?Top Shelf? ? Raleigh News & Observer Best of 2004 ? Rocky Mountain News critics? favorites of 2004 ? Kansas City Star 100 Noteworthy Books of 2004 ? Fort Worth Star-Telegram 10 Best Books of 2004 ? Hartford Courant Best Books of 2004
Susanna Clarke?s brilliant first novel is an utterly compelling epic tale of nineteenth-century England and the two very different magicians who, as teacher and pupil and then as rivals, emerge to change its history. Sold in 21 languages, with a major motion picture from New Line on the way, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a tour de force that has captured the imagination of readers worldwide.
It's 1808 and that Corsican upstart Napoleon is battering the English army and navy. Enter Mr. Norrell, a fusty but ambitious scholar from the Yorkshire countryside and the first practical magician in hundreds of years. What better way to demonstrate his revival of British magic than to change the course of the Napoleonic wars? Susanna Clarke's ingenious first novel, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, has the cleverness and lightness of touch of the Harry Potter series, but is less a fairy tale of good versus evil than a fantastic comedy of manners, complete with elaborate false footnotes, occasional period spellings, and a dense, lively mythology teeming beneath the narrative. Mr. Norrell moves to London to establish his influence in government circles, devising such powerful illusions as an 11-day blockade of French ports by English ships fabricated from rainwater. But however skillful his magic, his vanity provides an Achilles heel, and the differing ambitions of his more glamorous apprentice, Jonathan Strange, threaten to topple all that Mr. Norrell has achieved. A sparkling debut from Susanna Clarke--and it's not all fairy dust. --Regina Marler
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