Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Paperback
Several times as I was reading this massive novel, I thought of giving up on it. But the more I read, the more I wanted to find out what would happen to the characters in the story and how some of the main issues would be resolved. Well I continued to the end (all 846 pages) and am glad I did. This novel took Clarke ten years to write and at some points, I thought it was going to take me that long to read! I did have some other things distracting me from reading this including watching our granddaughter and preparing for the holidays but I finally finished it this morning.
From Wikipedia: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centered on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel.
Although the novel is a fantasy and an alternate history, it does provide a lot of information about Britain during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century. The main premise of magic and its once upon use in England was a very interesting idea and the alternate history that Clarke includes in the novel is extensive including many, many footnotes to magnify her alternate world. Some of this I found to be a little tedious with the footnotes breaking up the flow of the story but overall I did find it quite enthralling even though early on in the novel I about gave up on it. In the end, I feel that it was worth reading but I do think it could have been edited down quite a bit.
There is also a BBC miniseries based on the novel. I found out that it is currently available on Netflix so I'm sure I will be watching it to see how it compares to the novel.
From Wikipedia: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is the debut novel by British writer Susanna Clarke. Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centered on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel.
Although the novel is a fantasy and an alternate history, it does provide a lot of information about Britain during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century. The main premise of magic and its once upon use in England was a very interesting idea and the alternate history that Clarke includes in the novel is extensive including many, many footnotes to magnify her alternate world. Some of this I found to be a little tedious with the footnotes breaking up the flow of the story but overall I did find it quite enthralling even though early on in the novel I about gave up on it. In the end, I feel that it was worth reading but I do think it could have been edited down quite a bit.
There is also a BBC miniseries based on the novel. I found out that it is currently available on Netflix so I'm sure I will be watching it to see how it compares to the novel.
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