Book: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
Author: Susanna Clarke
Pages: 864
This is my 56th read for the year
What Amazon says:
In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, most people believe magic to have long since disappeared from England - until the reclusive Mr. Norrell reveals his powers and becomes an overnight celebrity. Another practicing magician then emerges: the young and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's pupil, and the two join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wild, most perilous forms of magic, and he soon risks sacrificing his partnership with Norrell and everything else he holds dear.
This was a pretty interesting book. What a tome! Even me reading 120 pages a day, it still took me over a week to tackle it. Susanna tried to put about 3 books/stories into one book here, and I could see the benefit of spreading it out some. This is not a difficult read, but a long one, so it takes patience. I felt at times I was not in the right mindset to read it. I have read quite a few fantasy novels this year already - some books part of series - and I had trouble getting into this one and figuring out the world building. I found it lacking. And I am not a big fan of the early 1800s time period books. It is a personal problem. I did like Mr. Norrell and Mr. Strange the characters - actually I liked a lot of the characters. It was nice to read an adult fantasy book for a change. And overall, Clarke is a good writer, I would be anxious to read another of her (shorter) books.
Stars: 4
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