Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
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Book Details
Written by Susanna Clarke.
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($15.95)
Editorial Review (from Amazon.com)
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.
User Reviews (3) Login or create an account to write a review.
Jax thinks this book is Excellent.
Imagine a classic work by Austen and mix a little bit of magic and fantasy, you've got a very good concoction that kept me spell-bound. :-)
Mari thinks this book is Good.
A very worthy book, but certainly not to everyone's taste. I found it quite Dickensesque, with, oddly enough, a dash of Beatrix Potter in the style of wording. Too long by far, but I love the footnotes. Footnotes don't fit with all styles of novels, but I find them a valued addition to this type of book. They are much better than end notes and better still than stuffing the main text full of charming, but superfluious information.
This is a slow, character driven novel. It has a dark, threatening atmosphere that properly displays the dark side of Faerie. I would agree with Alan Jacobs (author of The Narnian) who said it was the best modern book that accurately described Faerie: beautiful, but with strong elements of danger.
The last quarter of the book was better than the first three by far, and worth the time to read the first 500+ pages to get there.
Josh Bailey thinks this book is Good.
The only problem with this book is the length. It is taking me forever to finish and I am not a slow reader. The story is absolutely magnificent and Clarke does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged.