Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell came out in 2004 and I found it on a bookshelf table (a little late to the party), waiting for me to tuck it into my arms directly on top of my brand new copy of A Feast of Crows (I had just been introduced to The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin). Almost twenty years later and here we are, I finally finished it. My white whale. My own person Everest. The book has garnered a ton of praise over the years. It won Time Magazine's #1Book of the Year, was one of People's Top Ten Books of the Year. It won the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award, as well as the Locus Award for Best First Novel. You name it, this novel won it. It deals with animal death and human deaths, bullying, gun violence, racism, murder, war, injury, and classism.

By 1800, England's magic was dead and gone, at least in practice. Theoretical magicians who loved to read about magic and hypothesize the applications of magic were rather common, but none of them could actually do magic. Until Mr. Norrell, a reclusive man who would rather stay in his library with his hoard of magical books than anything else. But when his existence becomes known, he becomes an overnight celebrity. Enter Jonathan Strange, a flaky man who flits from interest to interest, who decides that magic is something he may be his new diversion and has an astounding amount of success in a short amount of time. He finds his calling, becoming Norrell's student and the two delight in discussing magicians of old. But unlike the withdrawn and fearful Norrell, Strange is drawn by the more dangerous uses of magic until the two magicians have a falling out and end their relationship. But what Strange finds during his studies changes everything.

This novel has won so many awards that it is astounding... and I don't understand why. I read it, but mostly because I'm stubborn and refuse to be bested by a book. I think that the premise of the book is very interesting - it's what drew me in originally. I think the execution of book leaves a lot to be desired. It was too long, way too long. There was no reason for this book to be even half as long as it was. The writing was funny at times but it was so long winded that it made my mind go numb at times. The character's were unlikeable, but that's exactly how they're meant to be. There was some character progression in the last 100 pages, but not much before then. My copy of the book was 782 pages long. At about page 700, I started to enjoy myself. At 720, I thought things were really cooking. At 750, I was bored again. There is barely any momentum and what you do get sputters out quickly. This book had opportunity after opportunity to get interesting but it was slow, I slogged through, and the overwhelming emotion I had while reading it was frustration.

I'm giving Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke 2.25 stars out of 5 - and those stars are for premise and witty writing. I wish I could have liked it, I wanted to like it. I didn't. Susanna Clarke wrote a second novel that came out last year and has been all the rage, Piranesi. It is only 250 pages long. I may give that a try after my soul heals since I do think Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell could have been great if it had just been a third of the length.

For more from Susanna Clarke, check out her Instagram profile @susannaclarke_

Pairs well with Wigg buns and calling earwigs battle twigs instead.

My favorite quotes:

"'Get me a house that says to those that visit it that magic is a respectable profession - no less than law and a great deal more so than medicine.'"

"He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands."