Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Most people in England in 1806, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, think magic has long since vanished, but that is until the reclusive Mr. Norrell shows his abilities and becomes an instant sensation.
The youthful and brave Jonathan Strange, a practising magician, then shows up. He takes on the role of Norrell’s student, and the two team up to fight France.
However, Strange finds himself pulled more and more to the dangerous, wild types of magic, and he eventually runs the risk of ruining his relationship with Norrell and everything else he values.
The remarkable debut book by Susanna Clarke is an epic narrative of nineteenth-century England and the two magicians who, at first as rivals and later as students, emerge to alter its history.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
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If you want to choose one book to represent all the wonderful and richness in fantasy, Susanna Clarke’s novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell will be the best. This novel, which took Clarke ten years to write, is unlike anything other in its humour, tragedy, beauty, and complexity.
Clarke’s work, in contrast to the fancies of the 1920s and 1930s, is about humans finding the magic that has been forgotten for generations and becoming familiar with both its vast benefits and also its enormous prices and the tragedies they bring.
In contrast to the fast-paced, action-packed, romance-filled novels that have become so popular, Clarke has written a stunning book that reads effortlessly for the readership it is intended for. However, it may be confusing to readers who are used to those kinds of books. If you’re not into Austen, you probably won’t enjoy this novel because it reads like Austen. As a result, if you adore Austen (as I do) and have a strong preference for the strange and occasionally absurd, this will be exactly up your alley.
Characters that have no function aren’t introduced by Clarke at all. Contrary to certain other authors, Clarke won’t refer to a character’s name more than a few times if they don’t ultimately influence the plot’s course of action. Vinculus is a good example. After it seemed as though Vinculus would be unimportant, I initially thought it was odd that Clarke kept bringing up his name. However, as I read on, I started to understand that every time Vinculus’ name was brought up—and eventually, every time he made an appearance—it served as another spoke in the wheel that was constantly turning in the direction of the action. Her characters are all shown through their words and deeds rather than through descriptions.
