I really really WANTED to like this book, but I couldn't. I didn't even finish it and don't plan to go back (trust me, I tried multiple times). While there are a LOT of books that I've started reading and walked away from temporarily either out of boredom or my ADD reading style, I've NEVER completely sworn off a book until the fourth time I tried to wade through this one. At first I thought maybe I don't "get it", but no, I've figured out it's the book not me. First of all, there are footnotes....

A very enjoyable book, as you can tell by the five stars. It starts off a bit slow- Mr. Norrell has a very bookish view of magic and neither he or his magic is very exciting, although he does set things into motion that drive the rest of the book. Have patience- things really pick up when Jonathan Strange enters the story and goes to Spain to help the Duke of Wellington with his battles. That prepares him very well as he struggles to right past wrongs and rescue his wife from his fairy nemesis.

I took up Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for the first time when I was around 13. It was one of the longest (apart from Harry Potter) and densest books I’d ever attempted to read at the time, and given my then-recent forays into the world of video games my attention span was growing shorter by the day. Before I took it up for a second time, I had patchy memories of an extremely important Book, a prophecy, and magicians participating in the Napoleonic Wars. And also bits and pieces of a style tha...

This was a delightful book to listen to (audible.com), especially since the narrator Simon Prebble made the English characters really come alive. Many reviews have described this book as an adult version of Harry Potter and I guess in some ways it is like that series but I haven't read those books only seen the movies. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell had many unique characters and neat twists and turns. The use of footnotes to move the story along was especially unique. At many times I found myse...

I am currently reading this, and I really wish my family would just leave me alone so I could totally immerse myself in it. You have to be committed--it's about 800 pages and Ms. Clarke takes her time to build characters and give the reader the feeling that he or she is, too, living in the early nineteenth century. I read a review of this book that said to read the first chapter--if you laugh out loud, go ahead and read the book and if not, put it down. I would say that's a good idea. There are

By the end of reading this book, I was entirely transported to the world Clarke had created. She explores the history of English magic through an older, conservative magician, Mr. Norrell and his younger more daring pupil, Jonathan Strange. Clarke is so thorough and detailed in her storytelling and it interweaves perfectly with the history of England. Truly a captivating and charming novel.

It was really long and really hard to get into, but in the end when discussing the book I realized that I liked it more than I thought.

Telat banget baca ini >.< but better late than neverApparently I do LOVE this series, it reminds me a bit with Bartimeus series :) the vibe, the magic, the setting... 5 solid stars and can't wait to read the 3rd book ^^

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke is one of the best books I’ve read in quite some time. It’s a hefty tome and somewhat daunting at first, I could definitely see how some would find it dry. Personally, I liked the history and the building of the story, which served to immerse you completely in Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell’s world. My only regret in reading this book is that I chose to do so during the holidays and had very little time to really sit and read. At best, I man...

This is quite an ambitious debut for Susanna Clarke. I was torn on how to rate this book. Most clear in my memory is the last 200 pages, which were very good. But then I think back to the first 600 and just how tedious most of them were. I find it amusing that she describes Mr. Norrell's stories as long and mostly uninteresting, when this is how I find most of her writing. She attempts to write in an Emily Dickenson-esque style, and while I found it off-putting at first, I did learn to appreciat...

This book had stayed unread in my library for years. What a mistake! Susanna Clarke engages the reader from the first chapter in such a way that the length of the book turns from menacing to promising. It features a decorated style of writing but stays amene and light. A deep construction of characters that act naturally in the framework of the story. This is not a simple bivalent story, with Good and Evil; at most,the forces that move the characters are curiosity and fear. But no action or subp...

Two British gentlemen revive the use of magic in 19th century England, one a grumpy old man, the other a charming, free-spirited young man. Despite their clashing views on magic, they amaze the world with their magical feats, aiding the British army in the war against Napoleon.Unbeknown to them, their use of Faery magic has endangered the lives of two others: A woman they raised from the dead and a butler. Every night, they are forced to attends faery balls in the kingdom of Lost-Hope, leaving t...

I really with Susanna Clarke would write another novel. As soon as I finished this, I ran out and got The Ladies of Grace Adieu, her collection of short stories. They're also very good, but what I like best about Clarke's writing is the way she uses it to construct and sustain a universe that you want to immerse yourself in. I think this is why so many people compare her work to the Harry Potter novels. But Clarke's world (and her writing) is better, and you want her to continue in novel-sized p...

I really enjoyed this book, though it leaves me wanting more (yes, more). I would love to see a sequel that focuses on Arabella and Lady Pole and maybe Flora as the new wave in English magic. Granted, I wouldn't mind if the sequel were a bit less voluminous.I, who seldom read books this long, managed to get through the slow parts by listening to the book during my commute to/from work - then I would pick up the physical book when I got home and be motivated to keep going.

Good gravy, what an epic tale this is. It took me years (literally, years) to finish this book because I have zero attention span and at times, I just didn't have the will power to attack this book with the steadfast devotion it deserves. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell would spend long periods of time unopened on my bookshelf solely as penance for being so. damn. LONG. But it was all worth it in the end. I'm a sucker for a well-planned ending.

Painfully slow. Normally, I like glacial pacing; here, it didn't work. Also, a more boring cast of characters cannot be found anywhere.

DNF-ed. I couldn't stand it :'(