Jonathan Strange ve Bay Norrell

by

Paperback, 695 pages

Published Nov. 1, 2006 by Oglak.

ISBN:
978-975-329-559-8
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(2 reviews)

Published in 2004, it is an alternative history set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Its premise is that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. Centred on the relationship between these two men, the novel investigates the nature of "Englishness" and the boundaries between reason and unreason, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Dane, and Northern and Southern English cultural tropes/stereotypes. It has been described as a fantasy novel, an alternative history, and a historical novel. It inverts the Industrial Revolution conception of the North-South divide in England: in this book the North is romantic and magical, rather than rational and concrete.

5 editions

reviewed Jonathan Strange ve Bay Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Review of 'Jonathan Strange ve Bay Norrell' on 'Goodreads'

Unbearable, boring, pretentious. When I have to force myself to read even a few pages from a book, it means I'm not enjoying it at all. That has been happening for the last months with this unswallowable brick.

The thing I regret the most, is having left aside so many other books I wanted to read, because I'm used to read only one book at a time.

I guess I'll just watch the TV series, just out of curiosity. I hope it's more enjoyable than this book.

reviewed Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Review of 'Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell' on 'Goodreads'

What an absolutely delightful read. You get transported to the age of the British gentlemen. I kept thinking while reading this book, "this is what we need in the US, more class". Yes, yes, the book had magicians, faeries, and all that stuff, too. The story was wondering, though well done. It does drag out a couple of times. Many of the places that I think the author was expecting an OMG moment from readers, I had already worked out in my head. Overall, it kept my interest, I loved the 19th century demeanor, and had a wonderful ending (while I did find some of the book predictable, the ending was not one of them.