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BookshelfMonstrosity: Magical rivalries are at the heart of these unconventional Fantasy novels, which play out over decades and against elaborate, atmospheric 19th-century backdrops. Their initially relaxed pacing gains momentum as the various narrative threads dramatically converge.… (mere)
TheSpecialistsCat: Both Clarke and Mirrlees lived briefly in Spain, then returned home to write about fairies and also, ostensibly, what it means to be English.
fyrefly98: Both have the same "Jane-Austen-meets-Harry-Potter" vibe to them; "Jonathan Strange" is denser and more grown-up, while "Sorcery & Cecelia" is funnier and more of a romp.
ErlendSkjelten: I don't remember making this recommendation, much less why I did; they are very different books. I think I felt that they both conjured up the same mystic mood, and they are both concerned with a very British magic.
I listened to this on audiobook (from the NYPL) so I don't quite know how it would be to read it.
An odd book this — I'm not sure it amounts to that much, and it is certainly overlong... but it is just so enjoyable, so well realised, and also very amusing in an understated way. So many nice flourishes.
It probably isn't a 5* book in a platonically ideal reality, but it surpassed expectations, and delighted me, and that's pretty good. ( )
I loved this audiobook! The story was engrossing, the characters were interesting (if not always likeable), the narration was wonderful, and I was not disappointed by the ending (as I often am when an author seems to have a good beginning and middle but no way to end the story). In fact, this is one of those books that seems to be written from the ending backwards. By that I mean that all of the various threads that seem unconnected in the beginning slowly become intertwined to form the whole. However, the way in which the pieces came together was clever and often unpredictable (to me at least!). Most interesting to me were my feelings about Mr. Norrell. He was difficult to like but by the end I came to respect his careful and curmudgeonly ways, even though I still preferred Mr. Strange's brash and arrogant approach. ( )
The (softback) edition I have comes in at just over 1000 pages, and this is one of the reasons that it has been sitting on my bookshelf for a number of years now, occasionally glaring at me and daring me to pick it up and read it.[return][return]I am glad that I have read it, and it is not like any book I have read before. Excellent for a first book, there is humour, romance, history (some of which I hope is made up!), and most importantly of all magic, and lots of it. The footnotes are as important as the main text, and all shows an attention to detail that I dont know if the author will ever achieve again, purely for the amount of time this book must have already taken from her.[return][return]The only book I can realistically compare it to (in terms of length, scope etc) is "The Crimson Petal and the White", which I think is another debut novel. Have to admit that whilst I thought "Crimson" finished too soon, in a way I was glad that "Jonathan" did, although I was satisfied with the openness of the ending and the potential of more. ( )
Incredibly captivating from beginning to end, Clarke's world is rich and deep. I was hooked from the first 50 pages and it never stopped being fascinating. This is the rare book that unquestionably lives up to the hype. ( )
Overall, this was fun to read. A mix of history and pseudo-history. It reminded me of "Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies" at times how it mixed manners with magic much like PP&Z did. The ending was a little anti-climactic to me and there were other better endings I feel. But it was still enjoyable. ( )
Her deftly assumed faux-19th century point of view will beguile cynical adult readers into losing themselves in this entertaining and sophisticated fantasy.
Susanna Clarke, who resides in Cambridge, England, has spent the past decade writing the 700-plus pages of this remarkable book. She's a great admirer of Charles Dickens and has produced a work every bit as enjoyable as The Pickwick Papers, with more than a touch of the early Anne Rice thrown in for good measure.
A chimera of a novel that combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the delicious social comedy of Jane Austen into a masterpiece of the genre that rivals Tolkien.
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
He hardly ever spoke of magic, and when he did it was like a history lesson and no one could bear to listen to him.
Tilegnelse
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
In memory of my brother, Paul Frederick Gunn Clarke, 1961-2000
Første ord
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians.
Citater
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
At sixteen she spoke -- not only French, Italian & German -- which are part of any lady's commonplace accomplishments -- but all the languages of the civilized (and uncivilized) world. She spoke the language of the Scottish Highlands (which is like singing). She spoke Basque, which is a language which rarely makes any impression upon the brains of any other race, so that a man may hear it as often and as long as he likes, but never afterwards be able to recall a single syllable of it. She even learnt the language of a strange country which, Signor Tosetti had been told, some people believed still existed, although no one in the world could say where it was. (The name of the country was Wales.)
It is also true that that his hair had a reddish tinge and, as everybody knows, no one with red hair can ever truly be said to be handsome.
"Soldiers, I am sorry to say, steal everything." He thought for a moment and then added, "Or at least ours do."
"Can a magician kill a man by magic?" Lord Wellington asked Strange. Strange frowned. He seemed to dislike the question. "I suppose a magician might," he admitted "but a gentleman never could."
It may be laid down as a general rule that if a man begins to sing, no one will take any notice of his song except his fellow human beings. This is true even if his song is surpassingly beautiful. Other men may be in raptures at his skill, but the rest of creation is, by and large, unmoved. Perhaps a cat or a dog may look at him; his horse, if it is an exceptionally intelligent beast, may pause in cropping the grass, but that is the extent of it. But when the fairy sang, the whole world listened to him. Stephen felt clouds pause in their passing; he felt sleeping hills shift and murmur; he felt cold mists dance. 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. In the fairy's song the earth recognized the names by which it called itself.
Sidste ord
Oplysninger fra den engelske Almen VidenRedigér teksten, så den bliver dansk.
Then he turned upon his heel and disappeared into the Darkness.
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Google Books — Indlæser...
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke - aulsmith tutoring Morphidae
29
An odd book this — I'm not sure it amounts to that much, and it is certainly overlong... but it is just so enjoyable, so well realised, and also very amusing in an understated way. So many nice flourishes.
It probably isn't a 5* book in a platonically ideal reality, but it surpassed expectations, and delighted me, and that's pretty good. (