{"id":151,"date":"2005-10-28T08:19:18","date_gmt":"2005-10-28T15:19:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=151"},"modified":"2021-05-31T19:51:36","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T23:51:36","slug":"jonathan-strange-mr-norrell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/151","title":{"rendered":"Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell<\/em> (2004) Susanna Clarke<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Jonathan<\/a>I got Michael this book for Christmas last year, but put off reading it myself because the book is huge: 800 pages huge. It’s not the kind of book I could curl up with; instead I had to set the book on the table, or prop it up in my lap, or lean it against a pillow. <\/p>\n

But it was worth it.<\/p>\n

This is an excellent book. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved the setting. I loved the idea. I loved the writing. I loved everything.<\/p>\n

It’s the 19th century, and magic has almost entirely disappeared from England. There are theoretical magicians who study the old texts and stories, but there do not seem to be any practical magicians. <\/p>\n

Until Mr Norrell shows up.<\/p>\n

Mr Norrell was very well pleased. Lord Liverpool was exactly the sort of guest he liked–one who admired the books buy shewed no inclination to take them down from the shelves and read them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite everything, I like Mr Norrell.<\/p>\n

But that’s all I want to tell you, because one of the things I loved about this book is discovering what happens and watching the story unfold.<\/p>\n

The characters are also wonderful. I love Jonathan Strange–he’s wonderful. And the other characters are also very good, especially Stephen Black. There is something about Stephen Black then I just kept hoping that things were going to work out for him.<\/p>\n

And I loved the writing.<\/p>\n

Today Spitalfields is inhabited by the low and the poor and is much plagued with small boys, thieves, and other persons inimicable to the peace of citizens.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I love the buried in descriptions and if you aren’t paying attention you’ll miss it, kind of humor.<\/p>\n

And the descriptions themselves, of this strange England, are wonderful. They remind me somewhat of Arthur Conan Doyle’s descriptions of England and the countryside, though I don’t know exactly why.<\/p>\n

And the real bits that she works in are lovely, like this bit about Lord Byron.<\/p>\n

And though my companions are careful to tell people that I am that dreadful being, an English magician, I am clearly nothing in comparison to an English poet and everywhere I go I enjoy the reputation\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009dquite new to me I assure you\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009dof the quiet, good Englishman, who makes no noise and is no trouble to anymore\u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00c2\u00a6<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is simply a wonderful book.<\/p>\n

If you have not already read it (it has, after all, been out for more than a year) I highly recommend you read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell<\/em>. But set aside some time and space at home for it, because this isn’t a book you can stick in your pocket and take with you.<\/p>\n

And this book was very close to being a 10\/10. Only the sheer size of the book, and how uncomfortable it was to read, knocked it down to a 9.
\nRating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2004) Susanna Clarke I got Michael this book for Christmas last year, but put off reading it myself because the book is huge: 800 pages huge. It’s not the kind of book I could curl up with; instead I had to set the book on the table, or prop it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,27,2,291],"tags":[316],"class_list":["post-151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-alternate-history","category-fantasy","category-paper","tag-susanna-clarke"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2r","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":334,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/334","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":0},"title":"The Ladies of Grace Adieu","author":"Michelle","date":"December 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The Ladies of Grace Adieu (2006) Susanna Clarke Illustrated by Charles Vess The Ladies of Grace Adieu is a collection of short stories set in the same world was Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell during the 18th and 19th centuries. Several of the stories revolve around familiar characters--Jonathan Strange, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alternate History"","block_context":{"text":"Alternate History","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy\/alternate-history"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/12\/Ladies-Grace-Adieu.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2724,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2724","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":1},"title":"Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell","author":"Michelle","date":"December 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (2004) Susanna Clarke I admit it. When I saw this on sale on the kindle I grabbed it even though we already have the hardback book. Because this is a HUGE book, and it's so much nicer to read a kindle than an 800 page\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Jonathan-Strange-Mr-Norrell.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3622,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/3622","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":2},"title":"The Way of the Wizard","author":"Michelle","date":"March 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Way of the Wizard (2010) John Joseph Adams I love anthologies. They give me an escape in bite size pieces that won't keep me up past my bed time on a work night, and they also often a wonderful introduction to authors I have not read previously. This anthology\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anthology"","block_context":{"text":"Anthology","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/anthology"},"img":{"alt_text":"way_of_the_wizard","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/way_of_the_wizard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":283,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/283","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":3},"title":"The Amulet of Samarkand","author":"Michelle","date":"July 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The Amulet of Samarkand The Bartimaeus Trilogy (2003) Jonathan Stroud Bartimaeus is a djinni who has been around for thousands of years. He even spent time in Ancient Egypt, a culture that he seems to have some slight fondness for. However, when he's called this time, his Master is an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/Amulet-Samarkand.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21728,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/21728","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":4},"title":"Jericho Candelario’s Gay Debut","author":"Michelle","date":"March 21, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Jericho Candelario's Gay Debut (2018) R. Cooper He and Jerry had argued once, in their way, about the difference between Lincoln working for his dream and doing what he loved, and why Jerry might be tired at the end of each day. Mostly, Lincoln had gotten loud, Jerry had gotten\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jericho Candelarios Gay Debut","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Jericho-Candelarios-Gay-Debut.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22481,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22481","url_meta":{"origin":151,"position":5},"title":"Death at the Manor","author":"Michelle","date":"October 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Death at the Manor (2022) Katharine Schellman (Lily Adler) Set in England in 1815. Jack's ship is repaired and ready to return to see, and Lily is headed to the country to visit her aunt. \u201cWill you write me?\u201d \u201cOf course. I shall tell you how revered I am aboard\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Death at the Manor","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/Death-at-the-Manor.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}