Ah, sorry. ahem.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is an enjoyable read. Written in a rather Dickensian style, the story follows two magicians (actual, “conjuring faeries” magicians, not “pull a rabbit out of my hat” magicians) in England in the early 1800s. The author, Susanna Clarke, creates a richly detailed world, with extensive footnotes and background story giving the reader an impression that he is reading a scholarly history rather than a novel.
Okay, pretensions aside, it was a fun read, but difficult to get into at first. The pacing of the plot is right in line with the chosen voice: slow and deliberate, just like one of Charles Dickens’s table-breakers. That being said, the wrap-up at the end actually seemed rather rushed, given the nigh-glacial pace of everything that came before. Still, I found it hard to put down each night.
Story: English magic has stagnated for hundreds of years; those calling themselves “magicians” are basically historians. The art of “practical” magic is essentially lost. But then, a self-taught magician, Mr. Norrell, appears, doing wondrous things and pledging his service to the nation. Shortly, another magician arises, a young prodigy named Jonathan Strange. Norrell at first feels threatened by the appearance of another magician, but eventually takes Strange under his wing as an apprentice. As Strange journeys abroad to serve in the Napoleonic wars, he grows ever more distant from Norrell, resenting his mentor’s secrecy and book-hoarding habits. Meanwhile, Norrell’s earliest magic begins to have consequences he did not foresee…
