Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
14 August 2006, lunch time
I finally finished Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It took me a fairly long time to get through; the book is a bit of a tome. Set in 19th century England, the book narrates the story of the two men that would return magic to English soil. It’s a fantasy novel of sorts, but really reads much more like a novel from the period it is set in. It is only a fantasy book insofar as it is a book about magicians. The book is reminiscent of Quicksilver, but without the maddening vocabulary. Like Quicksilver, the pace of the story is also very slow, but it is a bit more focused. The book is split into three parts, and the story really doesn’t start moving till the end of the second part. Once the story gets going however, the book is very engrossing. Beyond the story, the characters themselves are interesting and entertaining. The pages and pages of back story really do contribute to the overall book. It was a good book, worth checking out.
Because I’m completely self involved, I just want to point out that you and I had pretty much the exact same opinion.
by Ben on August 14 2006, 4:00 pm #