Review: Mr. Norrell claims to be the only true magician left in England. His solitary life keeps him far and away from prying eyes, and he spends copious amounts of time in his personal library reading the books he’s accrued through monetary donations, bribery, threats, and other means of dubious nature. In the wee beginning of the book, he cows a sect of theoretical magicians into agreeing to give up their own innocent and uneffective research into magic. His lust for isolation matches his caution and arrogance, and he slowly begins to emerge as a force to be noted. An early act he performs to raise eyebrows involves literally giving life to a dead woman. His fame grinds to halt when he takes an apprentice: Jonathan Strange.

Jonathan Strange is much that Mr. Norrell is not. He possesses the charm and good-looks that Norrell lacks yet equals his brilliance as a magician. Strange remains respectful of his teacher, and makes every attempt to be a dedicated and apt pupil. Like many apprentices, he chomps at the bit of caution, waiting to be let loose to practice practical magic where it is applicable.

The two lend their services to their country as Britain fends off Napoleon’s fleets and armies. The magicians conjure fleets from rain, summon the dreams of the dead, shuffle foreign countries into the best possible battlefields for British soldiers, and create havoc amidst the French contingents. But the two cannot co-exist, and they begin to travel along two different roads which wend in and out of each other as they gather more power, and with the power, awaken an ancient evil as old as the magic they cloak themselves in.

Recommendation: In an effort to expand my own bloggy-ness (do you like that word, bloggy-ness?) I have decided upon an excellent scheme. I will now review books that I have not only read but also may not fully endorse. Jonathan Stange & Mr. Norrell is that book.

As a child, the number of gifts under the tree directly influenced how successful the holidays were for me. More = better. This rarely applied to the length of books. I never chose to read overly long books, and I have certainly heard many a groan at the length of books I have assigned. (What?! Over 200 pages? A travesty, certainly!) This book was an extensive and, at times, taxing read. The length is forgivable because the author does a nice job of creating a believable vision of a magical Britain in the 1800’s.

The writing is antiquated and filled with quaint misspellings that help lure the reader into this setting. The scope of the narrative is not limited to the story itself but includes a plethora of footnotes which, should you choose to read them, reveal a history and back story that supports the overall narrative. There were many occasions when this felt a little overwhelming. Characters of somewhat mundane importance crop up every now and then, causing one to either choose to go back and re-establish who they are or to forge ahead in the interest of suspense.

And then there is the magic. This is not Harry Potter, bless his bespectacled heart. There are no wands, no Ministry of Magic, no house-elves. This magic is darker and imagined in a much more realistic way. I only wish that there was more of it. Instead it is rationed out slowly, keeping the reader from gorging themselves on it, and keeping the focus more on the characters and their development. I must admit that when magic is performed, it is intriguing and fascinating, and in a weird way, it makes sense.

Another difficulty I had lay in the pacing of the book. It takes quite a while for the story to pick up speed, and I forced myself to push through it in an anticipation of amazing and compelling events. Eventually I got there, but it was no lark. I did feel a sense of achievement and relief upon completion of the novel.

This is the author’s first book, and I can say (with no real weight to back up my thoughts) that it is an impressive debut. Some nights the book became too heavy to hold up, and my weary arms were forced to admit defeat and relinquish it, but the second half was ultimately intriguing and I read for the sheer pleasure of being engrossed in a detailed and compelling story.

Clarke, Susanna. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Bloomsbury, New York, 2004.

Post Script: There is a collection of short stories by the same author, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, that continues to broaden the world that the novel is set in. They provide an interesting contrast and compliment to the story of the two magicians and are quite interesting on their own.

Currently Reading: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

On Deck: When the Crocodile Eats the Sun by Peter Godwin