Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

After reading The Night Circus and falling madly in love with that book, I went looking for a read-alike.  One of the titles I came across on several lists was a book I'd been meaning to read for quite some time;  since I'd first seen it on the new shelf at my library in fact -- and it was listed as a similar work to The Night Circus.

That is how I came to pick up a copy of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a book of more than 800 pages in length, and full of magic, magicians, proper English gentlemen and ladies, royalty, Napoleonic battles, and a general sense of wonder as two magicians struggle to bring magic back to England.  I loved it.

Here is a portion of my GoodReads review, but I have trimmed it down, as there may be some spoilers contained within the full version.  Please feel free to read the full review on the GoodReads site if you so wish!

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up after eyeing it on the shelf for months. While it is a long read, it is quite a satisfactory romp through England starting in 1806 and running the course of several years. The book is very character focused, and while several countries are visited during the course of the storyline, the intricacies of the characters and their personalities are much more the focus of the story than the locations where they find themselves.

(Snip!)

All in all, I found this to be an excellent read.

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I understand that this is Clarke's first novel, and I hope to see more enjoyable reads from her in the future!