Featured Book: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Publisher: Tor Books
Format: Trade Paperback
Pages: 1024 pages
Published: August 2006

Synopsis: There used to be magic in England, magic governed by the mysterious Raven King. However, magic has fallen into obscurity until two men of prophecy appear: Mr. Norrell, a paranoid recluse, and his pupil Jonathan Strange, an insouciant young man. Together, and with friends and enemies, they change the landscape of English magic.

Review: What can I say about this whopping monster of a book except brilliant, brilliant, brilliant? I heard that it took Susanna Clarke many years to write JS&MN and I believe it. The story is full of imagination, complex history, and believable backgrounds all wrapped up in language that matches the 1800s setting. You meet Wellington, Byron; you see the Napoleonic Wars. Yet in the same pitch-perfect language Clarke can summon humour, horror, unease, and wonder. I don’t think there is a single emotion she can’t pull out of you. Clarke doesn’t resort to cheap tricks to do it. No explosions or excessive drama. Just genuine low-key writing that delights as much as it astonishes.

I also like the representation of magic, especially how the magic Strange and Norrell used had its roots in the Raven King and in Fairy. Clarke’s Fairy is as Fairy should be: brilliant and unnerving. You should never feel right in your skin when fairies are about.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a long book. For anyone who spends a lot of time in the Hart House Library, it’s a great project to tackle, and well worth the efforts.

Strange! Arabella! Norrell! Stephen Black! Vinculus! Childermass! England!

– N.S

About harthouselibrary

The Hart House Library is an organic space, a living institution which grows and adapts to the ever-changing needs of our dedicated multi-demographic patrons. Under the stewardship of the Literary and Library Committee, the library seeks to be all-inclusive by offering a variety of opportunities to student groups and volunteers to participate in building a stronger literary community at Hart House and maintaining a relevant and special collection of literature to reflect the library’s evolving interests. Hart House library is a reading and browsing library, whose unique contribution to the university experience and to Canada’s literacy culture has been attested by generations of students, including many of Canada’s promising writers and leaders. The library’s physical character is consistent with its cultural and historical character. This requires that, first, the library be maintained as readers space, not a study space, and second, that a conservation-oriented approach be taken to physical change. Address: 7 Hart House Cir, Toronto, ON M5S 3H3 Phone:(416) 978-2452 Hours: Wednesday hours 7:00 am–11:00 pm

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