By Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel is, quite simply, a remarkable piece of literature.
The strength of Clarke’s authorship and narrative prose is delightfully engaging, allowing for a fully realised Napoleonic England, complete with an alternative history filled with faeries, ravens, magic and lore that is so detailed and so well researched this could easily be a work of nonfiction. Clarke’s voice is simultaneously witty and humorous, yet almostly effortlessly evokes both the wonder and terror magic brings.
The story itself is slow and gradually unburdens itself, to my delight, over the course of its thousand page run, squeezing every detail, every piece of lore and every character trait to its maximum. This is not to everybody’s taste, I can fully accept. But I am in love with it here. Moreover, Clarke’s magic system is unique and inspired, and each time magic occurs it feels weighty, and wondrous and significant. The manner of this otherworldliness, both in her descriptions of magic and in her depictions of the Fae are for me the highlight of this book. It feels magical.
Her characters are complex and layered, their relationships sincere and real. The admirable Jonathan Strange, the reclusive Mr. Norrel, the ineffable Gentleman, the admirable Stephen Black, the mysterious and captivating John Uskglass, the roguish Childremass, the repulsive Drawlight and loathsome Lascelles and so many more.
I have read this book twice now, and devoured it both times; and I fully expect to read it again. And again. And again. Truly, this is a book of magic.
Some years ago there was in the city of York a society of magicians…
Susanna Clarke
Samuel D. Capper 