jonathan strange and mr. norrell

i was finally able to get my hands on a copy of jonathan strange and mr. norrell by susanna clarke. i've been trying to get one from the library for months now and ... anyway.

it was excellent. i enjoyed it thoroughly and was hardly able to put it down. karen really doesn't like that characteristic of mine too much, but after a few days of having my nose in the book i finally finished it. all 782 pages.

the writing was very well done. characters were developed to a fault. clarke spent some pages on characters that played hardly any role at all, yet she took the time to introduce each one. sentences were filled with colourful descriptions and the plot development pulled me along in a current that slowly increased in potency until the climax at the end.

jonathan strange and mr. norrell is a book about the revival of english magic set in historical great britain in the early nineteenth century. two magicians arise after two hundred years of no magic in britain and face challenges they would never have imagined. fairies, politicians, ancient kings, war, magic, and avarice are woven into a tapestry of immense colour and proportion.

if you are a fan of reading, of fantasy literature, of historical fiction, then i heartily recommend you check out jonathan strange and mr. norrell by susanna clarke.