The novel starts with an interesting and mysterious setting, with somewhat flowery writing... and then nothing happens for the first 30% or so of the novel. After that, "things" start happening. It's an interesting novel with a great concept, but not a great execution.
It was a delight to come back to this after so many years. It remains a favorite of mine and when my husband and I started a long trip this mammoth leaped out of the library's audio section. We only got a third of the way through it on the trip, but we stayed with it - finishing in about a month. Si...
This was a very uniquely told fantasy story. It’s set in England (mostly) in the early 1800’s, and the author tells it in an authentic-sounding manner. It mixes in a bit of the real world with the fantasy world, and uses some archaic words like “shew” (show) and “chuse” (choose) to add flavor. Th...
The Secret History of Fantasy is a 19-story collection of what I'm given to understand is unusual or different fantasy, along with a couple nonfiction essays about the genre as a whole (and of course, the forward by Peter Beagle). Taken as a whole, it was a varied and sometimes fascinating read, tho...
For anyone who might be interested, Corey Olsen is taking an in depth look at Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The class starts next Wednesday, 9/16/15. A link to the announcement post is here. Having just read this book, I'll definitely be rereading and listening along. And I know that there ar...
Firstly, The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Short Stories was written while Susanna Clarke was still working on Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell which I just found out took her 10 years to complete...so I guess I won't hold my breath on her next novel. Secondly, this was a great short story compilat...
Congratulations, Susanna Clarke! You have cracked my Top 10 Favorite Authors! *confetti explosion* I couldn't believe that this epic masterpiece was a debut novel. However, it makes sense when you discover that Clarke has a history in the publishing world and most likely has had time to learn the in...
Plot Summary from Goodreads: At the dawn of the nineteenth century, two very different magicians emerge to change England's history. In the year 1806, with the Napoleonic Wars raging on land and sea, most people believe magic to be long dead in England--until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his p...
bookshelves: mystery-thriller, historical-fiction, fantasy, debut, teh-brillianz, napoleonic, spring-2015, paper-read, re-visit-2015, tv, published-2004, summer-2015 Read from April 23, 2008 to June 28, 2015 [Bettie's Books (hide spoiler)]The shelving and star rating indicates my love of this b...
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is historical fantasy. It is Jane Austen writes magical realism; it is Harry Potter for the Classic Romance crowd; it is a Regency-era Silmarillion. It is all these things and so much more. It is a novel in the most traditional sense - and it is bloody brilliant.That is...
Important: Our sites use cookies.
We use the information stored using cookies and similar technologies for advertising and statistics purposes.
Stored data allow us to tailor the websites to individual user's interests.
Cookies may be also used by third parties cooperating with BookLikes, like advertisers, research companies and providers of multimedia applications.
You can choose how cookies are handled by your device via your browser settings.
If you choose not to receive cookies at any time, BookLikes will not function properly and certain services will not be provided.
For more information, please go to our Privacy Policy.
Log in with Facebook 
