Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Susanna Clarke
ISBN: 1-58234-416-7
2004
The literary equivalent of, “Are we there yet?”
This is a fictional tale about magic and the magicians who practice it. Most stories of this nature tend to culminate in battles of good versus evil, but not this: what we encounter here is a conflict of style.
Mr. Norrell is an old school magician in every way- tradition and moderation are the hallmarks of his life. (This is not a man who embraces change.)
Jonathan Strange is a young upstart who challenges Norrell’s approach to magical theory. Books are fine (if Norrell would ever let him get his hands on some), but practice and pushing the envelope are much more to Strange’s taste.
The crux of the story begins with good intentions: Mr. Norrell wants to restore the magic that has been lost in nineteenth-century England, but only on his terms. As long as he is in control of every thing magical, all will be well. However, one desperate night in an attempt to prove himself, Norrell makes a very poor choice with far-reaching consequences. From then on the course of English magic is forever changed.
Basically, the reader plays audience to a struggle of egos: Who is right? If you’re not with me, you’re against me…that sort of thing. While there is no problem with this intrinsically, it goes on and on for seven hundred (700) plus pages. If a story actually requires that much space to tell, fine, but this one didn’t. Part of the problem came from the overuse of footnotes. It’s fiction! Several chapters worth of footnotes shouldn’t be required in fiction- what, will there be a quiz?
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell spanned about ten years. The problem was that I felt like I was there with the characters, every step of the way, for ten years. For me, that’s not a plus. A reader should want to actively pursue a story to its conclusion, not be dragged on by the hair hoping to eventually see daylight.
All in all, the idea was good and the ending worked, but the lack of editing took away its appeal. If the author felt that all of those details were truly necessary I wish she would have broken up the story into two books, leaving me to want more rather than yearn for less.
