Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell — A Wonderful First Novel

Hardcover: 800 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (September 8, 2004)
ISBN: 1582344167
Price: $27.95

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a fine piece of literature by newcomer Susanna Clarke.

It's difficult to break new ground in the tired genre of fantasy, where a comparison to Tolkien often seems more a marketing ploy to attract readership than a tribute to style or story. However, after reading the first couple of pages of Strange & Norrell, I was hooked. Nearly 800 pages later, when I closed the cover for the last time, I was gratified and satisfied.

Immense in scope (10 years in the writing), the backdrop of Strange & Norrell is 19th century England, the story a sort of alternate reality in which two practical magicians (as opposed to those who only read about magic) endeavor to bring back magic to England. Not only is Clarke's style refreshing, her tale is original, and she relates it engagingly. The two title characters are rather stuffy Englishmen, but Clarke contrasts them nicely, and the reader will often root first for one and then the other as the plot unfolds, like a labyrinth filled with dead ends, traps, portcullises and a variety of surprises. All of the secondary and tertiary characters are colorful and, as in theatre where there are no small roles merely small actors, none are superficial to the story. Yet for all of Clarke's storytelling talent there was something that kept me from fully identifying with either of the protagonists. I never seemed fully able to immerse myself in the story; I seemed only able to watch events unfold from outside the confines of the tale. It is for this reason alone that I was unable to award five stars to Strange & Norrell.

Although some readers may find Clarke's use of old English trying (shew instead of show, etc.), I found the technique lent a flavor of authenticity to her tale. Ms. Clarke's narrative is nearly flawless, teeming with evocative descriptions spanning from the macabre (the stone statue that several hundred years previously had witnessed the murder of a young girl and was suddenly gifted with the power of speech so that it might scream out its anguish is akin to something Poe might've written) to humorous, ranging from deadpan to hilarious. The description of an unshaven doughy-faced man - "He had shaved himself with no very high degree of skill and here and there on his white face two or three coarse black hairs appeared - rather as if a family of flies had drowned in the milk before the cheese was made and their legs were poking out of it" - had me chuckling, while several exchanges between Stephen and the gentlemen with the thistledown hair - "Burnt, sir! I hope no one was hurt!" "Well, some people were. The strong, young men were able to run out of the conflagration in time, but the older, enfeebled members of the family, the women and infants were all burnt to death" - had me laughing aloud.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is a wonderful first novel, and Susanna Clarke is to be applauded. Oh yes, and comparisons to Tolkien and Rowling are unfounded - in the future perhaps it will be Susanna Clarke with whom many aspiring fantasy writers will be compared.