Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Macmillan Publishers
Paperback
*Blair’s Pick!*
So this is may be my FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME even though I say that a lot...because of the universe I was enveloped in while reading it. What is so extraordinary about this book is YES it’s magic but it’s magic in the “real world”; a magician attempts to bring respect and dignity back to magic by showing its practical usefulness and employs it during war-time, for example, which I’ve never seen done (and oh my god those scenes are so amaze). The other fun thing about this book is the history in the footnotes--it’s practically a whole other book. The world she builds is truly incredible and the pace and care put into the character development and fictional history is unlike any book I’ve ever read and feels so real that you finish the book feeling like a scholar of an alternative history.
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 powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.
Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.
Macmillan Publishers
Paperback
*Blair’s Pick!*
So this is may be my FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME even though I say that a lot...because of the universe I was enveloped in while reading it. What is so extraordinary about this book is YES it’s magic but it’s magic in the “real world”; a magician attempts to bring respect and dignity back to magic by showing its practical usefulness and employs it during war-time, for example, which I’ve never seen done (and oh my god those scenes are so amaze). The other fun thing about this book is the history in the footnotes--it’s practically a whole other book. The world she builds is truly incredible and the pace and care put into the character development and fictional history is unlike any book I’ve ever read and feels so real that you finish the book feeling like a scholar of an alternative history.
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 powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.
Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.
Macmillan Publishers
Paperback
*Blair’s Pick!*
So this is may be my FAVORITE BOOK OF ALL TIME even though I say that a lot...because of the universe I was enveloped in while reading it. What is so extraordinary about this book is YES it’s magic but it’s magic in the “real world”; a magician attempts to bring respect and dignity back to magic by showing its practical usefulness and employs it during war-time, for example, which I’ve never seen done (and oh my god those scenes are so amaze). The other fun thing about this book is the history in the footnotes--it’s practically a whole other book. The world she builds is truly incredible and the pace and care put into the character development and fictional history is unlike any book I’ve ever read and feels so real that you finish the book feeling like a scholar of an alternative history.
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 powers, and becomes a celebrity overnight.
Soon, another practicing magician comes forth: the young, handsome, and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell's student, and they join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic, straining his partnership with Norrell, and putting at risk everything else he holds dear.