Book Snails Book Group discussion

Just pipping to the post A Little Life is our winner with ten votes Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I hope many of you will join us on this fantastical journey.

Synopsis- Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that eight hundred pages leave readers longing for more.

English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.

But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.

All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative-the very opposite of Mr Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear. 

I’m thinking of buying this one, as it is hard to get and I love the Big Books

Pien wrote: "I’m thinking of buying this one, as it is hard to get and I love the Big Books"

Have you seen the tv show?

Me too Pien, I cannot get it otherwise.

oh.. there is a tv show 🤩 happy days, it must be good then 👍🏻

No I haven’t! Won’t watch ituntil after the read :-D Was it good?

I liked it. But I've not read the book, so I don't know how it compares. It's worth the watch if you can find it. And stars one of Britain's finest actors, Eddie Marsden. That man is talented.

I've got a paperback copy now, but haven't started yet. Glad we have a while to tackle this one (~1,000 pages). I don't read tons of fantasy, but this one sounds interesting.

Has anyone started this yearly read yet?

Do you have a favorite magic/magician/fantasy book, other than the obvious Harry Potter series? I may be one of the few people on the planet who's never read Potter (tried a few pages, wasn't for me).

I have to wait with my order til March (says the bank) ☺️ so I will be starting mid March.

StarMan wrote: "I've got a paperback copy now, but haven't started yet. Glad we have a while to tackle this one (~1,000 pages). I don't read tons of fantasy, but this one sounds interesting.

Has anyone started t..."

I'm one of those few also Star Man! I remember when I used to work in the City and everyone on the train was reading a Harry Potter - I haven't read one.
I would never usually choose magic / fantasy but I'm thinking I will give this one a go, especially as I have the group to help me along with it - wow, 1000 pages though!

Read first 75 pages. So far I like it okay, even though (view spoiler)[ there's only been one actual act of magic performed so far (hide spoiler)].

A lot of dry wit, but well-written. And some footnotes that give you extra background on historical magicians and such.

I can't explain the writing style well, but think of it as Dickens with a more sarcastic/playful tone. Extra-wordy but not impenetrable, and occasionally causing a slight grin (but no laugh out louds so far). It's the kind of writing that readers may find somewhat cumbersome, yet not un-entertaining.

As this seems to be author Clarke's first published novel, so far I am moderately impressed. My early diagnosis is that it's quite different, the premise is interesting, and overall it's probably very good (at least 3 stars). But it is slow-paced so far. I'm hoping there will be more action/magic/intrigue soon.

Aya wrote: "I have to wait with my order til March (says the bank) ☺️ so I will be starting mid March."

The bank rules :(

I don't see many copies of this book for under $12 or so, but if anyone's library supports Overdrive.com eBooks or audiobooks, you may be able to get it here free:

https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=Jo...

Thanks again Starman, but I had the good luck last night to find a used copy, it is in the mail wuhu

I’m definitely planning on reading it this year! Hoping I can get ebooks through my various sources (one check out period will not be enough) but I do have a physical copy as backup from long before I converted to digital 😉

Hi Erin & Aya, glad y'all will probably be reading this one with us this year.

(no real spoilers below)

I've gotten to the part where the 1st magician (Mr Norrell) indeed does some more impressive magic. Later the 2nd magician (Jonathan Strange) appears. It's getting more interesting, and the snarkiness continues as well.

The tone reminds me a bit of this other paranormal book that made me laugh many times:


Soulless by Gail Carriger

Oh yay!! This one is high on MountTBR ;-)

Hurrah! My copy arrived today and is indeed the brick I was hoping for. I’m not reading it immediately but love the sight of it 😁

pages for breakfast 📚☕️ wrote: "Oh yay!! This one is high on MountTBR ;-)"

😂 Do you start at the top or the foot?

Pien wrote: "Hurrah! My copy arrived today and is indeed the brick I was hoping for. I’m not reading it immediately but love the sight of it 😁"

Me too Pien, I got myself a fine used copy.

I have a paperback copy, should probably crack that spine! I hope everyone enjoys this one ;-)

Pages for Breakfast it is funny you mentioned that cracked spine, when I opened my copy it cracked a few places and I thought that I had broken the book 🙃

I started this one about a week ago, listening on audiobook. I'm only 1 chapter in but I like it, and I think the illustrations are cool.

Anyone making progress on this book? Hope you are enjoying at least parts of it!

A few random questions (and maybe more later this year). Feel free to answer one or more, or ask your own:

Note: Please warn us if your comments have big plot spoilers. Or click (some html is ok) above your comment window to learn how to hide your spoilers with special tags.

1. What was the best thing about the book?

2. Was there an especially memorable scene?

3. Which magician did you like (or dislike) the most? Or some other character?

4. Would you recommend this book to others?

5. Would you read a sequel?

6. Have you seen the 2015 TV miniseries based on the book?

Finished and loved it!

Pien wrote: "Finished and loved it!"

Glad you liked it, Pien. I'm a meanie, and even I gave it 4 stars. It probably deserves 4.5 or more, esp. considering it's the author's first published novel.

I’m close to halfway through at this point and I’m wondering, did anyone read all of the footnotes? I was reading them for about a third of the book but they didn’t really seem to be contributing anything to the story so I stopped. Will I miss anything relevant if I continue to ignore them?

I didn’t read them all either, (quit doing that at two-thirds I think) and never in the book felt I missed or would have missed some information. They’re just fun extra insights in this magic world I think.

Pien wrote: "I didn’t read them all either, (quit doing that at two-thirds I think) and never in the book felt I missed or would have missed some information. They’re just fun extra insights in this magic world..."

Thanks Pien!

StarMan wrote: "Anyone making progress on this book? Hope you are enjoying at least parts of it!

A few random questions (and maybe more later this year). Feel free to answer one or more, or ask your own:

Note: P..."

Did I read the same book as everyone else? 😂
This one was just not for me. I found it quite boring. In fact, I only half listened to the audiobook for the final third because I was determined to finish but just didn’t care. I was also annoyed that I couldn’t figure out where the story was going until somewhat close to the end. I honestly think this book could have been cut down by half and would have been so much better. 🤷🏼‍♀️

But, to answer StarMan’s questions:
1. The best thing~ The underlying story was quite inventive and I appreciated that, hence two stars instead of one 🙈
2. Most memorable scene~ (view spoiler)[Perhaps when Strange raised the dead during the war. Or when he travelled through the mirror. (hide spoiler)]
3. I didn’t really care for any of the characters 😆 I supposed I disliked Norrell more because he was so miserly and antisocial. If I had to pick a favorite character, it would probably be Arabella.
4. I would definitely not recommend this book to anyone.
5. And I would definitely not read a sequel.
6. I just started the miniseries but after two episodes, I’m really not invested and will probably abandon it.

This one is tedious! And yes, the footnotes feel like overkill/torture sometimes (maybe all the time?)