Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke



Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Another Big Deal book--the first one I bought in the sale--is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This is not a new book and I've had it on my shelf for years, but it is a thick book and I much prefer reading those on my Kindle. This is one of the books that more people in my "real" world have read with the whole range of reactions: love, hate, apathy. It is dense, especially at the beginning when the set-up is taking place but for most readers the pay-off is well-worth the perseverance through a slow start.

I liked it and wanted it for my Kindle so I don't have to juggle the heavy hardcover again. More than worth the price of admission of $2.99 during the sale although I already own it.

Here's the book description:

The international bestseller, reissued with a striking new illustrated cover with a new introduction by Neil Gaiman. Part of The Bloomsbury Phantastic series -- three books tracing the tradition of fantasy from Edgar Allan Poe to Neil Gaiman and Susanna Clarke. Susanna Clarke’s novel is an epic tale of nineteenth-century England and the two magicians who emerge to change its history. In the year 1806, in the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, most people believe magic to have long since disappeared from England -- until the reclusive Mr Norrell reveals his powers and becomes a celebrity overnight. Another practising magician emerges: the young and daring Jonathan Strange. He becomes Norrell’s pupil and the two join forces in the war against France. But Strange is increasingly drawn to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic and soon he risks sacrificing not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything else he holds dear.

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