JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORREL: A Review

Strange is an alternate history novel set in 19th-century England around the time of the Napoleonic Wars. It has a fascinating premise: that magic once existed in England and has returned with two men: Gilbert Norrell and Jonathan Strange. The novel explores the nature of "Englishness" and the boundary between reason and madness. It has been alternately described as a fantasy novel, and a historical novel.

Clarke spent more than ten years writing the novel which draws on various English Romantic literary traditions, part Jane Austen, part Charles Dickens, part Gothic. And she infuses the entire narrative with a very droll, English dry wit which as page 100 becomes page 200, then 300, the 400, then 500 ... tends to wear out its welcome.

I REALLY wanted to like this book, but found myself dreading to keep reading. NOTHING HAPPENS! The first 300 pages of the novel could have easily been discarded since those pages did absolutely nothing to advance the plot. The story doesn't just dawdle, it creaks like a stone statue with rheumatism. And BIBLIO'S Rule #1 is: Be entertaining.

The fact that the book has been almost universally lauded says more about those reviewers' bias than the quality of this book. Group think is not always a good thing. Some reviewers rhapsodize about the rich language and clever literary games, while others call it daring and imaginative. They forgot to mention boring.

BIBLIO SAYS: Not Recommended, unless you're one of the university-centric snobs who worship at the altar of 19th century English fiction, still buying into the canard that it is infinitely superior of modern fiction.

Companion Read: American Gods by Neil Gaiman