A World of Magic for Adults

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke

I hope you've already heard about this book. In it, Ms. Clarke describes events in a world where magic is real and two English magicians are struggling to teach themselves its lost arts. They want to use it to fight a war, but the real evil lies in the world of magic, not in England's European enemies. In the end, Ms. Clarke brings all the characters and events together very nicely. I don't want to give anything away, but the ending shows how Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell both succeed and fail. I thought that rather good.

In case you're wondering, it's more like Lord of the Rings than Harry Potter (and I'm sure she was thrilled to have it published during all the Lord of the Rings uproar because it could only have improved sales).

It's a bit of a tome, but is witty, entertaining, and well written - no struggles here to get through clumsy sentences or poor punctuation. (Be aware, though, she is an English author.) I stayed up until 4:00 am to read the last 100 pages. I just couldn't bear to wait until the next day (especially since I don't get to read too much during the day between work and Caleb).

We'll definitely see the movie when it comes out. New Line Cinema has bought the rights. Who else?