British Magus - “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” by Susanna Clarke.
The first thing that hit you when you star reading “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” is the extraordinary Britishness of this book. The art of the language complements the elegant, refined story in which everything corresponds to the stereotypical image of the English gentleman. The action takes place slowly, no one loses control over it, and even during the war, being in the heart of the fight, Strange, was asked about killing someone with magic, he responds somewhat offended: "The magician probably can, but a gentleman It certainly should not. "
The Susanna Clarke story, played out at the beginning of the 19th century, is the basis of an extraordinary book. The author in an interesting way incorporates magic into the image of the real world, making it a real element of England's history. This is a legend that is not repeated from mouth to mouth - the story of the King of Ravens and his elven subordinates are here part of British history in the same way as the ongoing war with Napoleon: equally true and of great importance.
The first of the main heroes, Gilbert Norrell, we meet at extremely difficult moment for English magic - it seems that it disappeared completely from England and no one who could practice it remained alive. A group of theoreticians from York, quickly find out that there is someone who still know this knowledge. The unpleasant recluse from the Hurtfew abbey proves that only he has the right to call himself a real magician and sets off to London to tell the whole world about the revival of this secret art. There joining him a brilliant self-taught person, Jonathan Strange - cooperation, and later the rivalry of the two masters will bring huge consequences not only for themselves, but for all of Europe.
Already at this stage, it is easy to see what distinguishes Clarke's vast work in the sea of fantasy novels: the book is stylized as a scientific work with a historical profile and the author's commitment to the probabilisticisation of the story can not be underestimated. The actual content of the novel is marked by numerous and very extensive footnotes quoting from (mainly fictional, invented for the needs of the book) works on magic, anecdotes with the participation of authentic historical figures, fairy tales and legends unknown to the reader. It is not the United Kingdom as we know it, to which some magical spells have been added - Great Britain Clarke is a complete, autonomous alternative reality, based on one fundamental change from the real one: here magic can not be closed between the covers of children's books.
However, anyone who thinks that the above description suggests a thick but boring volume with a stylized language and a long story is wrong. “Jonathan Strange ...” which one I’m talking about is full of British humor, and the constant compilation of two realities (19th century England, as we know it from authentic works and the one created by the author) will certainly delight many readers who are interested in history and have some idea about it. Clarke explains why Napoleon lost the Waterloo battle, what was behind the madness of King George, and also - who is the real ruler of England. All this to the sound of cups with tea set aside on porcelain saucers, crackling fire in the fireplace and the sounds of the ball. In the background, there is still an echo of mournful bells beating in Lost Hope and a sad melody played on pipes and cello and here and there appears a mysterious gentleman with hair like a thistle, which in an elaborate casket holds a little finger of a certain lady.
The extraordinary attention to detail makes reading the novel a huge satisfaction - there is no place for shortcomings in the story, unfinished stories, sketchy figures. Each of the characters received from the author a rich personality, his own biography and different goals and motivations, which, with the accumulation of lords, magus, landowners, wives, daughters, servants and even beggars must make an impression. Finding the characters, events and sideways in this thicket requires great attention and commitment from the reader, but it is worth taking the time to read - it certainly will not be lost. Susanna Clarke kidnaps the reader from the first pages and brings him to the world of a seemingly familiar, but nevertheless constructed from scratch. It's like a continuous game with the recipient, a test of knowledge and the ability to associate facts: the author builds her story so precisely that it is not difficult to believe in its version of events. In any case, it does not seem any less likely than the one we know from history books ...
“Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell” are one of those books that they certainly deserve to put on the shelf next to the greatest classics of fantasy literature. Clarke proves with all the strength that magic does not have to involve dragons and heroin in leather costumes straight from the erotic store: it can be elegant and mature, refined as good old wine. It is not as distant as it may seem - certainly there would be a place for it and in our world.
Ps. And of course BBC One made series tv show.