At nearly 800 pages long, Susanna Clarke's first novel is a behemoth. A novel of such length is a fairly serious time investment, and for the most part, Clarke makes it worth your while.

I most often hear Jonathan Strange& Mr. Norrell compared to Jane Austen and Harry Potter . The first comparison may be appropriate (though admittedly I've not yet managed to read even Pride and Prejudice); Strange & Norrell is largely a novel of English manners, set at the turn of the 19th century. The Harry Potter comparison, however, is pretty far from the mark: where Rowling's books are page-turners, Clarke's is a bit plodding; where Rowling's main characters are bonafide protagonists, Clarke's are bumbling anti-heroes; where Rowling drenches her creation in humorous and semi-clever magic, Clarke's world is bleak and mysterious.

The first 500 or so pages of Strange & Norrell are lengthy exposition. There are minor gems found on nearly every page (mostly in the dialogue between the characters), but mostly it reads like one of Mr. Norrell's longwinded meandering speeches about magic: there's interesting stuff there, but it can be hard to sit through. The final 200 pages are much tighter. Clarke aptly ties together the various threads, packing all the actual plot into the final act. I think that Clarke would have benefitted from a more aggressive editor, though I'm certain others will find charm in the stuffy Britishness of the endeavor.

Frankly, though I was satisfied with the overall reading experience, I'm glad to be rid of this albatross. I'm certainly not tempted to pick up Stephenson's The Confusion next, though it is precariously perched near the top of my README pile.