Strange that the book wasn't entitled Jonathan Strange and Gilbert Norrell. Anyway, I first took notice of this book when it came out in 2004. It was the black book cover that got me, and the fact that it's about magic. I tried to read the book then, but it was so thick, and I just didn't have enough time to read all 782 pages.
Fast forward to 2010. I'm still too busy to read the book, but now I've got the book in mp3 format. On my daily commute to work and back, I would listen to the audiobook on the Nokia E75 though the Bluetooth loudspeaker. At night, before going to bed, I would listen to a few pages on the SGS. Took me a few months, but I finally finished all 213 mp3 files.
The story is set in 19th-century England where magic has slowly dwindled out of fashion, and Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange brought it back. The joy of reading this book is not in the plot, but in how the story was told. It's a rambling tale of selfishness, friendship, jealousy, war, forgiveness, and love.
I hope there's a sequel. It's not right for Jonathan Strange to go mad and be isolated in eternal darkness, when all he wanted to do is bring down the gentleman with the thistle-down hair, and rescue Arabella. I heard there's a movie coming out. I hope it does justice to the book.
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