Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

I found this book on the Library Sale shelves for 50 cents, and it looked brand new. It seemed intriguing so I eagerly snatched it up ... and then it sat on my TBR shelf for a few years, for no good reason. When I put it on my official TBR Pile Challenge list for this year, and examined it again, I was startled to realize that it had won so many awards and been so popular when it was first published, as I hadn't heard of it at all - but that was before I was reading book blogs or book blogging myself, so maybe that explains it.

I really enjoyed reading this book, the writing was pitch-perfect and very enjoyable, although I have to admit that I'd occasionally lift my head from the page and wonder where the story was going, and how it would get resolved. I also wondered at what seemed to be the obtuseness of some of the main characters. They truly seem willfully ignorant of very obvious things going on around them - I have to believe that that was part of the story, and was a conscious decision on the author's part. Overall I loved the tone of this book, and the sly/dry humor added to the generally dark feel, giving the book a good balance. Recommended.