Should you watch the movie version of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell? Find out in this edition of Book Vs. Movie!
It’s been so long since I’ve done a book vs. movie! The last book vs. movie I did was in 2014. Crazy right? At any rate, I’m back with another edition and today’s Book vs. Movie is Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
First of all, I tried to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell YEARS ago, back when my 10 year old daughter was about 6 months old. But I didn’t like it then. I thought it was dry and boring at the time. I actually watched the movie before the book on this one (I know, shame to me), but I’m glad I did, because the movie experience gave a frame of reference for the book.
I like to know a bit of background about my authors and why they wrote certain books. Suzanna Clarke wrote this book over a couple of decades and tried incredibly hard to make the book feel like it was written in the 1800s. For the most part, she entirely succeeded. Suzanna Clarke is an author who hasn’t written much and her other stories are also set in the Strange universe.
If you haven’t watched the movie and don’t want anything spoiled, stop reading now.
In general, the book and movie had events that were nearly identical. However, the biggest difference is in the tone. The movie was like Johnathan Strange dark-version. If the book is The Hobbit, the movie is The Lord of the Rings. They are both in the same universe, but one feels a whole lot more dangerous.
I loved the feel of the movie. I haven’t seen a period movie do magic that well since Harry Potter. It didn’t feel silly and it didn’t feel over done.
The book had a bit more silliness to it that was perfect for lightening up the book, but I’m glad they left it out of the movie. Some things fit right in a book that won’t fit right in a movie. The balance was definitely struck with Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.
So, should you watch the movie or read the book? I say both! Both are excellent in their own way and will provide hours of quality entertainment.
More Book Vs. Movies
Today, I bring you, Authors Who Were Terrible People. 
Anne Perry
J. D. Salinger
William Golding
Norman Mailer
Charles Dickens
Aristotle
Johann “Jack” Unterweger
Maria Carolina Geel
Thomas Griffiths Wainewright
, which has tales of strong women from some of the current popular writers in several genres. There is something for everyone in this collection.
. I read 
before I was old enough to understand it, so I didn’t really care for it. But although many people hated Go Set a Watchman, I liked it. I thought it gave an interesting prospective to why Atticus made the decisions that he did in his career. I know it isn’t politically correct now, but society is changing for the better, so it makes sense to me that a person from that generation would make choices in the way he did.
, I really wanted to like it because I love Daniel Handler so much. His stories are full of humor and perception, but I felt that this particular book was missing those elements (although they were there in a muted way). I almost felt like he wrote the book just to break away from what he was famous for (Lemony Snicket books), but it sort of read like someone trying to be something they were not.
(the girl herself) was a terrible person and I hated her. I realize not all main characters have to be good, but I felt depressed after reading the book. Nothing stuck out as clever or unusual about the story. I wasn’t impressed and I am not sure why it was named one of the best books from last year.
. Even if such things were “period” as the author claimed, the events were presented in a way that gave me the sense that these were supposed to be the “good old days,” which I cannot get on board with.
. I was not impressed. It is boring and his teens are ridiculously philosophical, naive, and impossibly cool at the same time.
was much too long. It felt like two unrelated books tied together with thin twine. The link was not strong enough to hold my interest.
