#67: A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver

Konigsburg, EL: A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1973. Print. 201 pages. 

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SETTING: Heaven, with flashbacks in England and France.
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SUMMARY: After nearly eight centuries since her death, Eleanor of Aquitaine has the chance to be reunited with her second husband, King Henry II of England.  To keep her anxiety at bay, Eleanor keeps herself in the company of her mother-in-law and two friends, an abbot and a knight, and begins to reminisce about her life, before, during, and after her marriage to Henry.    

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "... self-righteous people never look beyond themselves for the reasons that things happen." - Part 2, Chapter 1, page 83.

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I read this book when I was in middle school and I remember really enjoying it.  I wanted a fun, light, read and unfortunately didn't have time to go to the library when I needed a book, so I thought I'd re-read this and see if I still enjoy it as an adult.
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The storyline.  This is obviously a book for children because it is written in very simple language.  However, I really enjoyed reading it.  It is a fun concept and story.
2. The setting.  It takes place in the twentieth century in Heaven with people who lived during the twelfth century.  It makes for a great combination.
3. The concept of Heaven and Hell.  The book begins by explaining how one is not automatically accepted into Heaven.  An individual has to first pay penance in Hell for their sins, and only then do they have the chance to move up to Heaven.  Eleanor, for example, spent two centuries in Hell before being accepted into Heaven.
4.  Historical fiction.  One of my favorite genres.

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I don't have much to say on this book.  As you can see, there is no "dislikes" section in this post.  This is a children's book that I decided to re-read, mostly so I could see if I still liked it as an adult... and I do! 
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Recommend?  Yes.

#64: A Discovery of Witches

Harkness, Deborah: A Discovery of Witches. New York: Penguin Group, 2011. Print. 579 pages.

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SETTING: Majority takes place in Oxford, England and a castle named Sept-Tours in France (I wasn't able to find the exact location of Sept-Tours.  There's a Chateau des Sept Tours in real life, but not sure if that is the same as the Sept-Tours in the novel.  Most likely is, but it is not confirmed.).
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SUMMARY: Diana Bishop is an American professor of alchemy at Oxford University.  She is also the daughter of two powerful witches, a part of her identity she has tried to keep suppressed for years.  But when a mysterious book falls into her possession, she can no longer deny who she really is or continue to ignore her past.

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'..And happiness is always louder than sadness...'" - Chapter 36, page 480.

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I picked this book because of the title: it's about witches and magic!  This book is part of a trilogy, and I accidentally grabbed the third book in the trilogy instead of the first, so I had to go back to the library and exchange the two books.  I'm going to do things a little out of order this time by first listing the things I did not like about this book before the things I did like.
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Things I didn't like about this book:

1. The first 400 pages. SO BORING.  I attribute my patience to getting through those 400 pages to the fact that (1) I had a lot of time on my hands, (2) really just wanted to read, and (3) had a feeling that it just had to get better.  How can a book about witches, vampires, and daemons be absolutely terrible?  Glad I persevered!
2. Diana during the first 400 pages.  She thinks she's so independent and doesn't need anyone, but again and again the author puts her in situations that are just over her head.  She lacks the ability to learn from her past experiences and mistakes, and is headstrong to a fault.
3. Not enough magic.  Again, during the latter half of the book, it picks up a little bit, but I was expecting a lot more magic throughout the entire book, and was sorely disappointed.  

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Things I liked about this book:

1. Diana during the last 179 pages.  She finally becomes less whiny and actually takes initiative and responsibility for her actions.  She is a strong character near the end, and I am positive this new-found strength will follow her in the next two novels in the series.
2. Matthew Clairmont.  He is so patient with Diana, and she did not deserve his patience during the first 400 pages of the book.  She was very rude to him and wrote off his efforts as an annoyance, when in reality most of what he said and did was correct.
3. The Clairmont family.  A very regal and strong group of vampires who aren't afraid to speak their mind.  I really enjoyed their interactions with each other.
4. Diana's aunt's eventual acceptance of Matthew.  Matthew is a vampire and Diana's aunt, Sarah, is a witch.  In this novel, witches, vampires, and daemons (there are three separate species of non-human creatures), do not get along, and indeed, it is illegal for them to interact with more than a few passing words between each other.  Sarah initially hated Matthew based off of principal, but her eventual change of heart is described very well by the author, and that progression was a nice read.
5. The aspect of time travel.  Always fun to read and the way they practiced and planned for their trip to the past was described in great deal.  They were very smart about it, and the author did a wonderful job putting those scenes in writing.
6. Diana and Matthew's love.  It all happens very quickly, but there is an aspect of fate in their story and, as a hopeless romantic, I loved it.  No matter how hard they tried, all events led to their eventual relationship.

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I ended up enjoying this book, and will probably read the next two in the series when I'm home next and can check them out from the library.  Even though I've been in DC for three years now, I haven't joined the local public library.  I don't have all that much time to read while I'm here, and the books I usually pick up are either borrowed from other people or purchased from a used book store.  If I read more frequently, I would have to get a library membership, otherwise I'd run out of material really quickly!
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Recommend?  Yes, if you're feeling patient...

#62: The Wrath and the Dawn

Ahdieh, Renee: The Wrath and the Dawn. New York: Penguin Group, 2015. Print. 404 pages.

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SETTING: Khorasan, a region that lies in parts of modern day Iran, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan ("Khorasan." Encylopaedia Britannica. Accessed: 18 August 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/place/Khorasan-historical-region-Asia>.).  
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SUMMARY: Every day, Khalid, the Caliph of Khorasan, marries a new bride, and every morning at dawn she is executed by hanging.  After her best friend is killed in this way, Shahrzad volunteers to be the Caliph's next wife, in hopes of murdering him as revenge.  Her first goal?  To survive the first night...

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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'A mere trinket?  Love is a force unto itself, sayyidi.  For love, people consider the unthinkable... and often achieve the impossible.  I wound not sneer at its power.'" - page 77.

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I finished my exam and finally went to the library the next morning!  I found three books and I am so excited to read!
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The story line.  It was entertaining, and easy to read and follow along.  After I started reading the book, however, I realized it was aimed at the young adult age group, which is why it was an easy read.  I actually finished the book in a day.
2. Shahrzad's character.  She is so strong!  Her fearlessness and confidence are way beyond her 16 years of age, but not in an arrogant and annoying manner.  Rather, it's in a way that is very admirable.    
3. The descriptions of food.  It made me hungry every time.  Here's an example: "They marched in unison until they arrived before the dais, setting plates of food in front of each guest - aromatic rice with fresh dill and split fava beans, lamb simmered in a sauce of tumeric and caramelized onions, skewers of chicken and roasted tomatoes, fresh vegetables garnished with mint and chopped parsley, olives marinated in fine oil, lavash bread with rounds of goat cheese and seemingly endless sweet preserves..." - pages 251-252.
4. Shahrzad and Khalid's love.  It's so complex but the author describes it beautifully.  The reader is able to follow the way their love grows, and, to use the cliched phrase, it made me fall in love with love.  The story shows how complex love is, and yet, how simple it can be at times.  How love can make you shut out the rest of the world just so you can embrace the feeling.  And what extremes a person will go to for love.  
5. The love triangle.  It's an interesting example of how one can outgrow a childhood love, simply because one grows up.  We all change with age, but it is almost universally accepted that the change that occurs during adolescence and early adulthood is much more drastic.  
6. The magic.  There are small parts of magic in the story, and, although it didn't have much use in the overall plot (yet... see point #1 below), it was fun to read.

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Things I didn't like about this book:

1. It's the first in a series.  I really don't think this story needs to be part of a larger series, and, in all honesty, I think the author is going to ruin the story by making it a series.  The story would have been great as a single, complete novel.
2. The ending.  It's a series so the reader is left with a cliffhanger, and going back to the above point, I don't think it should be a series in the first place so I was not happy with the ending.  Really all I want to know is if Shahrzad ends up happy, and with who she is happy.  I didn't care for any of the side stories or details as much, which is why I have no desire to continue the series.  One day, when the series is complete, I will search for a spoiler that tells me how Shahrzad's story ends, and then I will be satisfied.  Cheating?  Yup, but time is limited and there are loads of other books to read.
3. Sharhzad's father, Jahandar.  He is a coward and he is going to ruin the story.

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I liked this book, but will not read the others in the series whenever they are released.  I think this book should have been a single novel, and prolonging this story will ruin it.  It was a fun first book to read after my exam, and I am glad I found it.
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Recommend?  Yes.

#37: The Twentieth Wife

Sundaresan, Indu: The Twentieth Wife. New York: Washington Square Press, 2002. Print. 380 pages.
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SETTING: Various parts of the Mughal Empire between the years 1577 and 1611 AD.
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SUMMARY: A detailed account of the tumultuous love between Mehrunnisa, the daughter of a Persian aristocrat who was forced to relocate his family from Persia to Hindustan, and Prince Salim, son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "She pulled away, anger flooding out at his words. 'So this is why you offer me this exalted position of concubine, your Majesty?  To protect me?  You forget that I have looked after myself for four years now, with no help from either you or my Bapa [father].  I will doubtless be a fallen woman, but I will not - absolutely will not - come to your zenana [harem] as a concubine.'" - Chapter 19, pages 356-357.
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This is the only novel I finished reading over the holiday!  Shocking, I know!  This winter break was considerably shorter than past breaks, and it was absolutely packed from the start.  And, most unfortunately, the little free time I had was spent studying.  A few days ago I realized I hadn't read a single book cover to cover during the break, but I wasn't in the mood to continue the fourth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.  I wanted a quick read and found this book on top of the dryer at my parent's house.  Seeing that it was about South Asia and the Mughal Empire, I decided to give it a go. 
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Things I liked about this book:

1. Mughal Empire!  My heritage!  As far as I know, there isn't much variation regarding the origins of my ancestors (although there is a story that one of my ancestors immigrated to South Asia from the Middle East, but not sure how much proof there is of that).  And how much do I know about the Mughal Empire?  Only the scant amount of information I remember from grade school history, which amounts to a whole lot of not very much.  Quite a tragedy.  After finishing this book, I put learning about the history of the Mughal Empire on my to-do list.  
2. Mehrunnisa.  She is such a strong female protagonist.  There wasn't a whole lot women could do back then, but she definitely knows how to hold her own and speak her mind.  That's why the above quote is my favorite.  There is a period of approximately four years where she fends for herself and her daughter, and she does so very successfully.  She knows how to play her cards very well.
3. Prince Salim changes his name to Jahangir, meaning "world conqueror."  For those who aren't Bengali or did not grow up with me, my father's nickname is Jahangir.  I knew his grandmother gave him the nickname after a Mughal emperor, so it was really great reading a novel about that emperor.
4. The author's incorporation of words common to the Indic languages.  As a Bengali speaker, I was able to understand most of these words, but I didn't realize I was reading transliterated words and not English words until well into the book.  It was fun.
5. Salim's love for Mehrunnisa.  He wants her as is, and nothing else.  It's pure and beautiful.

Things I didn't like (in general, not about the book):

1. Prince Salim/Emperor Jahangir is an incredibly horrible son!  His greed and deep desire for the throne causes him to attempt to dethrone his father, Emperor Akbar, numerous times.  As is seen later in the book, karma really is a bitch and Salim gets his due at the hands of his own son.  He does, however, try to make up for it during his reign as emperor, and history books will tell you he was successful- he is remembered as a very just and generous ruler. 
2. Mehrunnisa's first husband.  Total ass.

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I finished this book in approximately three days, and when I started it I didn't think I'd like it all that much.  Turns out I was totally wrong!  I loved this book!  There isn't a single thing I didn't like about the book itself.  It kept my attention and was continuously interesting.  If I had had the time, I'm sure I could have finished it in a day.  It's a smooth and easy read, and the supporting characters, although numerous, aren't difficult to keep track of.  There's a sequel to this novel that continues Mehrunnisa's story, and I will definitely keep my eye out for it.  Realistically, though, that won't happen until the summer.

That being said, the next five months of my life (until early June) will be busy, but I'm hoping I'll be able to read at least two books within that time.  I've adopted the habit of grabbing a book and sitting my bum down at the bar at the Busboys and Poets cafe located a half mile away whenever I get really stressed out.  I'm sure I'll be super stressed the next five months, so perhaps there will be more visits than usual to this haven that allows me to slowly sip away at a cappuccino as I lose myself for a few hours in a fictional world :)  
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Recommend?  Yes!

#25: Wolf Hall

Mantel, Hilary: Wolf Hall. New York: Picador, 2010. Print. 604 pages.
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SETTING: 1500 to 1535 England, during the reign of Henry VIII.
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SUMMARY: Thomas Cromwell, born to a low-class family with an abusive, alcoholic father, finds himself working his way up the bureaucratic and bourgeois ladders in 16th century England.  His hard work, dedication, and friendly charm raise him to the status of King Henry VIII's right-hand man, a dangerous position to have at the time.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: I couldn't decide between the following two:

1. "For what's the point of breeding children, if each generation does not improve on what went before?" - Part 1, Chapter 3, page 40
2. "'And look, Gregory, it's all very well planning what you will do in six months, what you will do in a year, but it's no good at all if you don't have a plan for tomorrow.'" - Part 6, Chapter 1, page 519

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This novel was a gift from a very dear friend who quickly picked up on my favorite  genres!  The Tudor period, particularly the reign of Henry VIII, has always fascinated me, so much so that the first time I went to England as a teenager, I made sure to take a trip to Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's many homes.  The palace has an incredibly rich history, and I encourage you to give Wikipedia a quick browse through at your convenience and read up on it (there are obviously better sources, but who can deny the convenience of Wiki?).  The palace itself is wonderful, but the gardens are where the true beauty lies.  It was absolutely breathtaking, and if I ever find myself in a home with a garden and landscape with even a fraction of Hampton Court's garden's magnificence, it will be a true accomplishment.
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Things I liked about this book:

1. TUDOR PERIOD! (And no, I haven't watched The Tudor's yet.  Shocking!  I know.  But I will get hooked so I've been cautious and waiting for a time when I will have a few days to do nothing but dedicate endless hours to watching all four seasons.)
2. The narration.  It's in third person via Thomas Cromwell, but it reads like a 1st person narration in the sense that you really feel all of Cromwell's emotions and are left with a thorough understanding of his thoughts.
3.  The history.  I am by no means an expert in this field, but the story stayed very true to everything that I have learned thus far about the Tudor period and Henry VIII.
4. Piggy-backing on #3: I learned a lot of new historical information.  It's always great to finish a book having learned something new.
5. Gives a true picture of how quickly loyalties changed during that time, and leaves the reader with an appreciation for the fact that this fickleness of stance is not always the result of loose morals and beliefs.  Rather, not doing so would lead to ostracism, and most likely death.  As is still the case in modern society, staying on the "good" and popular side of any issue would result in ease, benefits, and a comfortable life, even if the good and popular side is blatantly wrong and corrupt.  Sticking to values and thoughts that are against the mainstream would only lead to trouble.

The only thing I didn't like about this book:

1. Tooooooooo many characters!  I had a hard time keeping a few names straight, mostly because all the characters were named Mary, Jane, Thomas, John, or Richard  -__-  Of course, this isn't the author's fault (it's not like she can go back in time and rechristen all of her characters), and, to her credit, the author does give a list of all the characters, organized by house, at the beginning of the book.  Still, it's a pain in the patookas to keep referring back to the list while reading.  There were multiple times where I just made an assumption as to which Mary was being referred to (and I think I was usually right...).

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I love love love love love love love books from this time period.  A lot of my summer 2011 was spent reading books taking place in 16th century England, and I forgot just how much I enjoyed them!  This book is a trilogy, and so a new project has been added to this upcoming summer: read the other two books!  I'm already excited :D
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Recommend? Yes!

#12: The Tragedy of Richard III

Shakespeare, William: The Tragedy of Richard III. New York: Washington Square Press, 1960. Print. 148 pages.
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SETTING: 15th century England.
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SUMMARY: Chronicles the events that contributed to Richard III's coronation as King of England, and his subsequent death two years later.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "Murderer 2: The urging of the word 'judgement' hath bred a kind of remorse in me.
Murderer 1: What? Art thou afraid?
Mur 2: Not to kill him, having a warrant; but to be damned for killing him, from the which no warrant can defend me.
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Mur 1: Remember our reward when the deed's done.
Mur 2: Come, he dies!  I had forgot the reward.
Mur 1: Where's thy conscience now?
Mur 2: O, in the Duke of Gloucester's purse." - Act 1, Scene IV, lines 111-116 and 127-131.
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As you can see, June wasn't a particularly productive reading month; however, it was productive in many other ways.  For example, I spent loads of time with family and friends, and also developed an obsession with the TV show Futurama!  To get back into the groove of reading, I decided to pick up one of Shakespeare's plays.  I absolutely hated Shakespeare when I was younger, and actually wrote a short essay in my high school freshman English class about how much I "loathed him" (I actually did use the word loathe).  Now I understand that I was just too stupid to appreciate his brilliance.  Luckily, my brain has acquired some smarts since then, and I gave Shakespeare another try earlier this year.  Not so surprisingly, I found that I love his work now!  I usually split my reviews into a section about things I liked about the book, and things I didn't like.  Because I don't think I have an adequate knowledge of Shakespeare's time to assess logistical points of the play that I didn't like, I'm going to switch that out with a "characters I hated and things that really upset me in this play" section.
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Things I liked about this play:

1. England!  Monarchy!  Kings, queens, dukes, duchesses, and all the fantastical, false images that surround such times and topics.
2. It's a play, and I really enjoy reading plays now.  Especially witty plays taking place in ye-olde-England (I stole this phrase from a friend).
3. The format of the play, which makes it easy to follow the characters and keep track of who is speaking when.
4. Gives an insight into just how horrible life really was back then.  Speaking for myself, I have this weird mish-mash in my head that jumbles the evils that I know existed during that time with the romantic notions that surrounds monarchies and royalty.  Throw in the skewed view I have of romance thanks to Jane Austen (whose stories take place in the 19th century, a whole other time period), and you end up with a horrible mess.  Plays like this one serve as a nice reminder of what reality was probably like in 15th century England.
5. The series of ghosts of the people Richard kills throughout the play that appear in one of his dreams.  They all tell him to "despair and die" right before the big battle at the end of the play.  Discouraging, no?  And rightly so!  He is an evil man.
6. The fact that Queen Elizabeth (Richard III's sister-in-law) doesn't give in to Richard's request that she woo her daughter (his niece) for him.  An uncle marrying his niece?  BARF.

Characters I hated and things that really upset me in this play:

1. Richard III.  He is pure evil.  Pure, pure evil!
2. Anne Neville.  She is pure stupid.  Richard III kills her husband, and somehow he managed to convince her to marry him.  Granted women had very little stability during that time and had to rely on men for their very livelihood, but I'm sure there were other options available apart from the man who murdered her husband!  And whom she claims to hate five minutes prior to accepting his proposal!  Fickle indeed.
3. Speaking of fickleness, the last thing I hated was the overall fickleness of nearly every character in this play.  Their loyalty changes sides every other moment, and they are the precise definition of the phrase, "every man for himself."

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I spent the summer of 2011 in Mexico doing a research project, and supplemented much of my free time reading historical fiction novels about women who reigned in 15th/16th century England.  I was even more excited to read this play because I read The White Queen by Philippa Gregory during that summer; the novel is entirely about Queen Elizabeth (Richard III's sister-in-law).  It was interesting to now read a literary piece with Richard III as the main character and Queen Elizabeth as a supplemental character, because it added to my knowledge about the two historical figures.  Of course, I have to include the disclaimer that there is no way of knowing just how many of the facts that the fiction is based off of are truly facts.  But if we indulge ourselves and do believe all the facts are true, this play gave me a slightly better understanding of the history behind the House of York, House of Lancaster, the Plantagenets, etc.  Still, British royal history is really confusing, and I totally understand how people who are truly invested in the subject need to dedicate their lives to understanding just a small slice of that world.

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Recommend?  Yes!

#7: Anil's Ghost

Ondaatje, Michael: Anil's Ghost. London: Picador, 2000. Print. 307 pages.
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SETTING: Late 1980s Sri Lanka; mainly Colombo, but also other smaller, surrounding towns.
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SUMMARY: Anil Tissera, a Sri Lankan-born and Western-educated forensic anthropologist/pathologist, returns to Sri Lanka after a 15-year absence as a member of an international human right's organization investigating murders connected to the Sri Lankan civil war.
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Excerpt from the Author's Note (for background knowledge): "From the mid-1980's to the early 1990s, Sri Lanka was in a crisis that involved three essential groups: the government, the antigovernment insurgents in the south, and the separatist guerrillas in the north.  Both the insurgents and the separatists had declared war on the government.  Eventually, in response, legal and illegal government squads were known to have been sent out to hunt down the separatists and the insurgents."
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "'Most of the time in our world, truth is just opinion.'" - Part 2, page 102.
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I'm in the midst of taking a few short trips, and I was worried that I wouldn't have enough books, so I stocked up on a few paperbacks laying around my parents' house, in addition to library check-outs.  This is one of them.  Ondaatje is the author of The English Patient, which I haven't read yet, but I have a specific memory of my parents watching the movie when I was young, and them raving about the awesomeness of the story line.  I thought I'd give this book a go since it was available.
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The author takes the risk of writing about government corruption, which can be a tricky feat because of the topic's sensitivity and taboo nature.
2. The main character is a forensic anthropologist/pathologist!  I love anthro, and if I hadn't decided on pursuing public health and medicine, I would have definitely studied forensic anthro.  I sometimes think it would be awesome to receive formal training in the subject after medical school.
3. The author does a fantastic job of vividly describing every emotion each character feels, so that the reader can easily understand, and sometimes empathize or sympathize with, the emotion.
4. A few pages after introducing any character, the reader is able to have a clear understanding of that character's personality.

Things I didn't like about this book:

1. The book is split into multiple parts, but there aren't any chapters.  It wasn't organized enough for my taste.
2. The author switches back and forth between the present and the past, but does so without any warning.  This was great in the beginning because it's different from how most novels approach flashbacks.  However, it became confusing later on when, during a crucial part, the character would switch into a flashback, sometimes interrupting a conversation between characters.  But perhaps this just mirrors how flashbacks happen in reality.  Memories are usually triggered while we are doing or thinking about something else.  Even so, I wasn't a fan of this approach in written form.
3. The ending is not satisfying.  There were too many points that were left without an adequate resolution.  Then again, the story takes place during a civil war.  Maybe this was intentional?

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This book was okay, but I should also disclose that I found myself incredibly distracted while I was reading it.  My mind wandered in all directions, and it could be that I didn't give the story enough attention to fully appreciate it.  On the flip side, perhaps this is a testament to how well the book is written.  It didn't do a great job keeping my attention, which is ultimately what a book is supposed to do.  Nevertheless, I don't think it's fair to say that's an indication of the overall quality of this book.  I'm in no way the brightest bulb on the entire planet, so perhaps I don't have the faculties to truly appreciate this novel.  Either way, I thought the book was okay.
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Recommend?  Sure.

#1: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

FYI: I'm going to give a very brief summary of each book I review, only because longer summaries, even the ones on the book jacket, tend to ruin the story for me.  It leads my brain to form preconceived notions of the story, and I've usually decided if I'm going to like or dislike the book even before I've started it.  In general, I avoid all summaries.

Hope you enjoy the first of many book reviews!  And please give feedback!

Clarke, Susanna: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004. Print. 782 pages.
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SETTING: England (with some chapters taking place in Spain, Portugal, and Italy), 1806-1817, during the Napoleonic Wars.
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SUMMARY: It is believed that only theoretical magicians exist in early 19th century England, but this is proven false with the discovery of Mr. Norrell, the only practical magician left in England.  The story focuses on the return of practical magic through Mr. Norrell, and later Jonathan Strange, his pupil; the relationship between the two magicians; and the consequences of basing one's actions on vanity and the need to preserve self-importance.
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FAVORITE QUOTE: "The box was small and oblong and apparently made of silver and porcelain.  It was a beautiful shade of blue, but then again not exactly blue, it was more like lilac.  But then again, not exactly lilac either, since it had a tinge of grey in it.  To be more precise, it was the color of heartache." - Chapter 54, page 610.
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Over the past 2 years, I have attempted to read this novel four times, but found difficulty the first three times to commit, solely due to the sheer length of the novel.  I finally had the necessary patience during the fourth try!  I read it over a span of two weeks, which is longer than it would have taken me to read other books of similar length considering how much free time I had, but this is a novel that you really can't speed read through.  Clarke has created an entirely different 19th century Britain for this book, and reading quickly will guarantee the loss of many important details.  The beginning is a little slow and tedious, but patience pays off as you continue through the novel.
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Things I liked about this book:

1. The author clearly cared about this story.  The attention to detail is something I haven't seen in any other novel I've read thus far.  Example: The author took care to clarify the most minor of points via her numerous footnotes, giving the reader an excellent backstory and a clear understanding of the world in which the story takes place.
2. The novel is split into three sections.  The organized part of me loved this because it made for a neater presentation of the story.
3. It's about magic!
4. The fluid incorporation of real historical events into this alternate world.  
5. I really grew to love and hate some of the characters.  Showed how invested I became!
6. Stays true to 19th century style of writing (I have a soft spot for 19th century British literature).
7. Emphasis on the importance of books; Mr. Norrell's library is an integral part of the story.

Things I didn't like about this book:

1. Too long!  Around page 600, I became incredibly impatient to reach the end.
2. Too many footnotes.  Again, around page 600, I lost patience and started skimming the footnotes.  Some of the footnotes spanned more than an entire page, and in really tiny font!

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There are clearly far more pros than cons.  The conclusion wasn't what I expected, but I was satisfied.  After everything that happens in the book, it's not practical to expect a structured, and they lived happily every after, conclusion.  The ending is left open to the reader's imagination, which is fitting considering the nature of the book (i.e. alternate universe, about magic).
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Recommend?  YES!  But only if you have the necessary amount of patience.  I really enjoyed it, and finishing it was a sort of accomplishment!