More Diana Wynne Jones

[petronia]

Et de trois. XD

The Magicians of Caprona: I thoroughly enjoyed this. For one, it takes place in Ruritanian Italy. XD Charmed Life also had a whiff of Ghibli Europe about it but this is much more than a whiff; I'm no longer surprised Howl's Moving Castle was turned into a Miyazaki movie even though he did apparently change the plot. I forgive a lot for a picturesque Mediterranean setting in a Canadian January and there's not much here that needs forgiving. A bit of Shakespeare, a bit of Kipling - Romeo and Juliet returned to its original comedic form and grafted as a subplot to a children's political adventure - sort of Sesame Street style in that it takes adult knowledge to appreciate the cleverness, but doesn't detract from the the thing itself. Not at all dark apart from that one moment in the dollhouse with no door (a true-blue horror effect, like the "lives" in Charmed Life). Chrestomanci is very British. Also I kept thinking of Tin's familial anecdotes. XD

My sister read The Lives of Christopher Chant first, then The Magicians of Caprona, and we agreed that DWJ seems as if she must have been a younger or middle child. Eldest siblings or only children wouldn't naturally conceive of sibling relationships in such terms as she writes, I think.

I'm two chapters or so into Witch Week, and I suspect I'm going to find the setting disturbing. (Funny, that. Is it just DWJ or would I find a lot of children's books disturbing, if I first encountered my favorites now?) Reviewers are such wacky people; this is nothing like Harry Potter.

Comments

[serendip.livejournal.com]

DWJ is actually the eldest child XD Of 3 girls XD She was neither considered the smartest nor the prettiest, I think XD Her webpage is fascinating. Her autobiography was fascinating XD And she's Welsh XD

[penguinparity.livejournal.com]

Well, it's like Harry Potter in that it's not your 'normal' modern setting. Much in the same way that any remotely erudite fiction is currently compared to Da Vinci Code. The thing is, everyone knows what Harry Potter is about (unless you've been under a rock the last 6 years), and marketers figure someone is more likely to buy it if it's supposedly similar to something they're already familiar with. Because it's certianly not as if people are capable of reading the blurbs on the back or slip-cover. I also bought the first 3 Chrestomanci books this weekend and hope to start reading them next week.

I read Howl's several weeks ago and perhaps it was because I'd seen (and loved) the movie first, I didn't find the changes to be nearly as horrifying or trauma inducing as most people who saw the movie and read the book first. Of course, I've also noticed I have a much more liberal and forgiving view of film adaptations than many others, given they are adaptations.

Man, the font size on this text box is miniscule, I can barely read what I'm writing, so I hope there aren't too many mistakes in my comment. :)

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Yay, glad to hear that you liked this one! I did love the setting too. DWJ does have these moments of darkness, and in terms of the characters, there is a lot of ordinary nastiness experienced.

I've heard that Time of the Ghost is semi-autobiographical (except for the magic parts). You might try picking that one up too, as it's recently been rereleased. Witch Week is unlike HP, except that it is in a boarding school. It will be interesting to see how you experiences Lives after having read Charmed Life first. Lives of CC was the first DWJ book I read.