#dwj reading project

[eloquentgifs]

DWJ Reading Project. Part IV

 - I said here, my 2021 2026 resolution is gonna be READING EVERY DIANA WYNNE JONES BOOK I CAN FIND,  and due to my love of making lists and taking notes, I’ve decided  keeping track of this reading project here in this post, which I’ll keep  updated as I make progress. It’s mostly for my own pleasure, but maybe  it helps someone who wants to give it a try to this amazing writer and  doesn’t know where to start.

Part I (1970 - 1976 & The Dalemark Quartet)

Part II (1977 - 1981 & The Chrestomanci Series )

Part III (1984 - 1992 & Land of Ingary Series)

- Hexwood (1993): This book is like a puzzle, and it seems to be made to be re-read several times. I had to start it again a couple times, and at some point I just made a spreadsheet to keep track of things because if I took too long between reading sessions I got lost again. I became obsessed not with the plot or the characters (which are great too), but with the structure. Diana really outdid herself with this one. Once again, I just cant sum up the story, but I'll say it's her classic mix of scifi and fantasy, different characters with different identities, several plot twists, great humor, some drama... Probably one of my faves so far. I also want to share this awesome timeline made by @kattahj, for those who finished the book and, like me, need some extra cleareance about the events (it contains spoilers so dont check it if you havent finished the book)

[eloquentgifs]

DWJ Reading Project. Part III

As I said here, my 2021 2023 resolution is gonna be READING EVERY DIANA WYNNE JONES BOOK I CAN FIND, and due to my love of making lists and taking notes, I’ve decided keeping track of this reading project here in this post, which I’ll keep updated as I make progress. It’s mostly for my own pleasure, but maybe it helps someone who wants to give it a try to this amazing writer and doesn’t know where to start.

Part I (1970 - 1976 & The Dalemark Quartet)

Part II (1977 - 1981 & The Chrestomanci Series )

Part IV (1993 - 2014)

- Archer’s Goon (1984): At this point it’s just ridiculous how these books keep being surprising and leaving me all wtf (in a good sense). This one is, again, about a family with very realistic dynamics who have to deal with some surreal fuckery. In this case, they live in a town ruled from the shadows by seven brothers and sisters, each of one farming a different aspect of the town (energy, police, crime, education, sewage... etc). I couldn’t explain the plot if my life depended on it, but I enjoyed every single page. ALSO, there’s a TV adaptation, althought it doesn’t seem very faithful***

***Edit: I’ve watched the whole thing now and I stand corrected: It’s actually quite faithful. Some characters are not how I imagined them, but they did mostly a good job, and I’m obsessed with Dillian’s dress

- Fire and Hemlock (1985): Well, I finished it yesterday and I’m still processing it. What a ride. I felt I missed a lot of subtext by not knowing the stories it’s inspired by, so I’m totally re-reading it in the future, after I’ve checked those up. About the parts I did get, it’s just WOW. Polly in all her complexity is just amazing. I love that the premise seems to be a feminist revision of a tale of clingy love, and I love how all along the book you can see different examples of shitty stuff women have to put up with (grown ups sexualizing underage girls, boys mansplaining shit and being a pain in the ass until the girl they’re after gets so tired she gives up, slut shaming between girls, whatever is going on with Ivy’s mental health, THE FUCKING GROOMING –really, this made me so unconfortable from the very beginning). Of course I don’t think this is the main theme of the book, but I do believe DWJ wasn’t random about anything. There’s so much going on in my mind I don’t really know what else to say.

- Land of Ingary Series: · Howl’s Moving Castle (1986): This is 8th time I read this book (the 4th in English. It was actually my first book in English). It's my favourite book in the world and I could write a whole essay about how much I love it and how good it is for my mental and emotional balance, so I’ll just mention a few thoughts to keep this short: 1) I relate to Howl much more than I’d like to admit. 2) Sophie taught me to use aggresive cleaning to cope with anxiety. 3) Also, I would kill for powers like hers. 4) I actually relate to all of them, bunch of human messes. Diana predicted the millennials. 5) I can’t believe it took me this long to really understand [Calcifer spoilery stuff]. 6) Now that I’m more familiar with DJW usual tone and themes, I have to asume she wrote this lighthearted (pun intended) and fun story to relax a little bit after the previous 3-4 books, and that makes me love it even more. 7) I should read Stardust.

· Castle in the Air (1990): I’ve also read this one several times, and there’s a lot to love in it. Most of the new characters are amazing and the plot is quite a ride (and if you’re into The Arabian Nights, you’ll probably love this). I even stole some traits from Abdullah for one of my OC. But I must admit it didn’t age well, or at least there are some aspects I like less every time I read it, mostly regarding the female characters and what is said about their looks and beauty. I also felt Sophie was a little bit out of character, but obviously she’s going through STUFF so I’d rather not to judge. In any case, it’s a nice story and it’s not its fault not being as perfect as the absolute masterpiece that was HMC

· House of Many Ways (2008): The first time I read this one it was months before DWJ died, and since I hadn’t like that much and it made me really sad to know it would be the last book of this series, I used to feel a weird resentment against it all these years. This new re-read helped me to reconcile with it and actually enjoy it a lot. Maybe back then I was too similar to Charmain and I felt attacked or something, idk, but I’ve definitely learnt to love useless idiots who have no clue about anything going on in their lifes and it’s almost a miracle they’re still alive. And the fact that a huge % of the book it’s just her and Peter doing house chores? Hilarious. Also, I have the impression that DWJ was so tired of people fancying Howl that this time she did her best to show us how fucking annoying he can be.

- A Tale of Time City (1987): This was the first DWJ book I read after a long hiatus and I must confess it took me several months to finish it, which was surprising because I had missed Diana a lot and time travel is one of my favourite things in literature. Maybe the hype was too high, but it just didn’t hook me at first. It gets better once the worldbuilding is settled and the plot can fly free, and I did enjoy a lot of silly scenes that only provide vibe, like the main character laughing her ass off during the chaotic morning routine in the house. I also appreciate the racial diversity, and the comeback of the Surprise Evil Uncle (tm), a DWJ classic. And I do want one of those butter-pies now. - Wild Robert (1989): Heather is a girl who lives in a castle-museum because her parents are the curators there. She hates tourists so I could relate to her from the very beginning. She hates them so much she accidentally wakes up a 350 yo wizard from his grave so he gets rid of them. The story is so short that it almost feels as pilot for a show, like, you want to keep seeing Heather and Robert getting into trouble and stuff.  It would have made a nice series of children’s books.

- Black Maria (also known as Aunt Maria, 1991): The timing for this one was weirdly good because: a) I had to move in with my old aunt for a few days to help her while she recovers after a surgery (which is basically the starting point for Mig, the mc of the story, and her family), b) the book has several mysteries, including a crime one (my aunt forced me to watch hours of police procedural shows), the town where Mig's aunt lives has a extreme matriarchal social structure, where women are on the top, and men are just Ken, and the main conflict surrounds this (I started reading the book around the time Barbie premiered). I don’t normally like the first-person narrative, but DWJ managed to do it, once again, in a rather clever way that fits the story quite right and made me like Mig a lot. Also, it was nice to see that the adult relative is actually helpful and good, instead of the classic neglectul piece of shit that she so often includes.

- A Sudden Wild Magic (1992): The first DWJ’s adult novel I get to read, and I’d say the main difference with her other works is that the themes are a little more mature (boring relationships, existencial crisis, etc), and that there’s a lot of sex. Beyond that, it’s still a classic DWJ where normal, dailylife stuff is mixed with crazy magical conflicts. In this case, a secret magic organization in our world finds out that most of the tragedies we've faced, like climate change, AIDS, wars, etc, are actually caused by a parallel world's magicians, who created those problems to see how we solve them and then steal the solution. It took me 1/4 of the book to actually start caring about what was going on, but once Zillah is introduced and the real action starts, it gets more interesting. I found some patterns in Jones’ work that make me wonder what was going on in her life at this moment, like the fact that both this book and the previous one show some sort of “battle of the sexes” thing, where traditional gender roles and prejudices are explored and confronted. A Castle in the Air was only two years ago and it touched the subject a little too. In that line, I noticed A LOT of nice male characters who get victimised by powerful women. What did you want to tell us, Diana?? I also want to mention that I appreciate her acknowledging the existence of gay people, although I hoped Tam would do something more interesting.

[eloquentgifs]

DWJ Reading Project. Part II

As I said here, my 2021 resolution is gonna be READING EVERY DIANA WYNNE JONES BOOK I CAN FIND, and due to my love of making lists and taking notes, I’ve decided keeping track of this reading project here in this post, which I’ll keep updated as I make progress. It’s mostly for my own pleasure, but maybe it helps someone who wants to give it a try to this amazing writer and doesn’t know where to start.

Part I (1970 - 1976 & The Dalemark Quartet)

Part III (1984 - 1992 & Land of Ingary Series) 

Part IV (1993 - 2014)

- The Chrestomanci Series (DWJ’s suggested reading order): · Charmed Life (1977): I couldn’t fully enjoy it because the main premise of the story is the codependency Cat has with his AWFUL sister, and how her abuse shapes everything on his life. He has such a low self esteem and needs so much a hug, it just breaks my heart every page. In any case, the worldbuilding, the magic system and the general vibe are just amazing. If it keeps like this, I totally understand why so many people love this series

· The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988): Ok, this is the good shit. I don’t even know how to describe it in few words. Let’s say that there’s also a kid being abused by his relatives, and there were parts where I wanted to throw the book against the wall, but Christopher is such a fascinating character to read about that you just can’t stop. And this universe, OMFG. Also, is the Asheth thing some kind of homage to The Tombs of Atuan?

· Conrad’s Fate (2005): I’ve binge-watched Downton Abbey a few months ago, so finding out this book is basically DA with magic was just a delight. Christopher and his new BFF Conrad arrive to this big ass manor to work as lackeys, while both having secret agendas of their own. There’s everything one would expect and more: Rich Family Drama, Upstairs/Downstaris antics, crime solving, forbidden loves, scifi-ish reality bugs, and of course abusive relatives (at this point, if I were DWJ’s uncle I'd think she was trying to tell me something). I read it in a day and a half. The only negative thing I can say is that I missed Christopher POV of things. 

· Witch Week (1982): This is about a bunch of pupils and teachers in a deppresing boarding school. Everyone is a little bit of an asshole at some point, but it's understandable because this world must be the worst in Series 12. Not only they keep burning witches in modern times, but witches aren’t even a minority, so you can imagine the amount of hypocrisy. It’s interesting how the witch thing can be considered a metaphor for lgtb kids: everyone is scared of being called a witch because they’ll get bullied (and maybe arrested and burnt), but every time a character find out they’re in fact a witch, they just feel confident and happy because they’ve found themselves, so they can’t even hide it. Also, there are more secret witches around than they would expect.

· The Magicians of Caprona (1980): Two families of famous spell-makers keep hating each other through generations, to the point they put Caprona, the city-state where they live, in danger. Sometimes the Italian stereotypes were too much and took me out of the story, but not gonna lie, I really loved the opera spells, the large families living all together in a big house and being loving and supportive with each other, and BENVENUTO.

· The Pinhoe Egg (2006): This one is also about confronted families of magic users, but this time they’re in the villages near to Chrestomanci Castle, and no one really knows there’s a feud because their spells are based on herbs and plants, not in singing opera on the streets. Cat comes back and shares the spotlight with Marianne Pinhoe, and as always I would love more Christopher Chant, but I can´t really complain.

·  Mixed Magics (2000): Four short stories settled in the Chrestomanci Universe, more or less linked to the main characters. My favourite is the third one, Carol Oneir’s Hundredth Dream, mostly because the idea of a kid selling her dreams as stories is brilliant, but also because I loved that little moment where Christopher reviews Carol’s dreams and everything he says is the kind of critique that Diana always received on her books.

- The Homeward Bounders (1981): There are some misterious powerful people who seem to be addicted to Age of Empires, but they play it using actual worlds and actual people. When someone from these worlds find this out, they got exiled and doomed to jump from world to world, only able to stop when they manage to get back to their original world.  The first act remind me a little of those stories from Arabian Nights where the main character keeps arriving to weird islands and getting into the most bizarre troubles but always manages to survive. Due to life circunstances I couldn't focus 100% on the reading, but I did enjoy the characters, mostly Helen, and Jamie eventually grew on me too. I must confess I got kinda lost with the final explanation about the game and the nature of this multiverse and what it's Real and how Hope acts literally as an anchor that keeps the system going (although I find the notion really interesting as an allegory, and once again a really cool message for kids: hope can be your prison)

- The Time of the Ghost (1981): Ok, this one was a dark trip. I can’t really say that much because everything is a spoiler. Let’s say it’s about an amnesic ghost who’s drawn to their family, and there’s a lot of sadness, pagan blood rituals (one chapter in particular has A LOT OF BLOOD for my taste), abusive relationships, and a little bit of the theme in the previous book: the negative side of hope that makes us cling to things in an unhealthy way. Also, I’ve read this book is kinda autobiographical, and it explains so much about the way DWJ used to depict families in her books, it’s heartbreaking. It has its moments of fun and sweet melancholy tho. It’s never 100% depressing with Diana. I think that’s what make it feel so realistic.

[eloquentgifs]

DWJ Reading Project. Part I

As I said here, my 2021 resolution is gonna be READING EVERY DIANA WYNNE JONES BOOK I CAN FIND, and due to my love of making lists and taking notes, I’ve decided keeping track of this reading project here in this post, which I’ll keep updated as I make progress. It’s mostly for my own pleasure, but maybe it helps someone who wants to give it a try to this amazing writer and doesn’t know where to start.

Part II (1977 – 1981 & The Chrestomanci Series)

Part III (1984 - 1992 & Land of Ingary Series) 

Part IV (1993 - 2014)

- Changeover (1970) I couldn’t find it, which it’s a pity because not only it’s her first novel, but it’s one of the few she wrote for adult readers. For what I’ve seen, it’s a political comedy about colonialism in Africa.

- Witch’s Business (also called Wilkin’s Tooth, 1973) It tells the story of two siblings who start a revenge/dirty work business to make some cash and ended up caught in a crazy plot of debts, witchcraft, old grudges, painting modelling and treasure hunting. I love how even this early in her career you can already find some of her creative trademarks, altought it’s not as polished as her future novels. Still, the characters and the dynamics between them are pretty good, the way everything unfolds is flawless, and it is a fun read in general.

- The Ogre Downstairs (1974) Three kids are dealing with the fact that her mother married a guy who’s rather grumpy and terryfing (the titular ogre), and that now the household includes him and his two sons. The story begins with the Ogre buying a chemistry set to each group of siblings, and they turn out to be magical, so a lot of crazy shit happens and they start to get along with each other as they have to colaborate to clean a mess after another before the ogre finds out. I must confess I didn’t enjoy that much the first half because everyone was being an asshole, but it improves as the characters own their shit and decide to be better. Magic here it’s merely an excuse, Diana just wanted us to learn empathy and how to build a good coexistence.

- Eight Days of Luke (1975) David is depressed because he’ll have to stay with his abussive relatives during the summer, but then he mets this weird kid with powers called Luke and they become bff’s. Unfortunately, Luke is also in bad terms with his own relatives and David will have to help him to hide from them. I’d say you’ll enjoy more this book if you have some basic knowledge on Norse Mythology, but tbh I think reading it without any clue about the subject might be interesting in its own way, because you’ll discover the stuff as David does. Great read anyway.

- Dogsbody (1975) This one it’s like two different premises mixed up together. First, we have this society formed by sentient stars and planets, in which Sirius was a very important figure until he’s judged and punished for murder, and we follow him while he tries to get free (and maybe prove his innocence?). On the other hand, I think Diana just wanted to write a dog POV. In any case, both ideas where combined perfectly, and the result it’s crazy good. Some trigger warnings tho: there are several depictions of animal abuse, and once again tons of emotional cruelty towards chidren (the main human character is an Irish girl being harrased and bullied by her own family because of her nationality and for having a father on the IRA)

- The Dalemark Quartet: · Cart and Cwidder (1975) It kind of reminded me of the first half of The Name of the Wind, probably because the main character is also a red haired kid who travels with his family all around the world performing with his lute (I figured a cwidder is some kind of lute?), and there’s also tragedy, politics, old foreshadowing songs and legends... But mostly because I JUST COULDN’T STOP READING, and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

· Drowned Ammet (1977) I thought the two previous books were rather darker than I’m used to see in Diana’s work, but this is a whole new level. It follows the evolution of Mitt from a sweet farm kid to a teen terrorist, so prepare for a main character full of hate, resentment and, eventually, self-loathing and a beginning of redemption. We also get to see his dynamic with two high born children, and it is super interesting how the prejudice and ignorance keep getting in their way so they can’t become 100% friends (as a contrast with those stories of rich and poor being bff’s without a single sign of how very different their POV of the world is, just by their different upbringings). I love friendships and found families as much as anyone else, but it is refreshing to see some realistic struggles and people caring for others even if they don’t get along perfectly

· The Spellcoats (1979) This one was very surprising, and I think it might require a re-read some time. The first odd thing about it is that it’s settled centuries before the previous books, in prehistoric Dalemark. Then the actual wtf comes from the structure itself: it’s a first person story, weaved into two wool coats (seriously, this concept is genius and so is the ending). The weaver is a girl who has to runaway from her village with his brothers and sister because they look like the people who’s invading their land, so their fellow villagers want them dead. There’s not a lot of action, but tons of little details and magic and family dynamics brilliantly written and I LOVE IT.

· The Crown of Dalemark (1993) This last book of the series brings back almost all of the characters of the previous ones, plus a time traveller from modern Dalemark, and concludes both the political/social aspect of the story and the more fantasy, mythical one. I love time travel stories so this really was my treat, because not only serves a plot purpose, it’s also used to let us know what happened with the characters of past Dalemark (although through the lense of historians, which is not as much as I would like to)

- Power of three (1976) At this point it’s clear Diana just loved to play with POVs and make us question every side of a story. I’d say this was the main theme of this book. It is present in the main character arch, who has to reconcile how he sees himself (as some average pointless dude) with how he’s perceived by others (everyone fucking loves him and consider him super wise and awesome). And it’s also the main conflict of the plot: the three races/species who live in The Moor HATE each other and constantly kill each other as animals but.... Well, it remind me to this episode of Star Trek. I love it when a story is used to show us how actually ridiculous some prejudices and bigotries are. I love it when they do it in ST, and certainly love it when Diana does it. Just let kids read and watch these things all of the time, please.