Mention Appertaining To Books Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
| Title | : | Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1) |
| Author | : | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 252 pages |
| Published | : | 2000 by HarperCollins Children's Books (first published 1977) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Young Adult. Fiction. Childrens. Magic. Middle Grade |
Diana Wynne Jones
Paperback | Pages: 252 pages Rating: 3.97 | 28853 Users | 1163 Reviews
Description During Books Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
I've just finished reading this to my daughter Celyn (11, too disabled to read for herself). It's a fun story of Cat and his witchy sister Gwendolin living in a world that's almost ours but where witches and wizards exist and are well-known. Like an enormous wedge of literature it's one of those adventures that would be over really quite quickly and with very little fun if the man (or woman) at the top just sat down and told everyone what was going on. Dumbledore could probably have reduced the Harry Potter series from seven long books to three short ones if he just told Harry things he knew that Harry needed to know. But let's not dwell on that. At first glance it's quite a light-hearted tale centred around the true motivation of the eponymous Chrestomanci, a very dapper master-wizard who takes the siblings into his castle and family. It's written with Diana Wynne Jones' customary skill, energy, and imagination, and very enjoyable. As things develop elements of the story takes a surprisingly dark tone, but the best children's books always carry an edge, and this edge serves to add interest in the finale! Those seeking a 'magic-system' will be disappointed. DWJ's magic is magic and she doesn't share the rulebook in any of the four novels we've read so far. But that's how I like it and I've no complaints. I've ordered book 2 on the strength of this one, so that's my recommendation right there. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes .....Declare Books In Pursuance Of Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
| Original Title: | Charmed Life |
| ISBN: | 000710653X (ISBN13: 9780007106530) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Chrestomanci #1 |
| Characters: | Eric Chant, Chrestomanci, Christopher Chant, Gwendolen Chant, Janet Chant |
| Literary Awards: | Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (1978), Zilveren Griffel (1981), Preis der Leseratten des ZDF (1979) |
Rating Appertaining To Books Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
Ratings: 3.97 From 28853 Users | 1163 ReviewsDiscuss Appertaining To Books Charmed Life (Chrestomanci #1)
Charmed Life is the first book of the series and I am hooked. The story of Cat and his magical sister, Gwendolyn, was thoroughly enchanting. After the death of their parents, they are both taken in by the enigmatic Chrestomanci and are educated with his own children. Gwendolyn is quite powerful and feels she is not being taught to use her abilities well enough and hatches one mischievous plan after another with Cat dragged along each time. It had plenty of twists, turns, and revelations alongI didn't get this book at all. Winner of awards, recommended profusely online and described as "subtle, funny and smart" by no less than Neil Gaiman... I found it tiresome, bland and rather vacuous. There are nice touches - Gwendolyn making the stained glass windows come to life, for one - but everything feels rather sketchy and unplanned. Things happen for no reason to partly drawn characters without any sense of narrative drive. It's wishy washy.I should add I bought this for my nephew and
Stories of learning magic have become commonplace these days: I've even heard Diana Wynne Jones dismissed unfairly as a ripoff of JK Rowling when Diana Wynne Jones came first. There's nothing commonplace about Charmed Life: this is a fantastic story about a boy, Cat, who lives with a very ambitious witch sister after their parents drown. He goes to live with an impressively powerful man, Chrestomanci, and becomes involved in a strange political war between those who want to use magic without
I love this book! I've already reread it several times, and it seems to get better every time I revisit it. The same goes for the rest of the Chrestomanci series, and indeed for all the books by the late, great Diana Wynne Jones I've read. This book, published in 1977, was the beginning of the craze for kids' books about witches and wizards and schools of magic, and the Chrestomanci series obviously was a major influence on J.K. Rowling, who DWJ said had likely read them when she was young and,
Eric and Gwendolen Chant have been left orphans by a steamboat accident. Cat, as Eric is known, seems an ordinary, very nice little boy, but his sister Gwendolen is a powerful young witch.Cat and Gwendolen are taken to live at Chrestomanci Castle with Chrestomanci, a man who controls all magic use, and his family. There, Gwendolen's arrogance and selfish nature becomes evident, and makes life extremely uncomfortable for Cat, until one morning he awakes to find that she has disappeared, and in
Once again, Diana Wynne Jones did not disappoint.Gwendolen has to be one of the most cruel, ruthless, self-serving, self-important villains I've ever encountered!The world is magical, the writing is good and the main character, Scaredy Cat, endearing. Too bad that everything could have been solved, young girls would not have been uprooted from their lives and family, and lives could not have been lost from the very beginning, if only the characters had communicated with each other. sigh
A couple of things struck me on this re-reading. It hit me anew just how unflinching Jones is about Gwendolen - (view spoiler)[there is no redemption of her character and she is allowed to choose her own fate. We are supposed, I think, to assume she is just a 'bad apple' and Jones doesn't attempt to explore what may have caused this. (hide spoiler)]. She is unflinching about a lot of things that I think might be avoided in children's books today. At the same time, there is some compassion
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