I picked up Diana Wynne Jones' House of Many Ways
(Greenwillow Books, 2008)
at Lunacon primarily because it was the sequel to Howl's Moving Castle
. Howl's is the rare case in which I actually preferred Miyazaki's marvelous animated film version
, in which Howl comes across as more dashing and mysterious and less annoying than he does in the book. I don't like Howl nearly as much as I like Chrestomanci; I find his brattiness much less entertaining than Chrestomanci's dry wit. But the books appear to be following a similar pattern: smart, nerdy children getting themselves into magical messes before Howl swoops in to save the day at the end. It's a very good formula and still works well for me.
The house of the book's title belongs to a wizard, the great-uncle of one Charmain Baker. Charmain is doing a bit of house-sitting while the wizard is away, being cured by the elves of an unspecified illness. The house itself is magical, of course, as is the stray dog named Waif that comes with it, and contains considerably more rooms in Escher-like configurations than it actually has space for, along with heaps of dirty dishes and oddly multiplying bags of laundry. Charmain isn't particularly interested in housework; she wants to read books and work at her new job, assisting the king in cataloguing his library and searching for information that might help repair the disastrous royal finances. Since the house magically supplies food, this all seems ready to work out very nicely until the inevitable complications: the evil insectoid lubbock that pursues her outdoors and the sudden arrival of her great-uncle's intended apprentice, Peter, with an air of superiority and a surprising amount of motivation to clean house. Meanwhile, matters at the royal castle are becoming increasingly chaotic with the arrival of Sophie (Mrs. Howl) Pendragon with two magical toddlers and the fire demon Calcifer in tow, soon followed by the king's obnoxious heir, Ludovic.
It's all a very complicated web of problems which are efficiently resolved in one big wrap-up at the end. I admit, I had more fun during the parts where Charmain and Peter are tangling with the house's magic or exploring its mysterious corridors, which do not limit themselves to the confines of the house. I was almost sorry there had to be a plot; I could have gone on reading sorcerer's apprentice-style comical set pieces for much longer. And as noted above, I'm not terribly interested in Howl.
But all in all, it was a fun book and a quick read for an adult (400ish not-terribly-dense double-spaced pages). I'd definitely recommend it to a young adult reader -- whatever age that means -- and to older adults who like British humor and light fantasy with young protagonists.
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Woo! I know what Peter and I are reading aloud to each other next!
Posted by: Catharine Eastman | July 13, 2010 at 10:14 PM
So did you read? I'd be curious to know what you think, especially if you're a Chrestomanci fan as well.
Posted by: Susan de Guardiola | July 19, 2010 at 08:15 AM