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Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: About to get the boy into a bath ]
I have become quite a fan of Diana Wynne Jones. She has a body of work in the children`s fantasy relm that is rich and imaginative. She is an author who is not afraid to use main characters from previous books as spear carriers in later ones. This is true of House of May Ways.
Charmain is the only child of a baker. She is doted on, spending her days in books rather than helping around the house. That is until the day she is volunteered to look after her Great Uncle William’s house while he is away being treated for a mysterious illness. This flies in the face of her dream to work in the royal library.
Once at her uncle’s house, Charmain discovers a magical world where doors don’t always lead to the same place twice. She has to learn to navigate this world in order to help the King and his daughter find the missing Elfgift, something so important that the king has called in the famous Wizard Howl to help. Unfortunately, Howl has not come, but instead sent his wife Sofie in his place.
Charmain’s world quickly devolves into chaos as a dispute with the Kobbolds leaves dishes piling up in the sink and the laundry pile of laundry bags magically doubling overnight. She also has run-ins with insect like parasites bent on world domination and the mysterious, reclusive elves. To top it all off, a boy by the name of Peter arrives, announcing that he is that he is Uncle William’s new apprentice, threatening to dislodge Sophie from her newly earned independence.
Author Wynne-Jones has returned us to the world of Howl’s Moving Castle. This, like Castle in the Air before it, is less of a sequel and more of a revisiting of a universe where some former main characters play supporting roles. Think the Chronicles of Narnia. While not as good as the first book, House of Many Ways is much better than its immediate predecessor. Most readers will enjoy this book, but it would be a good idea to refresh your memory of the first two so you can better enjoy the cameos.
Most likely in an upcoming After Harry.