A Note on the Enchanted Glass Audio Book

I know--I just read Enchanted Glass. But, I like being read to, and it was available at the library, so I listened.

1) Steven Crossley reads well.

2) There are two or three points where a couple of words get repeated. Not bad, but I noticed, so I'm mentioning it.

3) Like House of Many Ways, it is recorded as one gigantic track, in this case over 8 hours. This caused problems as I lost my place more than the usual number of times--twice because I wanted to listen to some of my music, twice because I plugged the device into the computer, and at least once more for no particular reason that I could figure.  My brother somewhat smugly informed me that on an iPod this wouldn't be a problem because there are markers in a track, but I neither have nor want such a creature. The book I'm listening to next has hour long tracks--still longer than I like. Should I complain when such wonders are available? I always wonder...

Overall, I enjoyed listening,and it is always best to have a familiar book playing while driving, so having just read it was helpful.

Note on the book as a whole: Much as I love it, the revelation about Aiden's real father is always a bit of a a disappointment.

Edit: I'm starting to think that the "super long audio track" problem with Enchanted Glass and House of Many Ways may be because I downloaded it from NetLibrary. NetLibrary seems to specialize in dumping books into one, huge track. Other sources may not do this, so you may be safe if you get it through another online library or purchase it.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones, a book review

Yes, I'm reviewing Enchanted Glass a second time. I used Diana Wynne Jones Week as an excuse to read it again; not that I really need excuses to reread books I like, and this one is fast moving up in the ranks.

Basic summary: Andrew Hope inherits his grandfather's house and finds that, with it, he has inherited something called a "field of care" and that he had better relearn all the magic his grandfather taught him and which he has largely forgotten on the grounds that rational people do not believe in magic. He sorts this out while trying to protect Aiden Cain, a twelve year old boy who shows up on his doorstep claiming to be hunted by strange beings that most other people cannot see. At the same time, he's trying hard to get his computer to work (difficult due to magic surges, which seem to mess with its circuitry) so that he can write a book outlining his theory of history.

I liked this book the first time I read it, and liked it even more the second. One reason is that it is simply a beautifully written book, one of those rare books where everything seems to fit exactly as it ought, and there's no sense that perhaps it would have been better if the author had just added a little more, or left just a few bits out.

I also appreciate the way Wynne Jones has an adult protagonist and a pre-teen protagonist and lets them be friends with each other without either one condescending to the other or the reader; Aiden is twelve, Andrew is an adult, they are both happy to be who and what they are and can still chat happily about kinds of magic, meeting giants, and dealing with the incursions of an angry neighbor.

It pleases me to no end that Andrew never stops wanting to write his book. There are any number of stories out there--some of them quite good ones--where the protagonist has settled for some humdrum existence from which he or she must be rescued by the power and danger of a previously forgotten magic. In this one, there is no sense that Andrew "settled" for his academic career. He valued his studies; he still does value them, and the return of magic to his life is an additional study and interest, and, occasionally, irritation. It doesn't eliminate all the work he's been doing in the intervening years.

For another review, look here at Villa Negativa. There is also one up here at Book Aunt.

Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones has been a favorite author of mine for some time, and I've been looking forward to Enchanted Glass for a while, so I was delighted when it came in at the library and started reading it almost at once. It was delightful.

It's a beautiful, balanced book that somehow manages to have a thirty year old and a twelve year old as co-protagonists and makes it work. The characters are both eccentric and practical.

Ok, interruption here; I'm giving a description when what I really want to say is less concrete. The book shimmers. It's like the stained-glass windows in the story, full of color, light, and subtle tricks of shape and shade.

I want to read it again.