Greatpilgrim's Full Review: Diana Wynne Jones - The Pinhoe Egg: A Chrestomanci...
Have you tried Diana Wynne Jones’s lively YA fantasy Chrestomanci books yet? You haven’t? Well guess what, you’re missing out on one of the funnest magical romps this side of Harry Potter, and the latest addition to the series, 2006’s The Pinhoe Egg proves that this string of novels is not only worth continuing but keeps getting better and better over time.
The story is set a year or so after Charmed Life (the “first” Chrestomanci book), opening not with Cat Chant and his life in training as a nine-lived enchanter at Chrestomanci Castle, but rather with a whole different side of magic in Series 12A. In the village just beyond the castle, two clans of magic-users, the Pinhoes and the Farleys, fly under the radar of the ever-watchful Chrestomanci, but when Gammer Pinhoe kicks off a devious plan to wreck havock on the countryside, her granddaughter Marianne (who might just be the most powerful enchantress in the bunch) turns to the only person who will believe her – meek enabling Cat. Grateful for his assistance, she gives him a Pinhoe artifact that begins to crack the shell of an astonishing centuries-old plot to subvert mythical creatures, resulting in a massive showdown between the warring families and the enchanters who have to unravel this charmed mess.
This was one of the delightful instances where Diana Wynne Jones was able to pull together a tightly written and exciting plot with her trademark humor AND wonderful characterizations, so that the resulting tale is squishably fun. The Pinhoe Egg dances the perfect balance of quirky charming detail and tension-filled momentum, truly the best of both worlds!
The story takes you on a highly entertaining ride once the ball gets rolling. Although the first chapter is rather slow going (thanks to what seems like an interminable obsession with insane Gammer’s meltdown), the ensuing action grabbed my attention with its diverse cast and colorful moving panorama of magical intrigue. I didn’t even realize it *was* a mystery until it was all over…but the lead-up and final clash of dueling magics was terrifically exciting and an unexpected revelation of clues dropped throughout the story.
Jones’s approach to world-building is a bit different than J.K. Rowling’s, though the flavor of wild wand-waving magic may be a familiar one. The Pinhoe Egg is built on the same concept as the other Chrestomanci books, that there are many Series of parallel worlds whose magics are overseen by the ruling Chrestomanci, and this story (like the others) focuses on one adventure in just one of the worlds, Series 12A. Inventive creatures and uses of magic fill the landscape with fascinating fantasy as well as more prosaic interest, like the inclusion of strong personalities in Marianne’s cat Nutcase and Cat’s horse Syracuse, alongside (say) baby griffins and ancient trees.
Characterization in The Pinhoe Egg took a flying leap from the earlier Chrestomanci books – in the upwards direction, of course! Though there isn’t much explanation of who the recurring characters are (Cat, Chrestomanci, his kids Julia and Roger, etc.), the story allows their personalities to develop more fully and intimately than we’ve seen before. Cat in particular is a much stronger and more empathetic protagonist in this book, while Marianne is a delightful addition to DWJ’s range of heroines, engaging the reader’s heart with her trying woes. I have to protest against the pointless inclusion of the Mary Sue couple, Jason and Irene Yeldham, who are so perfect and idolized by the kids that you just WANT them to turn out to be evil!
But I certainly commend Jones on expanding her Chrestomanci world with new types of magic and additional clans (other than the Chrestomanci gang) who operate in them, as this adds an exponential spectrum of fantastical possibilities to the story and a crunch of conflicting agendas that is quite plausible. Her inventiveness in general is on particular showcase in The Pinhoe Egg, where the tone is sparkling and skipping like stones skimming over the surface of a lake…perhaps not quite as exquisitely worded as Howl’s Moving Castle, but proof that this author has not lost her pithy, tongue-in-cheek knack for storytelling.
~Bottom line~
Your understanding of the Chrestomanci settings and characters might be enhanced by starting with an earlier book (such as Charmed Life), but The Pinhoe Egg is a much better representation of Diana Wynne Jones’s full authorial powers to charm and captivate with an amazing plot and carefully planned details. But the series isn’t meant to be read in order precisely, since the books are published in decidedly UNchronological order. And I thought this was perhaps the best in the series (although Conrad’s Fate was excellent as well). So….any way you slice it, you or a young friend/child/Potterhead have a good chance of getting hooked by the wonderful worlds found in Chrestomanci and most convincingly in The Pinhoe Egg.
-The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume I:Charmed Life (1977), the “starting place” of the series, and The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988), the earliest in internal chronology
-The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Volume II:Magicians of Caprona (1980) and Witch Week (1982) which are in approximate order after Charmed Life.
-Conrad’s Fate (2005) is set just after The Lives of Christopher Chant
-The Pinhoe Egg (2006) occurs soon after Charmed Life
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