The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Omnibus 1 by Diana Wynne Jones
The first Chrestomanci omnibus contains (as far as I know) the first two books written in the series, Charmed Life and The Lives of Christopher Chant. In a universe with a series of twelve worlds, each world with eight alternate realities attached, the Chrestomanci are people who do not have alternate versions of themselves in the other eight worlds in their series, putting all nine lives into one body.
Charmed Life is about Cat Chant, a fairly spineless young boy with a domineering sister named Gwendolyn, and a penchant for dangerous accidents. After their parents die, Gwendolyn writes a letter to Christopher Chant, a distant cousin and the current Chrestomanci, prompting him to take them in. When she’s treated like a normal child, however, and not the powerful witch she believes herself to be, Gwendolyn wages a private war against Christopher and his children, dragging Cat along with her. The Lives of Christopher Chant backtracks about twenty-five years to tell the story of Christopher as a child, as his uncle manipulates him into taking part in an inter-dimensional crime ring, and he becomes the ward of the current Chrestomanci, Gabriel de Witt.
I was rather disconcerted reading Charmed Life. I liked the world and Jones’s voice, but I despised both Cat and Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn was hateful, spiteful, petty and wretched for no reason other than to be those things. There was no narrative reason for it other than to have a hateful villain. The only reason we’re given for this is that she’s spoiled and was once told she’d be queen of the world, and she wants that. Gwendolyn is a hateful villain to have a hateful villain, and we aren’t really given enough of a reason for it to carry the story, which is never a good narrative choice for me. Then there’s Cat. Cat may not be evil, but his spineless, thoughtless obedience to Gwendolyn and generally self-pitying nature somehow made him much worse than Gwendolyn. The only thing worse than a boring hero is a boring hero who never does anything, and doesn’t see why he should. I dislike the narrative trope of one person being punished for the actions of another (unless it’s the prelude to epic angst and action.) However, I (quietly) cheered when Chrestomanci boxed Cat after Gwendolyn misbehaved and, when asked shy he did that when Cat didn’t do anything, said that it was because Cat didn’t do anything to stop Gwendolyn.
I found Chrestomanci’s children to be much more palatable. They were bratty, but nice unless crossed, and spiteful only if pushed. Basically, normal kids. While the adults were pretty good characters, the only child I found myself able to like was Janet, the nice, magic-less alternate version of Gwendolyn who took Gwendolyn’s place halfway through the book.
I did much better with The Lives of Christopher Chant. Though bratty and vain, Christopher was much more likable than Cat. I could never believe the way Cat blindly followed Gwendolyn, but I could understand why Christopher was so easily manipulated, and why it took him so long to catch on. He was also a much more active participant in his own story. While his taking command near the end and having the house turned into a very unconventional fortress rang a little too loudly of “everyone follow the twelve year old!” (or however old he was meant to be, then) it was a much better “coming into oneself” moment than Cat’s, which basically amounted to Cat’s going from spineless and powerless to confident and the most powerful person in the world in half a second. Christopher is also helped a lot by the presence of the Goddess, a young girl believed to be the incarnation of a goddess, and who has a fascination with books from Christopher’s reality, especially those dealing with school. She, of course, grows up to be Christopher’s lovely wife, Millie.
I have to say that I’m utterly appalled by how, well, careless the Chrestomanci seem to be with their lives. Cat and Christopher both would have been dead long since through their own carelessness if they hadn’t had extras, something I’m not sure wither ever really comes to appreciate. I was relieved when Gabriel took a strong stance on that, but by the end, even he was pretty much all “oh, a life? Here, I have a few extras I don’t need!” Are all the Chrestomanci like that?
Charmed Life is about Cat Chant, a fairly spineless young boy with a domineering sister named Gwendolyn, and a penchant for dangerous accidents. After their parents die, Gwendolyn writes a letter to Christopher Chant, a distant cousin and the current Chrestomanci, prompting him to take them in. When she’s treated like a normal child, however, and not the powerful witch she believes herself to be, Gwendolyn wages a private war against Christopher and his children, dragging Cat along with her. The Lives of Christopher Chant backtracks about twenty-five years to tell the story of Christopher as a child, as his uncle manipulates him into taking part in an inter-dimensional crime ring, and he becomes the ward of the current Chrestomanci, Gabriel de Witt.
I was rather disconcerted reading Charmed Life. I liked the world and Jones’s voice, but I despised both Cat and Gwendolyn. Gwendolyn was hateful, spiteful, petty and wretched for no reason other than to be those things. There was no narrative reason for it other than to have a hateful villain. The only reason we’re given for this is that she’s spoiled and was once told she’d be queen of the world, and she wants that. Gwendolyn is a hateful villain to have a hateful villain, and we aren’t really given enough of a reason for it to carry the story, which is never a good narrative choice for me. Then there’s Cat. Cat may not be evil, but his spineless, thoughtless obedience to Gwendolyn and generally self-pitying nature somehow made him much worse than Gwendolyn. The only thing worse than a boring hero is a boring hero who never does anything, and doesn’t see why he should. I dislike the narrative trope of one person being punished for the actions of another (unless it’s the prelude to epic angst and action.) However, I (quietly) cheered when Chrestomanci boxed Cat after Gwendolyn misbehaved and, when asked shy he did that when Cat didn’t do anything, said that it was because Cat didn’t do anything to stop Gwendolyn.
I found Chrestomanci’s children to be much more palatable. They were bratty, but nice unless crossed, and spiteful only if pushed. Basically, normal kids. While the adults were pretty good characters, the only child I found myself able to like was Janet, the nice, magic-less alternate version of Gwendolyn who took Gwendolyn’s place halfway through the book.
I did much better with The Lives of Christopher Chant. Though bratty and vain, Christopher was much more likable than Cat. I could never believe the way Cat blindly followed Gwendolyn, but I could understand why Christopher was so easily manipulated, and why it took him so long to catch on. He was also a much more active participant in his own story. While his taking command near the end and having the house turned into a very unconventional fortress rang a little too loudly of “everyone follow the twelve year old!” (or however old he was meant to be, then) it was a much better “coming into oneself” moment than Cat’s, which basically amounted to Cat’s going from spineless and powerless to confident and the most powerful person in the world in half a second. Christopher is also helped a lot by the presence of the Goddess, a young girl believed to be the incarnation of a goddess, and who has a fascination with books from Christopher’s reality, especially those dealing with school. She, of course, grows up to be Christopher’s lovely wife, Millie.
I have to say that I’m utterly appalled by how, well, careless the Chrestomanci seem to be with their lives. Cat and Christopher both would have been dead long since through their own carelessness if they hadn’t had extras, something I’m not sure wither ever really comes to appreciate. I was relieved when Gabriel took a strong stance on that, but by the end, even he was pretty much all “oh, a life? Here, I have a few extras I don’t need!” Are all the Chrestomanci like that?