Reviews

The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones

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lunalove1441's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

katlib's review against another edition

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5.0

4.5
Easily my favorite of the Chrestomanci series so far!

jenmkin's review against another edition

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4.0

Maybe it was just because I was now familiar with the world, but this second book felt much more fully realized & aware of itself and its setting than the first in the series

lesserjoke's review against another edition

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5.0

I still think the debut volume Charmed Life is the best place to start this series, but this prequel surpasses it on just about every level. We actually get to visit other worlds in the multiverse that makes this setting so distinctive, and the young Christopher Chant is so much more interesting as a protagonist than his cousin Cat from the first novel. Although both boys must deal with a nefarious relative and come to terms with their future role as the wizard bureaucrat Chrestomanci, those struggles feel more meaningful for Christopher, as though he really could go either way. (The fact that readers have already seen him as an adult in Charmed Life only slightly undercuts that tension, since he's not a very internal figure there. And the context from that book is invaluable in helping establish the stakes for this one.)

It's not a perfect story. The treatment of race is somewhat dated, including both a repeated anti-Romani slur and the positioning of people from other lands as 'heathens' and 'noble savages.' There's also some character sexism that feels like it should be called out or undercut by the narrative, yet never quite is. It's altogether a rather parochial perspective toward diversity -- which is understandable given who wrote it and when, but a tad regrettable nonetheless. And a few plot details seem inorganic in motivation, like they are only here because author Diana Wynne Jones got boxed in by what she had written about Christopher's past before.

But my nitpicking is just that, and certainly none of these issues is major enough to have troubled me when I was younger. It's a great adventure in a great saga, and the overall effect of the piece still dazzles even on this belated reread.

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