BRITISH AUTHOR CHALLENGE - AUGUST 2016 - WYNNE JONES & McEWAN

WYNNE JONES BOOKS

Series

Dalemark
1. Cart and Cwidder (1975)
2. Drowned Ammet (1977)
3. The Spellcoats (1979)
4. The Crown of Dalemark (1993)
The Dalemark Quartet, Volume 1 (omnibus) (2005)
The Dalemark Quartet, Volume 2 (omnibus) (2005)


Chrestomanci
1. Charmed Life (1977)
2. The Magicians of Caprona (1980)
3. Witch Week (1982)
4. The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)
5. Conrad's Fate (2005)
6. The Pinhoe Egg (2006)
7. Mixed Magics (2000)


Howl's Castle
1. Howl's Moving Castle (1986)
2. Castle in the Air (1990)
3. House of Many Ways (2008)
Wizard's Castle (omnibus) (2002)


Magids
1. Deep Secret (1997)
2. The Merlin Conspiracy (2003)


Derkholm
1. Dark Lord of Derkholm (1998)
2. Year of the Griffin (2000)


Chrestomanci Omnibus
The Chrestomanci Quartet (2000)
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (2001)
The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Vol. 2 (2001)
The Chrestomanci Series (2001)


Novels
Changeover (1970)
Wilkins' Tooth (1973)
aka Witch's Business
The Ogre Downstairs (1974)
The Eight Days of Luke (1975)
Dogsbody (1975)
Four Grannies (1980)
The Time of the Ghost (1981)
The Homeward Bounders (1981)
Archer's Goon (1984)
Fire and Hemlock (1984)
A Tale of Time City (1987)
Chair Person (1989)
Wild Robert (1989)
Aunt Maria (1991)
aka Black Maria
A Sudden Wild Magic (1992)
Hexwood (1993)
Everard's Ride (1995)
Puss in Boots (1999)
Stealer of Souls (2000)
Enna Hittims (2006)
The Game (2007)
Enchanted Glass (2009)
Earwig And The Witch (2011)
The Islands of Chaldea (2014) (with Ursula Jones)


Omnibus
Freaky Families (2013)


Collections
Warlock at the Wheel (1981)
Stopping for a Spell (1993)
Minor Arcana (1996)
Believing Is Seeing (1999)
Unexpected Magic (2004)
Vile Visitors (2012)


Picture Books
Who Got Rid of Angus Flint? (1978)
Yes, Dear (1992)


Series contributed to
MagicQuest
9. Power of Three (1976)
12. The Magicians of Caprona (1980)


Anthologies edited
Hidden Turnings (1989)
Fantasy Stories (1994)
Spellbound (2007)


Non fiction
The Skiver's Guide (1984)
The Tough Guide to Fantasyland (1996)
Reflections (2012)

McEWAN BOOKS

Novels
The Cement Garden (1978)
The Comfort of Strangers (1981)
The Child in Time (1987)
The Innocent (1990)
Black Dogs (1992)
The Daydreamer (1994)
Enduring Love (1997)
Amsterdam (1998)
Atonement (2001)
Saturday (2005)
On Chesil Beach (2007)
For You (2008)
Solar (2010)
Sweet Tooth (2012)
The Children Act (2014)
Nutshell (2016)


Collections
First Love, Last Rites (1975)
In Between the Sheets (1978)
The Imitation Game (1981)
Or Shall We Die? (1983)
The Short Stories (1995)

Chapbooks
Rose Blanche (1985)

Plays
The Ploughman's Lunch (1985)
Soursweet (1989)


Non fiction
Conversations with Ian McEwan (2010)

What I will read

Howl's Moving Castle



Black Dogs

I've put Howl's Moving Castle on hold at the library, and will give it a try. I'm breaking my own rule of reading only from my shelves for the challenges, but I've decided it's OK, since I'm removing two McEwans from my collection in exchange for reading something from the library! I'm pretty much done with McEwan.

It's up! I have a stack of books by both authors by my bedside but I'm not sure yet where I'll start.

If I have a chance, I'll try to read McEwan. I'm going to skip Wynne Jones since her works appear to make heavy use of Occultic themes.

I am next in line for the library's ebook copy of Howl's Moving Castle. I'll try to get to Atonement this month as well.

I'm overbooked for August but as I love Dianna Wynne Jones I'll try to get to one of the few I have as yet to read, probably Conrad's Fate Chrestomanci #5.

For adults reading her for the first time I'd suggest The Dark Lord of Derkholm described as set in 'a fantasy world that is dominated by its destructive tourist industry.' It was a very fun read.

I'm going to try for some McEwan this month since I've already got him on my shelves. Now all I need to do is find them....

>11 LauraBrook: I had exactly that problem over the weekend Laura. Erni (Asia's finest maker of coffee but useless librarian) thought to help tidy away some of my seemingly messy piles of books putting some in boxes and others in assorted nooks and crannies unexplainable. Net result is that I couldn't put my hand on the books I was planning to read and had to turn the house upside down to find them.

I read McEwan's On Chesil Beach today and was very impressed. He manage to capture the naivety and fear of a newlywed couple in 1962 in a way that was totally engrossing. A short book, but masterfully wrought.

>13 amanda4242: I liked that one too and it can be digested nicely in one sitting.

>13 amanda4242:, >14 PaulCranswick: Yes, I agree with both of you on this. Nice, short, and captivating. In fact, I think that's the only title I've read of his previously, so I'm hoping that the two others of his that I own (Amsterdam and Atonement, purchased in 2008 and 2010 and still unread, yikes) will read similarly.

I finished Jones's A Tale of Time City last night. It's a time travel sf novel--although the science part is mostly hand waved--wherein a girl is plucked from 1939 by a pair of boys from a city outside of time who think she is the key to saving all of time from a cataclysmic end. The plot isn't the strongest, but the children are well written: they are clever, but they still make dumb mistakes and they bicker with each other regularly. It's not the greatest book ever, but was worth reading.

I finished Conrad's Fate by Diana Wynne Jones, it's the 5th of 6 Chrestomanci novels and was a fun read involving multiple worlds, loads of magic and twisting, imaginative plotting.

In 2015 I really enjoyed following and/or participating in some of the monthly British Author Challenges and while my reading has been more limited in 2016 I have had August circled to jump in for Dianna Wynne Jones! I have not read nearly enough of her work, so like several others I hopped down to my library and from several choices randomly picked out The Game which I look forward to reading this month!

Like many adults I came to Wynn Jones work through Hayao Miyazaki's adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle, the movie is very much it's own thing and diverges from the book quite a bit, so that each is a unique story experience. The books Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways are less sequels than new stories with new protagonists set in the same magical world where familiar characters might be involved directly or not!

For works of hers that are quite different, while reflecting her range of writing and humor, I would recommend either Earwig And The Witch a very tart take on a children's book with illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky or the The Tough Guide to Fantasyland which is equally satirical of the tropes of both magic kingdoms and guidebooks for tourists!

Not sure if I will get to Ian McEwan this month, however I have a number of his titles on my TBR pile, so this may be the spark pick one up!

Oh, my! That painting of McEwan is disturbing. I know he's not known for his good looks, but . . . yikes.

Always up for a McEwan discussion. I've read:

The Cement Garden (1978)
The Comfort of Strangers (1981)
The Child in Time (1987)
Black Dogs (1992)
The Daydreamer (1994)*
Enduring Love (1997)
Amsterdam (1998)
Atonement (2001)
Saturday (2005)
On Chesil Beach (2007)
Sweet Tooth (2012)
The Children Act (2014)

* If I remember correctly, The Daydreamer is a collection of short stories written for children.

I have to say that I have tried to read McEwan and I give up. I am not a fan of his. This is one time I thought the movie was better than the book. Atonement that is.

>18 ralphcoviello: Thanks Ralph. I have almost completed McEwan's Black Dogs and it is not at all bad but I find it difficult to conceive of it as good enough to make the 1001 list.

>19 Nickelini: That is pretty comprehensive Joyce! I note that you haven't read The Innocent which is still my favourite of his.

>21 PaulCranswick: Well, I'll just have to add The Innocent to my wishlist. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hooray! August is a month where I managed the BAC! I actually am a fan of Diana Wynne Jones, but right now not so much into YA, so I read McEwan.

Atonement by Ian McEwan

I liked, but did not love, this book. A compelling story with twists and turns; English country house; WWII; family dramas. I think that between the book and movie, this is well enough known that I don't need to go over the plot. The main theme of the book is atonement, and McEwan makes you think about what this means, and whether it more serves the wronged or the culprit.

I've finished Howl's Moving Castle...I can't say I loved it, as I thought the story was really just a lot of bits of business that didn't add up to a whole lot, but I had fun with it, mostly. I could see Johnny Depp doing a rip-roaring turn as Howl.

I also finished Howl's Moving Castle. It isn't my genre, but I liked it more than I expected to. It has an interesting subtext.

Just finished Charmed Life, the first Chrestomanci book, and really enjoyed it. How I wish I had known about Jones when I was a child!

>24 laytonwoman3rd: I actually shudder at the thought of Depp as Howl...possible because I always picture Howl as looking like David Bowie.

>26 amanda4242: Interesting how we "cast" characters in our heads, isn't it?

Black Dogs by Ian McEwan

A son-in-law intends to write a biography or write-up the memoirs of his mother-in-law who is dying. At the heart of her story is that she was attacked by two huge black dogs whilst on her honeymoon and never really recovered from the experience.

I would have to say that if an attack by such dogs - which left her uninjured if a little shaken - was the central event of a life; it would hardly be one worthy of writing a biography over. McEwan seems to be attempting to draw parallels with evil and the use of fear in society to critique fascism and communism and how the meet at the edges. This is given that the backdrop to the story happens as the Berlin Wall falls, that the honeymoon was in the immediate aftermath of the last war and that the honeymooners were at the time ardent communists.

Well written, but a little cold, I don't personally think the central premise of the book works as it is to subtle a point and one that without the historical context is difficult to follow. For this I do not see this book being on greatest books lists in another generation, being too much of its time.

Not bad, but shouldn't be on the 1001 books list IMO.

>24 laytonwoman3rd: I am skating through Howl's Moving Castle and finding it plenty of fun. Like Amanda, I do feel that if I had discovered Wynne Jones as a child she would be a favourite of mine now.

Paul, I should have suggested that you read Dogsbody by Diana Wynne Jones; which deals with the Irish troubles.

>30 banjo123: Thanks for that Rhonda. I will go and seek that one out as I am sure that her take on it would be interesting.

>31 PaulCranswick: Well, it's a children's fantasy, but with serious undertones.

>27 laytonwoman3rd: I must confess that my vision of Howl is largely influenced by Miyazaki's film version, wherein Howl looks kind of like Bowie in Labyrinth.

76. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I haven't seen the film and didn't really know what to expect other than it was essentially YA fiction and it was fantasy. And yes both are true but it is a little more - it is a jolly, wise and enriching experience too.

There is no attempt at high literature here but it is pleasingly told and the convoluted plot just about works. I won't spoil the pleasure for anyone who may now want to read it but the story is essentially about wizard's and witches and the magical in the ordinary.

What I do like about the book is the knowing and clever referencing to Wales in the story and that Howl is more properly Howell, there are references to rugby (an institution in Wales) and the famed Welsh ability to turn a tune. As I say, if I am picky there were holes in the plotting and this could have spoiled things if I wasn't quite so busy enjoying myself.

Paul I am glad to hear you enjoyed Howl's Moving Castle! I think your closing comment "if I am picky there were holes in the plotting and this could have spoiled things if I wasn't quite so busy enjoying myself" fits with my experience to-date in reading Diana Wynne Jones! This was certainly the case with the delightful, if slight, novella The Game.


Following in the footsteps of the Oxford Dons she studied under, J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, Diana Wynne Jones blazed her own unique path in the world of fantastic fiction. Many of her works gently satirize the tropes of fantasy with the loving eye of an intimate member of the family. The Game centers on Hayley, a small girl who has been orphaned and raised in a restricted manner by her grandparents. Suddenly sent to visit her cousins, Hayley finds herself overwhelmed by the chaos of her extended family. It gradually becomes clear that Hayley and her family are not ordinary people as her cousins introduce her to the secret game they play in the mythosphere, which is made up of all the stories, theories and beliefs, legends, myths and hopes generated on Earth. Wynne Jones gives the characters names and attributes that hint at who they may be and just in case you do not guess their identities she provides a helpful guide at the end of the book. This is a fun read which engages with well-known myths and characters caught-up in a sort-of mundane family feud which ends with a wink and a warm smile.

Sadly Dianna Wynne Jones passed away in 2011, fortunately during her life she was an immensely productive writer and left us with a wonderful collection of stories. You can find a warm appreciation for her talent and some guidance on where to start among her many books at Tor.com with the article Where To Start With Dianna Wynne Jones.

Thanks again for having her as part of the British Author Challenge - August 2016!

I read On Chesil Beach and enjoyed it - rated it 3.5 stars.

Today's read was Amsterdam, a finely crafted little black comedy. I'm glad to find that I'm enjoying McEwan far more than I thought I would.

I finished the audio of Atonement. I haven't seen the movie and had no idea of the plot, so I went into it with no expectations. I really enjoyed it, especially the ending with its twists. It's the second McEwan I've read with the other being The Children's Act. I love the way that both left many questions to ponder.

It took me a while to read Saturday by Ian McEwan although I started it in time to be able to finish before the end of August. It was a slow starter in part because of the descriptive writing and the depth of detail that is given for the background of each incident in the story. Things picked up towards the end and, overall, I enjoyed the book. So much so, that when I saw the author's Atonement in the neighbourhood Little Free Library I snagged it.