The Chronicles of Chrestomanci Omnibus 1 by Diana Wynne Jones

[meganbmoore]

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? 

Comments

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I always wonder about the Chrestomanci being careless about their lives thing. I suspect its a brazen "I'm invincible!" feeling that comes with their being young and actually having lives to spare. Or maybe they just kept surviving fatal accidents and got used to it.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I was VERY CONCERNED when Gabriel started up with it.

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

Cat is spineless BECAUSE Gwendolyn is domineering. That said, he is much more likable in The Pinhoe Egg than he is in this story.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have minded the spinelessness if it hadn't taken the entire book for him to even start to get over it. But once pretty much the entire cast was pointing it out to him and he still wasn't getting it despite having plenty of opportunities to start growing a clue, I just lost patience.

[jennawaterford.livejournal.com]

I have a big, huge, real-life crush on Christopher-as-Crestomanci. My favorite of the books by a nose is Conrad's Fate and Pinhoe Egg is lovely and Cat so much more coming into his own in that one. I like all the Chrestomanci books *and* the short story collection, but I struggled through Charmed Life the first time, too.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't have minded Charmed Life if he hadn't stayed so spineless and slavelike THE ENTIRE TIME then got over it all at once.

[jennawaterford.livejournal.com]

It's as sub_divided said -- that it's because Gwendolyn is sucking all his lifeforce from him. The execution could have been better because it doesn't make him much of a protagonist; I think it's the weakest of the Chrestomanci books. But still. *hearts Christopher*

[isweedan]

Interesting factoid from dianawynnejones - Cat is written as autistic, so his dependence on Gwendolyn seems a bit more reasonable too me.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

That is interesting, and does put a different spin on things. I wish it had been clearer in the book, though.

cat's autism

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

...is discussed in this (http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6571179.html) recent interview.

"Well, you know he has very great difficulty telling people things. It’s a mild form of autism. He’s not completely turned in on himself, but he is rather. This is how autism seems to be. I mean the worst cases. The child is almost unapproachable by other people. But in the case of Cat, he is [mildly autistic]. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so much under the thumb of his elder sister. I mean, it does make you victim material, very much, to be sort of semi-autistic. Always, when I’m thinking and writing about Cat, I know that he’s not going to tell people anything properly…. It’s a sort of social activity that’s beyond him. Such people can learn of course, and do. But when you’re a child it’s an extreme difficulty."

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I started with 'The Lives of Christopher Chant' and it is my favourite. Young Christopher and Millie/Asheth forever!

Cat and Gwendolen are lame but Cat grows in the others and Janet and other characters you have not yet met are awesome.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think I really just want "the adventures of Christopher and Millie."

That there will be more Janet pleases me greatly.

[luckychan.livejournal.com]

Hi! Sorry for commenting out of the blue...^^; Um, I was browsing through your journal and found your entries interesting, so I added you...I hope you don't mind? ^^;;;

I really like this series now (I like Diana Wynne Jones in general, actually), but I didn't like Charmed Life as much the first time I read it too, for the same reasons. I hated Gwendolyn so much, and wanted to smack Cat so badly for following everything she said. (And I had a fictional crush on Chrestomanci, ehehe.) But the characters do evolve later on, and by Mixed Magics Cat is less...spineless.

Are all the Chrestomanci like that? I agree it does have something to do with having lives to spare; perhaps it makes them...overconfident? Although I was surprised too when Gabriel De Witt said that. ^^;

The best book for me is Conrad's Fate, although I haven't read Pinhoe Egg yet. :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Hi! I think I've seen you on shared friends' LJs.

Until De Witt said it, I was just assuming it was a "Boys are careless" thing, especially since he was so strict about that, and then he started doing it too!

[minmorton.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with the Cat is spineless because Gwendolyn is domineering - she is the only person he has - as it says in the book life 'left him with no one else to cling to' (that may be a slight mis-quote as I know the book well but do not have it to hand)

The one thing you don't get in Diana Wynne Jones is explanations on demand - plenty of real people in the real world are abominably selfish for abominably selfish reasons which seem pretty pathetic to the outside world - and since Gwendolyn has (accidentally on Cat's part) been able to use Cat's ability to get what she wants for as long as she likes ... I can see it would be easy to assume that if the world is allowing you to do something ... then the world should carry on ...

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know there are people like Gwendolyn in RL(even know a few) and that the Gwendolyn/Cat dynamic is out there with some siblings, but what the real world is like and a good narrative choice isn't always the same thing.

[minmorton.livejournal.com]

Well - yes - but Cat is observant and has imagination, an appealing trait (the funny things that are noticed are from his perspective) and I think it would be fair to say that just because something doesn't tick the preferred hero-type of person A that this means it is a 'bad' narrative choice.

Indeed - I think it makes a strong point in Jones' novels that she is willing to take risks with her central characters at times ... and there is plenty in the world of the story - enough 'what the heck is going on, oooh - what's that? Why this?' that a feeling is created that the status quo will not be quo by the end of the book - and in the case of Cat, he is learning by the end (I love that he is still learning in the Pinhoe Egg ...)

For me, It's more a matter of balance - is there enough in the book to keep me with a character who seems irritating - in the case of say ... Mary Lennox from the Secret Garden - but the review on Jezebel covers this much better than I can.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I definitely appreciate that Jones is willing to make her characters have (and acknowledge it in the books) less-than-appealing traits. The big problem I had with Cat was that he remained passive the entire book, and then got over it(and became massively powerful) all at once, or so it came across.

A "bad" narrative choice and not making a "good" one aren't necessarily the same thing. Had Jones spent the book praising Cat and telling me to pity him, but not changing anything, I would have said it was a "bad" narrative choice. I don't think she made a bad narrative choice, I just don't think the way she explained or portrayed the Cat/Gwendolen dynamic was the best narrative choice.