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A review by sistermagpie
Diana Wynne Jones: The Fantastic Tradition and Children's Literature by Farah Mendlesohn
5.0
Great analysis and discussion of Diana Wynne Jones' books. Instead of looking at the books one by one or chronologically (which would take a while) the book breaks things down into certain ideas like time travel and portal fantasies, pointing out how Jones tends to make criticism part of the story and turn cliches on their head.
It made me want to go out and read all her books I haven't read and re-read the ones I had. There are so many characters and stories (and those stories are complex!) that sometimes I wished they were clearer in my mind when they were being discussed, as the author assumes that familiarity from the start. There's not much in the way of intros or synopsis for beginners. But this didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the books.
It made me want to go out and read all her books I haven't read and re-read the ones I had. There are so many characters and stories (and those stories are complex!) that sometimes I wished they were clearer in my mind when they were being discussed, as the author assumes that familiarity from the start. There's not much in the way of intros or synopsis for beginners. But this didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the books.