Eight Days of Luke

by Diana Wynne Jones

There seemed nothing strange about Luke to begin with, except perhaps the snakes. If they were snakes - David wasn't sure. He was just grateful for a companion as agreeable as Luke, who seemed able to twist anyone round his finger, even David's odious relatives. "Just kindle a flame and I'll be with you," Luke said, and he always was - which turned out to be more awkward than useful in the end. For who were the people who seemed to be looking for Luke: the man with one eye; the massive, malevolent gardener, Mr.Chew; the offensively sprightly Frys; the man with ginger hair? Why were there ravens watching, one in front and one at the back gate? And then of course there was the fire...

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction, Mythology, Childrens, Middle Grade, Urban Fantasy

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Diana Wynne Jones was a celebrated British writer best known for her inventive and influential works of fantasy for children and young adults. Her stories often combined magical worlds with science fiction elements, parallel universes, and a sharp sense of humor. Among her most beloved books are Howl's Moving Castle, the Chrestomanci series, The Dalemark Quartet, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and the satirical The Tough Guide to Fantasyland. Her work gained renewed attention and readership with the popularity of the Harry Potter series, to which her books have frequently been compared.

Admired by authors such as Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and J.K. Rowling, Jones was a major influence on the landscape of modern fantasy. She received numerous accolades throughout her career, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, two Mythopoeic Awards, the Karl Edward Wagner Award, and the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement. In 2004, Howl's Moving Castle was adapted into an acclaimed animated film by Hayao Miyazaki, further expanding her global audience.

Jones studied at Oxford, where she attended lectures by both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. She began writing professionally in the 1960s and remained active until her death in 2011. Her final novel, The Islands of Chaldea, was completed posthumously by her sister Ursula Jones.

Reviews

[Scurra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps my favourite anecdote about this book is that Neil Gaiman said that he had to rewrite American Gods because he got to the end and realised that he'd just rewritten this.

The real joy here is the slow-burning realisation of what is going on. The care with which Wynne Jones constructs the plot to ensure that the characters only appear on the appropriate "days" is only really apparent on a re-read, and the book is good enough to survive that without trouble.

[Luke Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

With unending cleverness, Diana Wynne Jones weaves a wonderful tale of loneliness and friendship, heroics and half-wit relatives, dreary dull English life and the full legendary pantheon of Norway, Eight Days of Luke is the slow-burn story of an accidental protagonist stumbling upon an earth-shaking mystery and adventure. Transforming the lives of disheartened David and everyone else around him, Luke tumbles into England and sets off an irreversible course of events destined to make David a new man if he's brave enough. Diana Wynne Jones' writing is completely brilliant and charming, and it was my joy to share this lovely and inspiring story with the amazing Sveta.

[Tijana]

E pa ovo je gotovo izvesno knjiga na koju se Nil Gejmen oslanjao i rukama i nogama kad je koncipirao Američke bogove. Ono što počne kao dosta standardna priča o smorenom siročetu Dejvidu i njegovim smaračkim starateljima - ubrzo se pretvori u nešto mnogo uzbudljivije kad se pojavi novi najbolji drugar koji je beskrajno šarmantan, neodoljiv čak i za staratelje, uvek se oko njega dešavaju neočekivane stvari i pojavljuje se čim zapalite šibicu. Jedino što ga juri njegova rodbina koja deluje... šaroliko... i uključuje gospodina Vedinga koji dođe u sredu i nekog riđeg lika koji svrati u četvrtak i shvatate već. Duhovito i spretno i inteligentno na deset različitih načina od kojih je jedan i to što se u pozadini odvija ozbiljna drama sa Astrid, koja je najmanje grozni član starateljske porodice i koja će do kraja knjige, kako naslućujemo, zapravo proživeti i više toga nego Dejvid - ali sve van kadra.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was either this book or Dogsbody that was my first Diana Wynne Jones novel, many, many years ago now. I no longer remember which one, and both have a special place in my heart and my memory.

I have been looking forward to rediscovering them both - and while both were published in 1975, Ms Wynne Jones' offical fan site lists Eight Days of Luke first, so that's the order I'm rereading.

I went into the book remembering the basics - who Luke was and that it was based on Norse mythology - but the details were missing and I found I remember less of the aforementioned Norse mythology that I used to do. I also wonder if it would have been more generally knowing in Britain in the 70's than now in New Zealand in teh 2010's, since Astrid figured it all out pretty quickly, while I was still trying to remember what I could. (By the end, I felt I knew who everyone was except Mr Chew, who I shall look up when I get a moment.)

I think Wynne Jones did a lovely job with Luke as a manifestation of you-know-who (I don't want to have to spoiler lock this) as he's appealing and you end up cheering for him, but there's an awareness that he's not exactly reliable either.

As for David, he's a delight; not perfect (Wynne Jones' characters never are) but a lovely portrayal of a realistic boy caught up in hugely unrealistic events. He's a loyal friend to Luke (and indeed to Astrid as the story continues), and does his best to do the right thing. He's smart without being obnoxiously so and I enjoyed sharing the adventure with him.

Diana Wynne Jones was a brilliant author who could write amazing stories for children without ever "writing down" to them, while making those stories just as great for adults as well. It is a great pity her works are not better known and the world is indeed that bit reduced by the fact she won't be giving us any more stories.

If you haven't read her books, do give them a try. If you have, enjoy a reread.

[Michele Monteleone · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non è il mio preferito di Diana Wynne Jones, ma porca miseria se JK Rowling e Neil Gaiman devono TANTO a Gli otto giorni di Luke!
Non voglio fare spoiler, ma sappiate che American Gods è la versione per adulti di questo romanzo e che tutta la vita tra i Dursley di Harry è chiaramente ispirata a quella di David con gli zii.

Comunque non c'è niente da fare, Diana Wynne Jones è lì su, nell'olimpo degli scrittori per ragazzi con Roald Dahl e Ursula Leguin, capace di intrecci avventurosi, colpi si scena strabilianti e di mettere in campo idee tanto originali che chi è venuto dopo di lei non ha potuto far altro che rielaborare le sue.

Ci inchiniamo tutti a sua altezza Jones!

[Jojo · Rating 5 out of 5]

2018:

Nothing like an old favorite to make you feel all wrapped up in a warm hug. This book remains a delight, always.

__________

2007:

I freaking love Norse mythology like you don't even know.

This book is perfect.

I only wish I'd known about it when I was younger; as happy as I am to know about it now, little me was also freaking in love with Norse mythology and would have enjoyed this so much.

[Nicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm afraid that I can't do this review without being mildly spoilery, but it's okay since everyone else is doing the same -- even though it is, I fear, perhaps not as obvious as I think it is. Anyway, you've had your chance to look away, here's the spoiler: this is based, to some extent, on Norse mythology. And Luke is Loki. That was apparent to me just about straight away, though through the wonders of my new medication I have no idea whether I read about that in the collection of Diana Wynne Jones' essays (yay side effects!). Still, I fear with Myth & Saga, Introduction to Old Norse and Old Norse Literature behind me, it could never have come as a surprise to me.

What did come as a surprise to me was that I was kept guessing a little. I don't think knowing it's based on Norse mythology spoils anything: what would spoil things is knowing what Loki's done wrong this time, the exact identities of everyone in the background, and so on. But with the addition of David to the mix, an ordinary modern-ish boy who plays cricket and has a horrible family, and with the fact that he doesn't know what he's doing half the time, that helps keep things interesting.

(I'm not promising that you won't work out the whole thing ages before I did. I repeat: yay side effects. But as I said, a side effect of being a glutton for punishment and taking Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse is that I'm pretty sharp when it comes to Norse myth. Certain things, like Mr Wednesday = Woden are the no-brainiest of no-brainers for me; I know it like I know that I was born on a Sunday and am therefore bonny and blithe and good and gay, though only because Christians moved the Sabbath to Sunday, otherwise who knows what Sunday's fate would have been. Anyway, I digress.)

It's a quick and undemanding read, and what I always find most refreshing in Diana Wynne Jones' work is that she damn well expects the reader to keep up. Don't know your Norse myths? Not her problem.

[Rosamund Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

An early work by DWJ, this is tightly plotted and imaginative. David, the main character, comes home from boarding-school to spend the holidays with his awful relations. An orphan, his relations don't want him, and make it clear that they consider him a nuisance. To relieve his feelings, David attempts to curse them -- and then a strange boy called Luke appears in the back garden. In her earlier novels, DWJ doesn't spend as much time on developing her characters, and David is a very generic children's novel protagonist, with an added love of cricket. The relations read as caricatures. But her tightly-woven plot, which centres on North mythology, is imaginative and surprising, and has been emulated by later fantasy authors, such as Neil Gaiman and Garth Nix. While this is not her best work, it's very entertaining, and demonstrates her potential as a fantasy author.

[Emma Cathryne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has been on my list for a while as part of my quest to read all of DWJ's canon, but I bumped it up upon learning that Neil Gaiman basically had to re-write his first draft of American Gods because he realized he'd just reimagined this.

It follows an orphan named David who returns from school to live with his nasty extended relatives, and accidentally frees the Norse god Loki (a teenage boy named Luke in this instance) from his underground prison. What follows is a rollicking good time as Luke' irascible godly relatives descend upon David's neighborhood in an attempt to catch Luke and locate an item he has supposedly stolen. I had a ton of fun with this one; its full of Jones's characteristic dry wit and clever callbacks. Her reimagining of the gods are clever and comical, subtle enough that it took me time to understand who was who but clear enough that even with my scant knowledge of Norse mythology I was able to pick up on her clues. While I thought Luke was suitably crafty and entertaining, David was actually my stand-out favorite simply for his normalcy: he's not a godly relative, not a chosen one, just an average teenager focused just as intensely on avoiding his family, getting clothes that fit him, and finding someone to talk about cricket with as he is occupied with the divine shenanigans occuring around him.

A frequent theme in DWJ's books is the irresponsibility and neglect of adult caretakers, a motif which was especially potent in this narrative. However, I also really liked how Jones bucked her own convention by turning David's once-abhorred aunt Astrid into an unexpectedly lovely character, emphasizing that sometimes kindness granted does actually breed kindness in return.

[Punk · Rating 4 out of 5]

YA Fantasy. David is a Miserable Orphan forced to live with his neglectful, petty relatives. As far as Miserable Orphans go (see also: Harry Potter, the Baudelaires) he doesn't have it that bad, but it could be better. Like, when he comes home from boarding school for summer holiday, his guardians are surprised to see him. So he decides to curse them, as you do.

Somehow, this goes wrong and he releases the god Loki from his underground prison instead. Luke, as he introduces himself, seems about David's age and is a splash of color in David's otherwise dull and lonely life, but soon other characters start showing up, looking for Luke, and David's the only one who can protect him.

I remember finding this book extremely clever and fun back when I was a kid. I loved how Jones took the Norse gods and turned them into regular people. Rereading it, it's not as charming as I remember, but just as slashy. David has such a crush on Luke -- call it hero-worship or the excitement of having a slightly dangerous new friend -- but there's a delicious desire present in the attention David pays to Luke.

Four stars, with at least one of them for nostalgia. It's a quick little book with some improbable Miserable Orphan Shenanigans, but if you liked the idea behind American Gods, you will like the idea behind this. See what I did there?

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the few Diana Wynne Jones books I didn't read as a twelve year old, and I can't say I missed much. I didn't like this. I think it's very competently written and the family resentment is superb, and that's all I appreciate here.

I'm not one for mythological stories in general, and this feels uninspired. The treasure hunt is almost an afterthought; the plot in general feels half-baked, abrupt and poorly paced. And everyone's willingness to go with the flow, to be so accepting of the madness interrupting their lives, isn't very plausible - and that creates a dissonance of sorts in the characters, who are great (in terms of development) in their family dynamics but unrealistic in their responses to all other situations.

Oh well.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boy's stay with unpleasant relatives enlivened by invasion of quarreling Norse gods.

Friggin' brilliant!

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'd be very surprised, and I'd think you were pretending at first. But when I began to believe it I'd get a doctor to make sure you really were dead."

Eight Days of Luke has a lot of the humour one finds in other of Jones' books, especially during the family quarrels. But the humour aside, I found this book to be quite average when compared to others of Jones' works. I didn't care too much about any of the characters and the fantasy element of the story was just laking. Or rather, the few parts that were included were just left underexplained. By the end of the story, David implies that he now knows all the other characters' true identity - too bad he doesn't share it with the reader as, I agree, some are obvious, but others not so much.

The family abuse was quite extreme, as is often the case for Jones' books, yet she manages to turn the whole scenario into a comedy. The endless lamentations of David's relatives are hilarious, especially when they compete for who feels the most miserable. It's only towards the end that it's revealed how horrible they truly are - or that is, most of them - I really liked Astrid, she turned out to be my favourite character.

It's definitely a good and fun book, I just find that it can't keep up with most of Jones' other works!

[Curlemagne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels slight - I hate saying "you can tell it's an early work by DWJ" but, well. You can. Many of Jones's trademark elements are here: resentful child protagonists trapped in lousy family situation, magic that does great harm to the mundane world before child realizes the rules or understands what's at stakes, adults who aren't redeemed but also aren't disney villains but just awful, mythology.

But I think the book would be incomprehensible to a child who isn't at least slightly familiar with Norse mythology, which is never actually explained outright in the text. Luke in particular is a fascinating figure just as Loki is, but he never resolves into legible for child minds. I suppose Loki isn't, though. Running the gauntlet was interesting because the choice to keep Cousin Ronald unpleasant and pitiable was unexpected and not something a modern USAmerican author would do.

I also thought the ending was quite abrupt, as much as I liked David and Astrid. Some great images and ideas, but not one of her All-Timers.

[Isa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I literally have no idea what I just read. This book was a little too old and too… just too wordy 😔 I can’t really explain it. I read the words but nothing stuck

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feeling grateful. Feeling guilty. Feeling angry when you're wrongly accused. Feeling frustrated when your wishes are thwarted. Being a child under the charge of adults gives rise to many emotions, some negative, many persisting into adulthood. For orphan David Allard, whom if we had to guess is about ten or so, emotions are running particularly high: the relatives he is now living with are unsympathetic to the point of unfairness and he is just about to explode.

Retreating to the end of the garden he expresses his anger in a torrent of gibberish words. Somehow this 'spell' coincides with what appears to be a mini earthquake, which causes the garden wall to tumble down and venomous snakes to appear. And from nowhere up pops a boy with reddish hair, who calls himself Luke.

After the initial shock David is of course very confused, but the personable Luke seems promising as a new companion for the luckless lad so they strike up a friendship, with Luke expressing sincere gratitude at being freed from his prison. But this odd occurrence is merely a prelude to a week of strange occurrences in which new acquaintances are made and the master of mischief himself is unmasked.

I'm partial to fiction that not merely retells old myths and legends but also transposes them to modern times to give them an added relevance. It's no real surprise to find that Diana Wynne Jones has taken the Norse pantheon and placed them in a suburban setting somewhere in the English Midlands. When the reader encounters Mr Chew on a Tuesday, Mr Wedding on a Wednesday, and Mr and Mrs Fry on a Friday they can hardly not notice something significant going on.

And in Luke we spot Loki, the trickster of the old northern traditions who, in some accounts, is associated with fire, creates mayhem amongst the goddesses and gods, is imprisoned underground and, because of serpents dropping their venom on him, writhes enough to shake the earth.

Nevertheless it takes David some time to work out Luke's real identity, even when the boy says he comes from the tip of South America (the closet reference is to Tierra del Fuego, the 'land of fire') and reappears, like a genie from a bottle, every time David lights a match. He also fails to note connections between local placenames and myth: Wallsey as Valhalla, Thunderly Hill associates with Thor, Ashbury as the site of Yggdrasil the World Tree, an ash tree.

David is a typical protagonist from the author's early novels, a boy who despite his inclinations puts himself out for others. For example, "The trouble was that David, particularly in the holidays, was so used to feeling guilty that he had come to ignore it whenever he could." Later though, when with some younger kids, he "thought he would never again despise them, or anyone else, for being stupid" after they were able to achieve something he couldn't.

Jones, like E Nesbit, was able to remember how she felt as a child, and in David and his alter ego Luke she imbued aspects of her own unusual childhood; she also drew on her son Colin -- to whom the novel was dedicated and who was 10 when Jones was writing the book -- for David's obsession with cricket. While David is an orphan with horrible relatives (his cousin Ronald Price, and Ronald's parents Bernard and Dot) the only sympathetic character is Ronald's wife Astrid; with her distinctly Scandinavian name (it may mean 'fair goddess') she becomes a surrogate older sister and, as an inveterate smoker, possibly a stand-in for Diana herself.

The notion of someone like Loki chained and tormented by creatures for his appropriation of fire is a theme Jones was to use again half a dozen years later in The Homeward Bounders , this time with Prometheus; the anchor symbol in the later novel is even prefigured by Thor's hammer in the earlier. In both novels the young male protagonist was to release the god or demigod before taking on a responsibility which would have once been beyond his capacity.

It may seem that I'm endowing Eight Days of Luke with more seriousness than it warrants, but in truth it is quite light-hearted in places, with more inherent humour than I've indicated. Mean people get their come-uppance, divine personages display ambiguous morality, passers-by pass by -- Jones observes them all with a shrewd eye alert to any hint of ridiculousness, much as any youngster subject to arbitrary adult power would attempt to reduce grown-ups to size. This renders her story properly subversive, a quality which will be appreciated by children of all ages.

[Wealhtheow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle grade level story of a sporty young orphan with awful relatives. One day he tries to put a magical curse on them, and Luke appears. Luke is friendly, great fun, and it's rapidly revealed, magical.

I was really enjoying this and then it ended incredibly abruptly.

[Daphne · Rating 4 out of 5]

#readathon17 Ένα βιβλίο φανταστικού

My first Diana Wynne Jones and a delightful read!

[a ☕︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

much too short, i thought i was about halfway through when i checked the page count and found i was like a chapter or so away from the end? it’s fun but middling for a DWJ book. i liked astrid, the cutesy 1:1s of nordic myth, and all the descriptions of rainbows. really sort of a predecessor to riordan’s entire oeuvre imo.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars because I think if there had been maybe 10 pages more, I'd have given it 4.

This was a fun little story about a bored and lonely child with an awful family accidently freeing some sort of mystical boy (one figures out quite early who he actually is) who tries to make his life better in return... which somehow includes arson. Just roll with it. It makes sense in context. Sort of. Someone might need to see a psychiatrist in the future.

The plot was a bit weak and I wished some things would have been fleshed out better, but I thought the characters were really great. They were over the top (especially David's relatives), without being too unrealistic and anyone who wanted to seriously analyse them, would have material for a very long essay.
The only thing that bothered me was that there seemed to be a reset in one particular relationship in the middle of the story without warning. They started to get along better and suddenly the resentment and dislike were there as if there hadn't been any development. It was a bit weird.

It was also fun to figure out who all of these sort of magical people who suddenly popped up in David's life thanks to Luke were. Some of them were very obvious, for others I had to think harder.

Of course the heart of the story is the friendship between David and Luke. It's cute and heartwarming and sometimes a bit alarming (the arson thing...). I'd have liked to see more of their adventures!

Definitely a nice story for a sunny afternoon.

[Kim Zarins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this fresh take on Norse mythology. Luke is a terrific character. I would never have thought it possible to make a young and innocent Loki, but this portrayal convinced me. And I was glad that though innocent he remained dangerous.

I also loved David--I was worried he'd be somehow marked as a long-lost Norse character reclaimed during the story, and I was glad that he was allowed to remain an ordinary kid, with all the special powers of perception and daring that ordinary kids really have. The ending with Brynhild's tragic love life, etc., was a bit distracting for me, because it took away from Luke and David and more kid-focused concerns, and I don't think kids unfamiliar with Volsunga Saga would get who she was in the space allotted, but the core story of two boys from different worlds become fast friends was simply terrific.

[Isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

;______;

[Shel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jones, D.W. (1975). Eight Days of Luke. New York: Greenwillow Books.

226 pages.


Appetizer: David Allard is on break from school and instead of being sent of on an educational tour, his relatives have forgotten he was supposed to come home and so he is stuck with them and their criticisms of him.

At first it seems like it will be a complete torture, but after chanting a random mix of words, a strange boy named Luke appears. Luke claims that David released him from his prison and is indebted to him. David just thinks Luke is one of the kids from the neighborhood, but when it becomes clear that Luke has a magical talent with fire and strangers appear looking for Luke, another each day. David makes a deal with one of the strange men to try to keep Luke out of his prison for good, if only David can prevent the strangers from finding Luke for one week.

Although the actual story is subtle and readers who aren't already familiar with Norse mythology may not even notice that all of the strangers who visit David trying to find Luke are gods from Norse myth (and Luke himself is also one of the gods). It becomes a little more obvious by the end, but I feel like this is one of those books where a teacher has to explain some of the details to get the broader significance. Otherwise it's just this boy who helps this other boy. And there are weird adults. Unhappy relatives. Unexplained magic. People unsurprised by unexplained magic. And lots of talk about cricket.

I've met dozens of readers who are in love with Diana Wynne Jones's books. Literally. They want to marry her despite the age difference. But I have to say, when I had read some of her young adult books in the past, I had trouble getting into them. Her characters just don't draw me in. I had less trouble with this as I read Eight Days of Luke. I think I had an easier time because this is more of a middle grade book and because, after Luke was introduced, it was a pretty fast-paced read.

I still felt the book lacked tension though. It's one of those older fantasy novels in which a character only has a limited time to, say, save the world, perhaps. And instead of immediately running off to save said world, the protagonist has tea. Or runs off to play cricket. And I'm left wondering if this is proper day-saving behavior.

Because if I were ever tasked with saving the world, I'd make sure that that bit of work would be my number one priority. I'd be on top of it. Probably, I'd even make a check list on a sticky note to make sure I didn't forget any of the world-saving steps. You hear that, fates/hero-audition-panel? I would devote all my efforts to saving the world. No tea or cricket for me. Just full-time world saving effort. Now, I wouldn't say the world is actually at stake in Eight Days of Luke, but David also delayed his efforts to save Luke because he feared he'd be inconveniencing his aunt who would have to give him a ride. Or something.

*Yawn* How un-tense is that situation? It's like getting a myth-y brain massage that, at the end of the massage session, you can't help but wonder of you were cheated because you fell asleep and couldn't properly keep track of the time the massage took. But on the plus side, you're tension free.

Who else could use a massage right now?

ALSO, also, whenever I read the title of this book in my head, I inevitably wound up with the song Eight Days a Week by the Beatles stuck in my head. That woke me up a little. Then I had to sing the song out-loud as I wandered around my place. My cats did not appreciate the noise. My neighbors probably didn't either.

Who can't carry a tune? This girl.

Eeeeeeight DAAAAys a WeeeeEEEEEEK! I LoooOOOOOOoooOOOOoooove You!


Dinner Conversation:

"Unlike most boys, David dreaded the holidays. His parents were dead and he lived with his Great-Aunt Dot, Great-Uncle Bernard, their son Cousin Ronald and Cousin Ronald's wife Astrid; and all these four people insisted that he should be grateful for the way they looked after him.
David tried to be grateful. They sent him to a boarding school which, as schools go, was not bad. Most holidays they arranged for him to go on an Educational Tour or to a Holiday Camp, and these were usually interesting enough to make up for David's not knowing any of the other boys who went to them. He did feel grateful when Cousin Ronald pointed out that he had opportunities which few other boys were given. But when he was at home in Ashbury and not on a Tour or at Camp, he found it much harder to be grateful. And the older he grew, the harder he found it." (p. 1)

"At last he found the best combination of all. He could really almost believe it was words, fierce, terrible words. They asked to be said. And they asked to be said, too, in an important, impressive way, loudly, from somewhere high up. David climbed to the top of the compost heap, crushing baby marrows underfoot, and, leaning on the handle of the spade, he stretched the other hand skyward and recited his words. Afterward, he never remembered what they were. He knew they were magnificent, but he forgot them as soon as he said them. And when he had spoken them, for good measure, he picked up a handful of compost and bowled it at the wall.
As soon as he did that, the wall started to fall down." (pp. 28-29).

"I'm truly grateful to you. You let me out of a really horrible prison." He smiled happily and pointed with one slightly blistered finger to the ground under the wall.
This was too much for David, who, after all, had been there to see that nothing but flames and snakes had come from the ground. "Pull the other leg," he said.
Luke looked at him with one eyebrow up and a mischievous, calculating look on his filthy face. He seemed to be deciding just how much nonsense David could be brought to swallow. Then he laughed. "Have it your own way," he said. "But I am grateful, and I'll do anything I can in return." (p. 37).

"...You have to say that if I can keep Luke safe till the end of the holidays, then you'll stop looking for him and won't punish him or hurt him if you find him after that."
"Agreed," said Mr. Wedding. "But let's not make it so long. Let's say that if you can keep Luke safe until next Sunday, then he's safe for good. All right?"
This shook David a little. Mr. Wedding must be very sure of winning to set such a short limit. But he felt he had agreed to too much already to refuse a detail like that. "All right," he said." (pp. 114-115)


Tasty Rating: !!!

[Loang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 8 out of 10

Howl's Moving Castle is one of my favorite books of all time, and I've been meaning to read another book by the same author for a while. And now I've finally done it, all I want is to get my hands into more of them!

The story was more of a slow burn, but that doesn't mean it wasn't entertaining! I loved every second of it. Wynne Jones' writing is clever and playful, and it doesn't allow the story to get boring

I'll also say I loved this interpretation of Norse mythology, something that came as a surprise to me as I'd decided to find out nothing about this book before reading it. My knowledge of the myths was pretty limited before my read, but instead of that worsening my overall experience, I think it made my slow realization of what was going on with the book and its characters tons more enjoyable.

Even though David was as sympathetic and well-built as expected, no one could steal the spotlight of this book quite like Luke. He was both a super fun and interesting character by himself and a charming, fresh take on an already existent one. He truly lit up the room every time he appeared on the page, and I couldn't help but wait for his next appearance every time he left.

Finally, I really appreciated the afterword. As someone who's not that well acquainted with Norse mythology, I loved both the explanation for the couple of things I hadn't gotten during the story itself and the chance to truly understand Wynne Jones' cleverness.

I really loved this book and I'll definitely be reading more from this author in the future!

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm sitting here like 'why on earth did I not read this sooner' and unfortunately I do absolutely know why: because I thought it was going to be 'too young' for me. But what I've found in recent years is that often middle grade books are actually more enjoyable and insightful than even young adult books because they still focus on the story instead of romance and recycling all the same tired tropes. And they're also often a lot more fun than adult books because children will just go along with all the weird stuff happening instead of digging in their feet like adults would.

Anyway this was just a delight. David's family is not quite as bad as the Dursley's but you definitely get that vibe off of them nonetheless. I really liked all the characters and the way that the author wove in all the different stuff from the Norse myths. It was actually all incredibly subtle and I didn't even figure out who some of the people were until she told us in the afterword, although once told it seems glaringly obvious. The ending was very cute and I just overall enjoyed the whole thing.

This was a fun, quick read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes Loki, Norse mythology in general, or fun magical adventures.

[Airin Efferin · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know what I do after reading a fantasy book that's too long and too taxing?

I pick up a Diana Wynne Jones book or a reread, just to remind myself why I love fantasy. DWJ is the queen of fantasy writing, and one of the reasons I love her so much is because she wastes no words. Everything is so carefully done with as little fluff as possible, and yet there is always room for witty humor.

The storytelling that she is able to execute with so few words always leave me in awe. The opening scene where David characterizes his relatives during dinner? Hilarious and spot on.

Oh, and who else could have done sentences like this except DWJ :

"The thick brown soup tasted thick and brown."

[Cat M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete delight from beginning to end. This is a trickster Loki story, with a delightful middle-grade take on the character. This is Loki at his trickster best: never malicious, but far from tame.

David is a fantastic character, a good-natured boy saddled with a rather terrible family. His understandable resentment of their treatment of him leads him to accidentally break Loki out of his imprisonment.

And from there the plot takes off. There are disguised Norse gods, road trips and ravens a lot of fire and a rather remarkable amount of cricket. And in the middle there’s a great friendship and the foundations of a fantastic chosen family.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realise till halfway through that this is based on Norse mythology, and it wasn't till the end that I realised Luke is Loki and I wish I'd known from the start. I don't know enough about Norse mythology and only recognised a couple of the characters David comes across, so to be honest the story was lost on me and way too whimsical for my liking. I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, when it all started to get a bit too strange. If I knew the Norse myths on which it is based, I'm sure it would make a lot more sense...

[Emma Franzini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ammetto che dopo aver letto la saga del Castello Errante di Howl speravo in un mondo fantastico complesso ed un po' più comprensibile, ma comunque mi è piaciuto. Penso però che questo sia un libro che rende bene in lingua originale, i nomi dei personaggi sono importanti, ma il loro significato si può capire solo conoscendo bene l'inglese.

[Sai · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just think everything she does is a little bit wonderful