Despite my determination to no longer buy trade paperback-sized books, with some authors the wait is just too long. I was going to keep The Pinhoe Egg for a special treat, and frankly I did think I deserved it after making my way through the heavy going of my last two non-fiction outings. However, I read it so soon (only a couple of weeks after purchase) primarily because a friend saw it and loves the writing of the brilliant Ms Jones (although she has, unaccountably, read only a fraction of this magnificent writer’s work).
Jones is deservedly one of England’s best-loved FSF writers. Her work incorporates elements from a variety of traditions (Eight Days of Luke drew on Nordic mythology, while The Year of the Griffin and The Dark Lord of Denholm were more straight FSF), she weaves the apparently-mundane (like nursery rhymes in Deep Secret) into occult oral magic, and crafts worlds that are intricate, believable and enthralling. Jones writes for both young readers and young adults, with a combination of stand alone titles (like The Ogre Downstairs and Black Maria), short series (The Dalemark Quartet), and the self-contained Chrestomanci series, of which this is the latest instalment.
There are nine Worlds, parallel universes with planets like our own, where divergent mores have led to very different cultures. Our earth is decidedly mundane, but in an adjacent World magic flourishes. Its practice is monitored by powerful mages, the strongest of which is the Chrestomanci, a nine-lived enchanter. Nine-lived enchanters are very rare, existing only when their counterparts are not born on any of the other eight Worlds. Cat Chant is one – his back-stories are told in Charmed Life and Stealer of Souls - and he is being taught at Chrestomanci Castle, where the current Chrestomanci, his wife and two children also live. The Pinhoe Egg tells the story of the families who live in the villages around Chrestomanci Castle.
The Pinhoes of Ulverscote and the Farleighs of Helm St Mary have been practicing witchcraft for hundreds of years; it is their sacred duty. And for hundreds of years they have kept this practice a secret from the Chrestomanci. But the Pinhoe Gammer (female head of the family) has started to behave strangely and the family can’t control her, while the Farleigh’s Gaffer (male head) is becoming increasingly hostile. To monitor what’s happening in the Castle they sent Marianne’s brother Joe to work in the stables; Joe can easily be spared, because everyone knows what a disappointment he is, unable to work the simplest of magics (though only Marianne knows how hard he works at that). Marianne seems to be the only family member to be concerned about what’s happening, but even though she’s tapped to be the next Gammer she’s easily ignored.
Marianne meets Cat after Gammer is moved out of the family home. The family have decided to sell it, but only to another Pinhoe, and Cat’s tutor is married to the beautiful Irene, a Pinhoe from London. Cat, dazzled by Irene, accompanies them on their house hunt and meets Marianne in the garden. She gives him the Pinhoe Egg, which has been sitting in the attic for years, wrapped in ignore spells.
How Cat hatches the egg, the escalating feud is resolved, the deception about what happened to Gaffer emerges, and the truth behind the odd practices of the Pinhoes and the Farleighs is disclosed is unfurled in the rest of the book. Jones’s touch is deft, her characters live on the page, and her world is captivating. - Alex
No comments:
Post a Comment