The Lives of Christopher Chant

Rating:
Summary: "It Will Give My World Reason to Punish Yours..."
Review: "The Lives of Christopher Chant" is set twenty-five years before the events told in "Charmed Life", but was published after it in 1988. Although many would avidly insist that you must read such books in publishing rather than chronological order (just look at the debate that rages over how you're supposed to read the "Chronicles of Narnia") I would suggest reading this before "Charmed Life." It will not ruin any of the surprises in that book, and instead drops little hints throughout (such as Chrestomanci's aversion to silver, and the name of his future wife) that will become that much more enjoyable when you read of them in "Charmed Life".

Set in a parallel world where magic is an everyday occurrence young Christopher Chant lives a rather dull life, caught between his neglectful and feuding parents. Thank goodness for his dreams, which allow him to wander about in secret worlds - and are so vivid he often brings back objects with him into waking life! But after he meets his Uncle Ralph things begin to get more interesting. Organising his young nephew to meet a man named Tacroy in his dreams, Ralph instructs Christopher on removing other, larger things from his dreams into the real world. Seeing it as a fun game, as well as liking both his uncle and Tacroy very much, Christopher plays along.

Between these exertions and visits to the young girl known as the Living Goddess, Christopher finds that life is not entirely what he wants it to be. With a longing only to become a professional cricketer, Christopher is horrified to find that he is destined to be the next Chrestomanci - the nine-lived enchanter in charge of governing magic in the worlds. Taken to Chrestomanci Castle, he is sulky and unco-operative - until the magic smuggler known as the Wraith grows in power, and the Goddess herself escapes into his world. Now Christopher is forced to take action...

A fascinating, intricate, quirky book that takes place over several years and draws on several genres (only Diana Wynne Jones can go from English boarding school to Arabian Nights to elfish and Biblical lore), this could possibly be my favourite in the Chrestomanci quartet. Once again, the author proves she is an expert at human behaviour, a fan of cats and someone who's not afraid to tackle large and important issues in children's books.

She's also wonderful at portraying the lack of self-awareness in people: one of the most memorable scenes is when Christopher makes an off-handed comment and is suddenly reprimanded by his teacher for years of selfishness and snobbery. Christopher is stunned, having no idea that he was so disliked - but on closer reflection he realises it's true. "The Lives of Christopher Chant" deeply explores these ideas - that we can't always follow the dreams that we want, that we must sometimes put others before ourselves, and we have a responsibility to use our natural gifts.

The characters are wonderful as usual - from Christopher himself who you watch grow as the novel progresses, to the spunky Goddess, to the terrifying cat Throgmorton and the amiable, elusive Uncle Ralph. Things are never quite what they appear in these novels, and it is as fun to explore the "Anywheres" along with Christopher. "The Lives of Christopher Chant" is a great read, and a wonderful place to begin the journeys into the rest of the Chrestomanci books.


Rating:
Summary: A different take on a character
Review: Although Christopher Chant appears in the other books of the Chrestomanci series, this is the deepest look into the character of Christopher, and instead of a breif glimpse, we are given a basis for his actions and his ideas in the preceeding books.

In 'The Lives of Christopher Chant' we start by looking at a different world through the eyes of young Christopher: his strange and distant relationship with his parents, the continual changing of his nursery maids and governesses, and his private trips in his dreams to mysterious places. When his Uncle Ralph appears and treats Christopher differently, more as a capable person than a isolated child, he is ready to idolise him and obey him in any way possible, believing Ralph to be kind, unselfish and caring, when in reality he is quite different. Christopher is asked to go on trips to these other worlds, and does so without question, returning with strange items, not suspecting the trickery behind his actions.

Christopher goes to school, where people begin to suspect about the extrodinary power behind his average facade.

In this book we see aspects of rebellion, friendship, childish hatred, boredom and unhappiness that many children are able to relate to. All this is tied in with adventure, magic, believeable characters and imaginative twists. Another great aspect is the faint idea that not all people classed as 'evil' are so easily catagoried when you compare their actions to the humane areas of their personality.

I loved this story, and felt it to be one of the best books in Diana Wyne Jones's Chrestomanci series. From here you really start to understand the character of Christopher, laying new undercurrents in the other titles. The concepts, language, plot and dimension, as well as the originality, makes it one of the few really brilliant children's books around.

This book was extrodinary, and deserves much more popularity and recognition than it has got.

Rating:
Summary: Christopher Chant is enchanting!
Review: Christopher Chant decends from enchanters and sorceresses. Yet the only thing that is magical about Christopher is his dreams. At night, he travels into The Place Between. From there he goes into the Anywheres, where he meets mysterious people who give him mysterious gifts. Christopher is perfectly content until his father takes him to Dr. Pawson to find out way he can't do magic. After that he is sent to Chrestomanci Castle to become the world's next Chrestomanci. He hates it there! Will Christopher ever survive?

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic Young Adult Fantasy
Review: Despite his connections with the world of enchantment, Christopher Chant is more interested in cricket that magic. Blessed, or cursed, with nine lives and the ability to travel to spirit worlds in his dreams, Christopher isn't too thrilled to discover that he is destined to become the next Chrestomanci. Quite content with his dream worlds and performing tasks for his Uncle Ralph, Christopher is horrified when he is made to leave school and friends behind and travel to Chrestomanci Castle. Here he will learn the skills necessary for his future role, a role that Christopher definitely does not want. Soon the future Chrestomanci is battling a group of smugglers attempting to steal from the dream worlds....

"The Lives of Christopher Chant" is young adult fantasy at its best. The plot is magical and will keep you reading right up until the end. A little slow to get going, the action soon picks up and never stops. Anyone who likes adventure or fantasy should love this. I can't wait to read the remaining books in the Chrestomanci series.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic and charming!
Review: Diana is one author that has never ceased to amaze me with her skills and novels that sweep me right into the books. This series is one that I just could not put down, it's fantastic! Her characters are charming as can be and the story lines are easy to follow but with exciting jumps and turns to keep everyone interested! This is a MUST READ series!

Rating:
Summary: WOW
Review: Even though he doesn't know it Christopher spirit travels every night. This happens in his dreams he goes to what Christopher calls the Place Between and the Anywheres. When his uncle finds out there are experiments that his uncle wants to do. But are they such honest experiments?
Of all of Diana Wynne Jones' books that I have read so far this has to be my favorite. I couldn't stop reading. A really well written masterpiece.

Rating:
Summary: Cool!
Review: I found out about this fantastic book on amazon.com and requested it at the library in our disrict. The book was so popular that I had to wait for twenty-nine people before I could read it! When I finally had the book I picked it up and started reading . It was one of those books where you just can't put it down. The Lives of Christopher Chant is about a young boy named Christopher Chant who lives in a very elegant place with his mother and father. Christopher has the life of a normal boy until he realizes that he can spirit travel! Spirit travelling is an art where you can travel to worlds that are real but can only be reached while dreaming. Every night he goes spirit travelling, sometimes he even managed to bring back stuff from the Anywheres( that's what Christopher called the dream worlds). One day, his governess discovered presents that he had brought back from the Anywheres and accused him of stealing. The governess said she wanted an explanation. Christopher said he would only confess to his Uncle Ralph, a corrupt and dishonest man. When Uncle Ralph discovers that Christopher can spirit travel, he sends him on special missions in the Anywheres, and Christopher gets into loads of mischief...

Rating:
Summary: This Book Rules
Review: If you are into fantasy, adventure, humor, or all of the above, you have to read The Lives of Christopher Chant. I own a copy of it and would highly reccomend it to everyone. If you have read this book and enjoyed it, you should also read Witch Week, Charmed Life, The Magicians of Caprona, and everything else written by Diana Wynne Jones.

Rating:
Summary: Original, engaging and absorbing...
Review: If youre already a fan of Diana Wynne Jones, you know that any book written by this amazing author is worth reading. The lives of Christopher Chant is no exception. Quite possibly it is one of her best works, but I'll let you decide on that one. This particular book actually takes place before any of the others, but for some reason it is the fourth in the series. It stars a young chrestomanci - Christopher Chant - a boy who can traverse through the multiple worlds at will, who unknowingly posesses nine lives and is one of the strongest magic -users in his own world. He is taken to Chrestomanci castle, where he is trained to become the next Chrestomanci, a sort of overseer for all the magic that goes on in the many worlds. However, he is also secretly recruited by his uncle Ralph to make a series of dreamlike trips into the other worlds to retrieve and deliver mysterious packages, one of which is incidently revealed to be dragon's blood, a highly powerful and illegal magical ingredient prohibited by the law. Christopher is exposed to countless dangers on these forays and each time he dies in his spirit trips, he is killed in the real world by a parallel accident. As time passes and Christopher continues to lose his lives, the reigning Chrestomanci is killed and the worlds are pushed into chaos. Christopher, young as he is, must take charge and save the entire related worlds, though he is only just beginning to discover the scope of his powers... enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: The story of Chrestomanci
Review: Perhaps one of the most endearing magicians in fantasy is Chrestomanci. A suit-wearing, veddy-veddy English magician with style and a forceful personality, rather than the usual Gandalf-clones. But rather than focusing on a group of people or an individual that Chrestomanci helps, this book focuses on Chrestomanci's life -- more specifically, the events that molded him into the powerful magician ahead.

Christopher Chant is essentially a semi-normal little boy in Victorian England — the abnormal things are discounted, such as meeting mermaids -- or dreaming of places, and coming back with souvenirs. His parents are almost nebulous figures, and his nursemaids change continuously. One day he meets his Uncle Ralph, a friendlier person than any Christopher has encountered before.

It turns out that Christopher is a "spirit traveller" -- when he dreams, he actually drifts from one world into another. To add to this oddity, he also has nine lives (he uses up a few of them as the story progresses). And not only Uncle Ralph is interested in Christopher's talents — his father manages to get him to Chrestomanci Castle, to be trained as the next Chrestomanci (the person in charge of all magic).

And Christopher hears something more — about smugglers getting illegal magical goods from the different worlds. And Uncle Ralph may be connected to them. Who is good and who is bad? Christopher, the Goddess, and Thogmorten the cat try to save themselves from the sinister smugglers and the guards of another world...

One endearing thing about this book is the way that Diana Wynne-Jones understands a small child's way of thinking, such as Christopher assuming that if his mother wants him in a good profession, she wants him to be a missionary. We see Christopher gradually shifting into a more world-aware viewpoint as his powers grow. Wynne-Jones also acknowledges, as many books such as Harry Potter do not, that simply because a place is harder to live in and not as much fun as elsewhere, does not mean that it is a bad place. The people who expect the most from Christopher also care the most. Lessons about responsibility, using your natural-born gifts, and caring about others are also sprinkled throughout it.

Christopher is a very realistic protagonist. He's not perfect, and simply because he is powerful people don't revere him as being better than anyone else. One of the best scenes in the book involves a friend of his scolding him for being self-absorbed and cold to others — and Christopher realizes with a shock that it's true. The Goddess, a very bored incarnation-of-a-deity from another world, is an excellent female lead and counterpoint to Christopher. (The scene where they debate who is a heathen is hilarious). Most of the other characters flit in and out too quickly and briefly for us to form a solid opinion of them, but Throgmorten ("Wong!") is also a priceless personality.

Writing style is nearly impeccable, very evocative and only goes dead in a few areas. There is also a lot of humor in this book: the scene where Christopher runs wailing through the hospital, Throgmorten the "wong!" cat, Christopher's obsession with being a missionary, and other tidbits of hilarity.

This is a wonderful fantasy book, especially if you're already a fan of the Chrestomanci books. You don't need to have read any others to enjoy this on its own.