It's January, and I'm already off my fiction/non-fiction schedule, but it's OK: I have an excuse! I have writing a major grant and I need something warm, comforting and relaxing to support me through and I've been saving Enchanted Glass for just such an occasion. Enchanted Glass is the last book that Diana Wynne Jones wrote before she died, and DWJ is, of course, my favorite.

In the process of reading this, I ended up enumerating all of the DWJ books and plots to one of my friends, which I think helped me appreciate EG -- it has several of the key themes of her life's work: Andrew's memories of childhood are fuzzy; many adult authority figures are untrustworthy -- not that they don't believe in magic, but that they're straight malevolent; people are embodiments of mythical or fictional characters (in this case, Oberon -- cleverly calling himself "O. Brown", Titania, Mab and Puck.) It's nostalgic and it certainly filled the niche I was looking for.

On the downside, it felt raw to me. Plotlines drop, which I can't remember from any other DWJ book; there are some very jumpy parts and the beginning drags somewhat. Fans of DWJ will overlook it, but objectively, unfortunately, it's not that good. ( )

Despite being a staunch and long-time DWJ fan, I'm tempted to downgrade this story to 2½-stars. This is my 3rd reading and I'll be giving the book away now. The main protagonist has never appealed to me and the vague tie-in of a variation on the Tam Lin story was off-putting. Overall, the book’s storyline felt unfinished, or perhaps more like an early draught of a good idea. It is possible that DWJ was quite unwell by then and wasn’t in a position to undertake rewriting the story.

One of DWJ's writing styles I've always liked was her creative worlds of magic. In her earlier books, the magical fantasy was "almost plausible" and akin to a mythopoeic world of nature. However, the atmosphere in Enchanted Glass is very different bordering on rather unpleasant.

First quibble: the romance between Andrew and Stashe was so implausible, lacking realistic development. It's inclusion in the plot never felt logical.
As well, there is a twist to the story that was quite bizarre, involving family members. Second quibble, did this big reveal of who were the parents of what turns out to be closely related characters really enhance the storyline? I found these situations took away from the tale. ( )

Reads like DWJ from her peak in the 1980s. The only thing that makes it sound a little off from 2010 is the fact that the primary character seems to be the adult Andrew, and he is the one who solves all the problems at the end. But I do love a cozy world where magic is just so much a part of everyday life. ( )

I liked this, but wasn't really in love with it. Sometimes I think I'm not British enough to get it. Grumpy busybody old ladies annoy me, and the main character is really a middle aged man even though this is supposed to be a children's book. Some clever writing, but not all of the plot twists made sense to me in the end. The US cover is atrocious, btw. ( )

Andrew inherits Melstone and the field-of-care around it, but doesn’t know what that means. Aidan finds his way to Andrew’s house, pursued by social workers who aren’t really, and more uncanny things. The uncooperative housekeeper and gardener try Andrew’s patience, but the housekeeper’s nephew and the gardener’s secretary niece join the household. To say nothing of the dog. ( )