Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Read-Along: Power of Three #MarchMagics

A cover of Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones

I almost forgot to write about Power of Three because I read the book last week and since then have have been enjoying seeing posts pop up from various other bloggers (Bookforager, Jean at Howling Frog Books). It felt like a discussion already in progress! I also went looking for past posts I had written about this book and had completely forgotten that I had written about it on Lory's old blog for Witch Week in 2014. This was my summary of the book from that post and I like it --

Power of Three is one of Diana Wynne Jones’s oldest books, first released in 1976. It is less fantastical than most of her other books, even while being rooted in magic. In the land of the Dorig, the Lyman, and the Giants, each race thinks that they are the “people” and that the others are savages, both dangerous and mean. It is the simple magic of words that give each group power, be it curses, charms, or negotiation, and they frequently use those words against each other. It is only when they use their words for friendship and forgiveness instead of enmity that all will be well in their world.

This story fit perfectly with the "All Together Now" theme of the month. Three very different groups had to come together to find a solution that would work for everyone and somehow they managed it. As I see more and more divisiveness in our world these days, even though we have far fewer differences than the Dorig, Lyman, and Giants (apologies to the characters for using what they consider slurs), I wonder if we will ever get over them for the common good. You would think things like climate change and a global pandemic would be big enough problems that the world could come together but, well, not yet.

As for discussion, I don't want to talk about DWJ's fat phobia because that's just depressing and we've already talked about it many times. Instead let's talk about the "people" in this story that surprised us. I loved how Mr. Claybury and Mr. Masterfield totally got on board with everything with NO hesitation. This is so different than how adults act in almost any other children's story. Was there someone that surprised you with their actions? Also, I was wondering if this book predates standard environmental reviews for civic projects. Isn't that what actually happened in this story? The creatures of the land (different groups of people, in this case) got to actually speak up and stop their habitats from being destroyed. That's pretty cool when you think about it, right? Finally--and this one sounds like a spoiler but it's not because anybody who hasn't read the book will have no idea what we are talking about--when did Ceri put a Thought on Gair on in the final scene?!? I honestly can't figure it out.

I'm planning one more post at the end of the month to tally up all of the great books I ended up reading. They have almost all perfectly fit the theme and have gotten me a little more excited to see people again later this summer. (I am one of the weird people who hasn't been overly sad that we've been locked away in our own homes and yards for a year.) Anyway, I hope that you all are fitting in one more fun DWJ or Pratchett read before the end of March!

10 comments:

  1. Oh! I know this one! At the end of the negotiations and stuff, everyone there feels a big swell of happiness and gets on to celebrating. And Gair notices and realizes that Ceri was the one who put the Thought to make everyone so happy. That's what it was!

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    1. Ahh. I got confused because Gair just says "you're not supposed to put a Thought on your older brother" so I thought he ONLY put in on Gair. That makes sense.

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  2. I'm such a slow reader (because of not skimreading and because of stopping to take notes) that I'm surprised and pleased that I've fitted in three titles for March Magics among all the other memes I've joined in. And like you I've taken advantage of lockdown to involve myself in bookish things!

    So, before The Shepherd's Crown I reread and reviewed A Tale of Time City and now I've just reread and scheduled a review for tomorrow of ; this last is a day late for the actual tenth anniversary of Diana's death but I felt I needed to mark it. Thank you for yet again hosting this event, a spur to read two of my favourite authors, guilt-free and with pleasure!

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    1. The Time of the Ghost was the missing title above...

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    2. I was shocked when I figured out that it was 10 years already. I have tried not to think about it much because it's rather depressing!
      And you are so welcome. :)

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  3. Ohhhh, I haven't read this one in ages! Yes, I love how the adults got on board. I remember being pleasantly stunned throughout as various twists came to light! And the style I remember thinking was more serious-fantasy like the early Dalemarks or other early works of hers, save for the humorous flashback scene with the tractor which felt like her later hilarious chaos scenes which she does so well. XD

    So far March has been busy and I've only managed to read Witch's Business and Men at Arms, but both were new reads and delightful! And also dealt with coming together, like the theme of the month. :) Still, it's the weekend so fingers crossed that I can squeeze in some more reading! It's been a lovely March Magics so far. ^_^

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    1. The tractor scene was definitely a highlight! I'm glad that you read so much this month. It has been fun to revisit old favorites and also to explore a couple of new ones. :)

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  4. It was really fun to reread this one this month! It's been years since I last read it and I think I was kinda confused the first time. It was much more interesting this time around! I love your summary of the book too, well-put! The way they use words against each other is horrific (for example the curse at the beginning) but switching it around is just as cathartic.

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    1. It's weird how there's always something new each time you read a DWJ!

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