Book Review: "The Ogre Downstairs" by Diana Wynne Jones

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When Caspar, Johnny and Gwinny's mom remarries, the kids can't stand their new stepfather and call him “the Ogre” behind his back. The ogre's sons, Malcom and Douglas, don't much care for their new step-siblings either. But when both sets of siblings receive a chemistry set as a gift, they discover it's no normal gift. And soon they are learning how to do amazing things, all while keeping it a secret from their parents.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Johnny is the younger son. He is more emotional and prone to acting without thinking.

Caspar is the oldest child of Sally.

Gwinny is the youngest child of Sally. She is less set on disliking her new family members and admits she used to like the Ogre. She is easily influenced by her big brothers.

Malcom is the younger son of the Ogre.

Douglas is the older son of the Ogre. He loves music and often borrows his step-siblings records

PACING

It's not really an action story, so the pacing is slower. But not to the point of dissuading you from reading. We get the kit right away, and not long after learn of what happens when its used.

DOUGLAS TO THE RESCUE?-SPOILERS

Due to their flying powder wearing off, the kids get stuck far from home. Douglas eventually decides to help out. He flies home and gets them the powder. But on the way home, his wears off. He has to come in through the door, so the Ogre finds him. He is furious...at the guys he helped.

I was confused. Douglas was the one who decided to help them. If anything, this event had been caused due to his kindness. All he had to say was that they owed them, or say nothing at all. This could have started some respect between the kids at least.

IS THE OGRE THAT BAD?

I read the book thinking there would be hints that the Ogre wasn't as awful as they thought. Some times where he was misunderstood, or it was obvious he regretted his actions. But this never happens. Instead he beats up his own son and gets mad at Sally for trying to stop him. He lost his temper pretty much every five minutes and basically had no good qualities.

SUDDENLY MAGIC

I thought it was funny that no one was shocked to find that magic was real, as this was clearly not science. Nor did they have any tough questions for the man who sold it the the Ogre. You'd think they'd be eager to learn more. But I kind of got the feeling that this was ordinary magic to them. Kind of weird.

A MAGICAL WORLD

A strong point of the story is all of the details regarding the consequences of magic. Items come to life, then refuse to be contained. There are floods, melted candy and messes created by flying. Gwinny is charming and sweet how she worries over her new “people”.

LIKE CATS AND DOGS

The two siblings get on like cats and dogs, but I couldn't really figure out why. They are shown yelling at each other over pretty stupid things. I get that Caspar and Johnny think Malcom and Douglas are proper and stuffy. But that doesn't seem to be an excuse to be such jerks to them. Not that they didn't come off unlikable, but so did Caspar and Johnny. They were all equally obnoxious. And since Douglas and Caspar have long been abused by the Ogre, I thought maybe there would be some sympathy for them.

CASPAR AND MALCOM-SPOILERS

Caspar and Malcom accidentally switch bodies. Through this ordeal Caspar learns that Malcom is bullied quite a lot, not just in school by his fellow students, but by his own brother. It was one of my favorite parts of the story, because it started to help Caspar feel sympathy for Malcom.

JOHNNY'S PRANK-SPOILERS

When Johnny decides he wants the Ogre to be gone for good, he tries to frame him for killing him. His brother points out that this will never work. So he kind of goes crazy and tries to hit the Ogre with a vacuum. It was kind of hard to feel any sympathy for Johnny at that point.

GWINNY'S DECISION-SPOILERS

When the kids think that Sally has been killed Gwinny decides to take things into her own hands. She bakes muffins and makes one with sleeping pills in it. But after she makes it, she panics, realizing how crazy that was (unlike Johnny). This is kind of extreme and uncharacteristic of her (she admits she used to like the Ogre). But she at least, develops slightly.

THE OGRE, A KILLER?-SPOILERS

The kids think the Ogre killed their mother, because she has vanished and the Ogre lied to them about her whereabouts. They eventually realize their wrong but their isn't any incident where they figure out that the Ogre isn't so bad. There is a moment where one kid realizes that the Ogre may be like Douglas, who is bossy but no real harm. And can't really help it. Not exactly insightful stuff.

CLIMAX

The kids prepare for their mom coming home but end up having to fight off some accidental creations. Leftover from the chemistry set is something that can help their financial problems.

CONCLUSION

The Story is coherent, unlike “The Merlin Conspiracy”. And it isn't so filled of details that you get lost in it like “The Dark Lord of Derkholm”. But the characters are not that likable and they feel rather two dimensional.

I never quite got why the Ogre suddenly stopped being so horrible. There was no moment where this occurred, suddenly they all just get along. I give “The Ogre Downstairs” two and half stars.