INTRODUCTION Many elements go into the act of creation, not least of which are imagination, hope and perseverance. First comes inspiration—an idea or inkling of what is possible; next is hope that the possible can be made actual; then begins the struggle to make this happen. Without perseverance, an idea is nothing more than potential. […]
Diana Wynne Jones & the Subtle Art of Subversion Read More »
In The Marzipan Pig, Hoban suggests that it is the sorrows of life that help us grow, and that make the unexpected joys taste that much sweeter. The tale opens with the Marzipan Pig falling behind a sofa where he remains undiscovered, his purpose unfulfilled, his life unlived. Into his loneliness comes a mouse who
The Marzipan Pig by Russell Hoban Read More »
The protagonists in Diana Wynne Jones’s stories often believe their lives are predestined to follow a specific course, only to discover that what they consider destiny turns out to be a kind of social expectation; rules laid down by someone no more remarkable or extraordinary than they are. In its opening lines, Howl’s Moving Castle
