It’s a skilled writer who can indicate the broad arc of her story within a couple of pages, and not leave the reader feeling short-changed for having that knowledge. Diana Wynne Jones is, of course, a highly skilled writer, and achieves the feat with flair in ‘Samantha’s Diary’.
Our story begins on December 25th, 2233, as well-to-do Samantha returns home to find an unexpected present waiting for her – a Christmas tree, complete with its own bird. Samantha has to look the bird up on the Net, discovering that it is a partridge – and we know, long before she does, what will arrive at Samantha’s door in the coming days. But we don’t know exactly how it will play out, which is what maintains our interest. I won’t say more, except that it’s very funny indeed.
Rating: ****
Elsewhere
Diana Wynne Jones official website
15th July 2010 at 8:22 pm
That sounds great. I clicked through on the link to her website and was sorry to read that she’s not well.
15th July 2010 at 8:38 pm
She’s one of our great writers, I think. I do wish I’d read more of her work when I was younger.