Enchanted Glass (2010)

Now, this is more like it.

Set in one of Jones' magical worlds (something I much prefer to the more scientific ones), Andrew Hope's grandfather dies and he finds himself moving into his old house and finally getting to write the history book he's always wanted. But, of course, he inherits more than just a house. First, there's Mr Stock the gardener and Mrs Stock the housekeeper (no relation), then there's the mysterious field-of-care his grandfather had looked after. If only the slightly absent-minded academic could remember what he had to do to maintain it.To top it off, a young boy arrives looking for help after his grandmother dies before strange powers are following him.

Oh, and did I mention that Oberon, king of the fairies, is living just down the road and trying to take over the field-of-care?

I don't think I could ever say that any of Jones' books are easy reads - you need to pay attention to the details - but I found this one delightful and, well, enchanting. Doppelgängers, fairies, were-dogs, using computers to set protective wards... Just lovely.

The use of magic in the novel is pitch perfect and something I love about Jones' writing. It's just so easy. No huge and ceremonial chanting or silly wand waving, no massive exclamations of magic existing. Magic just happens. It's part of life and comes naturally to people, whether it's beckoning a piano across the room, growing massive vegetables or making an amputee's phantom foot feel real. Of course, she also somehow has the ability to have characters go from a professional relationship to engaged in a matter of pages and still make it feel right. Though, however, that reminded me a little of Howl and Sophie's sudden declaration in Howl's Moving Castle. That said, there is some build up and it doesn't come totally out of the blue - ultimately, I think I prefer the snarky, bitchy relationship of Howl and Sophie to Andrew and Stache's gentleness.

I think, like in a few of her books, the end doesn't really feel like the end. Rather, it's another beginning. In Enchanted Glass, a significant revelation is made about one of the characters, although not to a character himself. I can't decide whether I wish I could have seen his reaction, but maybe it is best it ended there. Instead of tying up all the loose ends, it opens up new possibilities in much the same way as discovering the extent of his field-of-care opens up so many new possibilities for Andrew himself.