Title: Wild Robert
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
- Date read: March 1, 2017
- Rating: 5 stars
- Genre: Fantasy (Contemporary)
- Age: Juv. Fiction/YA?
- Year pub: 1989
- Pages: 100
- Illustrator: Mark Zug
- Fave character: Wild Robert… sometimes. 😉
- Source: Library
- Notes: Read in honor of March Magics (2017)
[Find it on Goodreads]
What if a mysterious magical being who had been asleep for 350 years, woke up in modern times, found the castle of his former home turned into a tourist attraction, and decided to make mischief? That’s Wild Robert for you! Heather has a lot to put up with when she accidentally summons him into her tourist-crammed day… Shenanigans ensue!
Quite short read (100 pages including illustrations and large print; I read it in a sitting) and a very fun way to kick off March Magics/Diana Wynne Jones March 2017! 🙂
I’d never read this one before. It made me think a little bit of Eight Days of Luke, and maybe a dash of Howl’s Moving Castle for one tiny reason. DWJ once again blends fantasy, history, modern times, humor, strangeness, and fascinating characters in a bizarre but heart-capturing read.
It’s not all fun and pranks though… there’s a deeper mystery and something sinister behind all of this, and the reveal twisted my heart and made me feel bad for poor Robert! I was conflicted about this strange impish character — he definitely keeps you guessing. 😉 He’s a fascinating mystery, I guess you could say.
It was quite enjoyable, and I loved the twist at the end about who Robert is! 😀
It stopped rather before I wanted it to… I could have read another two or three hundred pages on this!! So at first I was sliiightly disappointed about that, but at the same time it works perfectly, ending at just the right place to let the imagination wander free about what might happen next… 😉 So I’m happy with it. 🙂 DWJ always leaves you wanting more!
(It almost made me consider wanting to write a fan-fiction continuation, I wanted to know so badly. The idea of fan-fiction almost never crosses my mind. Heehee.)
Great fun! ^_^
What would you do if you were a magical person who woke up after 300 years and found your castle turned into a tourist attraction? And have you ever read a book where you wanted the ending to continue? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading! 🙂
Dream away in those pages . . .
~ The Page Dreamer
The Page Dreamer (Deborah O'Carroll) 
I almost always want stories to go on after they end, so I know what you mean there.
Wild Robert sounds super fun! I’m going to have to read it soon! (Soon-ish, at least.) And if I were a magical person who’d just woken and found my castle turned into a museum, well, first I’d have some strong words for the person who woke me. Then I’d follow the tour guides around and annoy/correct them. And then I’d have a firm talking-to with whoever made the place a museum.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yesss. More story! (This one did feel almost short-story-like in its size and open ending.)
It is fun! It might not live up to expectations because it’s small and different, but it’s definitely fun. 🙂 And just when you think it’s going to be all lighthearted it takes another turn… DWJ books are always so hard to predict.
And… yep, sounds about right. XD Correcting tour guides would be fun. People all get history wrong (mostly because the winners write the history) so it would be super cool to correct people about stuff you actually knew. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know. Both about the short-story feel and the darker turn.
Exactly my thoughts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
And it’s not, like… DARK-dark… just… yeah. *zips lips to avoid spoilers* I can’t explain it. XD But I loved it, so. 😀
Yay!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I didn’t think it was. But I appreciate the warning even so.
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘Kay. ^_^
LikeLiked by 1 person
OH MY GOODNESS. I have always wanted a fun story about a person from history suddenly appearing in modern times (it seems like it’s always modern people going back into time instead). AND DWJ WROTE ONE???? AAAAHHHHH!!! I WANT IT SO BADLY. This sounds hilarious and amazing and and and YES. NEED.
I do understand you wanting it to be longer. I pretty much ALWAYS want short books to be longer. Which is why I like series. I just…want things to go on forever. xD And I have definitely, DEFINITELY wanted to continue the story before. On multiple occasions. It’s so hard to say goodbye and not know what are characters are up to after the book ends! *sobs*
I love Sarah’s idea of annoying the tourists by constantly correcting them if I woke up 300 years later in my home. That’s great. xD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eheh, yes, that is more common, isn’t it? XD I feel like there are some others with someone from the past in the present… but I can’t remember any right now. But yes, this one’s fun. XD
I don’t have a problem with short books as long as they wrap up well… But I agree, if I love something, it makes me happy to have more books to read. But at the same time, series daunt me, so… I don’t know, I’m confusing. XD You’re very much a series person, aren’t you. 😉
YESS. SUCH FUN. XD
LikeLike
This looks SO FUN!! I’ve always wanted to read a story about meshing the real with the magical. (I end up writing them myself since I find them in such short supply. XD ) I’ll definitely have to add this to the TBR-pile! ^_^
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is! 😀 And those are definitely fun. 🙂 Lots of Diana Wynne Jones’ books do that, actually! Archer’s Goon, Eight Days of Luke, Enchanted Glass, Fire and Hemlock… those are all in modern times with fantastical things going on. 😀 (And haha, yes, that’s definitely a good way to fill gaps of what we want to read! 😉 *high-five*)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: #MarchMagics Wrapup {2017} | The Page Dreamer
Pingback: Spring Ishness! {2017} | The Road of a Writer
Pingback: Mid-Year Top Reads + Roundup {2017} | The Page Dreamer
Pingback: My Diana Wynne Jones Journey (Part 2) | The Page Dreamer