The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones

Caspar, Johnny, and Gwinny lost their father in a car crash. Their mother remarried, and they refer to their new stepfather as “the ogre”. They are not much fonder of Douglas and Malcolm, their new stepbrothers. One day, the ogre unexpectedly brings Johnny a gift: a chemistry set from a store near his office. He also gives one to Malcolm, and the two soon begin to experiment.

It doesn’t take them long to discover that, while half of the chemicals in the set are perfectly normal, the other half has unbelievable properties. One allows anyone who rubs it on their skin to float in the air, another brings common daily objects to life, a combination of others gives you invisibility, and so on.

As you can imagine, this discovery unleashes a series of uncommon events, and these slowly begin to bring the rival siblings closer together. They unite against a common enemy: the ogre. Johnny, Caspar and Gwinny are surprised to discover that their stepfather isn’t any kinder to his biological children than he is to them. When one day, after a quarrel with the ogre, their mother disappears, stories of Bluebeard cross the children’s minds. But spending time alone with their stepfather causes them to rethink some of their assumptions.

I have thoroughly enjoyed every Diana Wynne Jones novel I’ve read so far, but I think that, after the brilliant Fire & Hemlock, this is my favourite to date. The Ogre Downstairs is a remarkable book, full of humour, intelligence and warmth.

I liked how Caspar and Malcolm began to understand each other after literally walking a mile in each other’s shoes. I liked how each and every one of the characters felt very much real. I liked how throughout the story they all matured and learned things about themselves and those surrounding them.

This novel makes some great points about the importance of communication, of putting yourself in another person's position for a minute, of taking a moment to take a deep breath before harsh words are spoken. And yet it is never, ever, preachy or moralistic in the least. These ideas emerge from the story naturally rather than being imposed on it, and that is why the whole thing works so well.

This is a very human, subtle and complex tale, and a riveting adventure at the same time. I recommend it to children and adults alike.

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