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The Ogre Downstairs
 
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The Ogre Downstairs (Paperback)

by Diana Wynne Jones (Author)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books; New Ed edition (12 Jul 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0330345184
  • ISBN-13: 978-0330345187
  • Product Dimensions: 17.5 x 10.9 x 1.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 672,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #97 in  Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators > J > Jones, Diana Wynne

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Product Description

Synopsis

In this family story about two boys coming to terms with their "ogre" of a stepfather and two equally horrible stepbrothers, the action centres around the peculiar chemistry sets given to each set of boys, and the weird and wonderful goings-on that happen when they experiment with them.

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Toffee bars and the Great Caspar, 6 Feb 2004
This review is from: The Ogre Downstairs (Paperback)
This is a book that makes you grin from ear to ear. On one level it is a story of breath-taking magic, of crunchy chemicals in glass tubes that can make you fly, or invisible, or swop bodies for the day with your posh Scottish step-brother, or make toffee-bars come to life and wrap themselves over warm radiators in the middle of a posh dinner party. On another it is about trying to squeeze two families into one and how you can't expect two sets of children to get on just because the adults happen to have fallen in love. This secondary theme is so apt for modern life, it is hard to remember that Dianne actually wrote this book back in the Eighties. It is funny, clever, magical and touching.

And it has as a central figure, Caspar, a character every bit as wonderful as Eric Chant. Caspar is wise and cool and ridiculous all at once, a child version of Bill Murray's Peter Venckman from Ghostbusters. Caspar steals every scene he's in and is one of those characters who you long to be real so that you could spend time with him.

A cracking read and one that is just as good if you are in your mid-thirties as it was when you were eleven.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars My stepfather and I are now best friends!!!, 12 Aug 2001
By A Customer
Great Jerry Springer start there. There are far too many "issue" books for teenagers around. This book was written before that market was ever discovered, let alone exploited. A truly wonderful, bizarre, magical book which doesn't flinch from the step-parent subject but addresses it with humour, alchemy and ancient greek bikers. This writer needs more coverage. More recognition. More money.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent book!, 10 Nov 1999
By A Customer
I was searching round the library for something to read, when I stumbled across a fantasy book - Howl's Moving Castle. It looked good, and seeing as I love fantasy, I decided to read it. It was one of the BEST books I have ever read! So I decided to read some others. I was a little reluctant to read "The Ogre Downstairs" because it is reasonably old, but I gave at a chance. I was hooked within the first page!!! Although I don't think it really is quite as good as Howl's Moving Castle, or Archer's Goon - it is WAY better than the magicians of caprona! It's a light-hearted story, and is easy to understand, it keeps your reading and is pretty unpredictable ( well, I suppose it is a little! )

Anyway, it has a good plot, has the "all essential" touch of humour - and is basically a great read! I would say it's for ages: 10 - 14

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ogre Downstairs
As usual, Diana Wynne Jones' humour and imagination have created an fantastical take on a storyline of a second marriage. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Shas

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ogre Downstairs
Although this predates Harry Potter, it still has lovely imaginative power. I have read this to classes of children, from 7-11 and they have all loved it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Ms. M. C. Allen

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best
I first read this when it came out in Puffin paperback about 30 years ago when I was 10. I now have children of my own. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2006 by A reader

5.0 out of 5 stars the best book i've ever read
This book is loads of adventures in one. Life wasn't the same when i finished it.I've never enjoyed a book so much. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2006 by Ms. R. Burns

4.0 out of 5 stars a childs view of being part of a new step family
I actually read this book at school and it has always left an impression on me and through talking about favorite books at work this was the one that I talked about its were a... Read more
Published on 21 Feb 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book for All Ages!!!
When I first looked at "The Ogre Downstairs" I really wasn't that interested. But my aunt made me read it, it took a few months for her to finally convince me to read... Read more
Published on 24 Jul 1999

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