At least no one can accuse me of not having read this book now. Howl's Moving Castle is probably the single most popular piece of children's fantasy, right after Harry Potter of course. I've heard endless praise for this series ever since it was first released but, for some reason or the other, I was never drawn to it. It seemed charming, but not much else. Well, as I expected, Jones's story is a charming, cute, and fun adventure novel with just the right amount of depth to be considered prevalent, but also subtle. All in all, it both was and wasn't what I was expecting, but although I enjoyed it, I know for a fact that I won't be calling myself a fan of Diana Wynne Jones - or this series - any time soon. One of the best things about Howl's Moving Castle is, hands-down, its protagonist. Sophie is the eldest of three sisters, left to work in her father's hat store after he passes away. Unlike the usual step-mothers we are used to, hers is kind, treating her three daughter equally, despite the fact that only one is hers by blood. While Sophie slaves away in a hat store, her two younger sisters depart on their own, one to be the apprentice of a witch and another to make an advantageous marriage. Quite unexpectedly, though, the Witch of the Waste, a wicked witch that the people of Sophie's town fear, even more than the mysterious Wizard Howl who eats the souls of young girls, arrives in Sophie's shop and turns her into an old woman. Now, desperate to turn herself back into the young girl she is, Sophie leaves her hat shop, only to stumble upon the moving castle of Wizard Howl himself and strike up a bargain with his fire demon, one that will change her life forever. Needless to say, Howl's Moving Castle is a richly imagined fantasy story. Jones has created a world that is a-plenty both in politics and magic, making for a riveting read. Furthermore, the majority of the novel takes place in the moving castle of Wizard Howl himself. Howl is, quite possibly, my favorite character of the tale. As with all realistic characters, he is deeply flawed, proving to be vain, immature, and often irritating. Yet, beneath all that, he is clever, witty, and has a kind heart. Sophie, as a strong-willed heroine, knows exactly what buttons to push to get Howl riled and vice versa. Although their dynamic is unique due to the fact that Sophie is an old woman, their interactions are no less amusing or intelligent for it. In addition to Howl and Sophie, though, the cast of secondary characters in this story plays an important role as well. Jones weaves together multiple plot lines, alluding to them in the beginning and slowly bringing them all together. At times, the plot can be hard to follow with so much going on, but it keeps you flipping the pages constantly. As an audio book, Howl's Moving Castle is one of the better ones. Although I will fault the narrator for making Howl's voice a bit too much like her own at times, she brilliantly read through this book, making me laugh out loud on more than one occasion. I did switch to an actual copy of the novel during the middle, simply because the middle does tend to drag a little and with the book, I could both read faster and skim when necessary, but either than that, the audio book was a perfect way to read this. For all its positive points, though, I must admit to not understanding why Howl's Moving Castle receives the hype it does. Granted, it's a very well-written novel that is a great deal of fun, but it hardly warrants the numerous gushing reviews it receives. Jones does a splendid job of exploring the theme of illusion and personality; of seeing whether Sophie's appearance deters from her vivacious personality, but many other books do this as well. (Just take Frances Hardinge's A Face Like Glass for example, which is additionally MG but seems to tackle this theme with more creativity, talent, and depth). Howl's Moving Castle is a fantasy adventure I would not hesitate to recommend to any lover of good fiction, just don't go into it expected to be as blown away as the hype suggests you should be. Perhaps the movie is what gives this series the large fan following it has. I'll watch it and let you know. Movie Review/Update/Thoughts: Now that's more like it! As a film, Howl's Moving Castle is everything its hype said it would be...and more! One of the main reasons I always find book-to-movie adaptations to be lacking, or inferior to their book halves, is because directors make it a point to follow the book word-for-word, plot-for-plot and then they skip an incident and the entire movie is ruined. Howl's Moving Castle the film couldn't be more different from the book if it tried, though. Although both plot lines have the same idea of a girl, Sophie, who gets turned into an old woman, Miyazaki's rendition of the tale is infinitely darker. Jones has written a story that can only be described as charming. It's funny, witty, and great to spend a few leisure hours of time with. Yet, it can also be boring, its villain rather two-dimensional, and it never veers off the border of light/fluffy fun. Miyazaki's film version, however, casts its villain in a more three-dimensional light, putting more emphasis on both the romance element and the darker aspects of this story, which, in my eyes, only improved an already excellent idea and plot line. In Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle, the country that Sophie lives in is in the midst of a war. As such, instead of a frantic scrambling to undo wicked charms that have been set upon a variety of characters, there is a more serious matter of preventing war. Howl, too, is less of the bumbling, vain fool we've come to love in the books but rather an enigmatic mystery with a curse and dark secret of his own. Although Miyazaki's film rendition lost the original - and subtle - love story that Jones created, opting for a more typical "Beauty and the Beast" type of tale, I thoroughly enjoyed it. All in all, even if you don't plan to read Jones's acclaimed novel, DO invest in the two hours that this film takes. It is beautifully drawn, marvelously scripted, and has made me realize the true hype surrounding this tale. Granted, I did miss a few elements from the novel in the movie - and both are VERY different, with only a handful of similarities - but I think it's safe to say that I'm in love with the movie far more than I am with the book. Do take note of this - it's probably the first and only time I'll find a movie to be superior to the novel. Needless to say, I need to check out Miyazaki's other films at once! Film Rating: 5/5 You can read this review and more on my blog, Ivy Book Bindings.
It's been a long while since I read this, but I remembered absolutely loving it. My memories were correct. In fact, I read every book by Diana Wynne Jones I could get my hands on growing up. I've finally gotten a chance to reread this, and I'm glad I choose the audiobook format. Jenny Sterlin was brilliant. She utilizes her voice distinctly for the varied characters. She even makes a distinction between Old Sophie and New Sophie very well. I recommend listening to the audio if you have a chance.Howl is a real character. He's what you would rightly call an amiable rogue. Howl's imperfections are very much part of his charm. I liked how Sophie spent most of the book annoyed with Howl, but you could tell that she had fallen in love with him. She was awful jealous."I think she doth protest too much." Howl will admit that he's a coward, and he's extremely vain. He's not above manipulating people. But Sophie is a perfect match for him. She doesn't put up with his bull, but at the same time, she's good for him and both Michael, his apprentice.I love Sophie. She's an awesome character. What pluck despite her timidity and low self-esteem. I liked how as she was under the old age spell, she came into her own and it's understandable. She was freed from the fears and restrictions that had ruled her life as the Oldest Daughter. The older you get, the less you have to lose, and the more you are willing to call it like it is, but also you realize that life is valuable and each moment could be your last. Sophie comes into her own and realizes that she has a unique ability to create magic of her own.Calcifer is a character. He's a fire demon who has made a pact with Howl. He pretty much runs the castle, and he's incredibly grumpy about it. You could tell that Sophie and Calcifer grew quite fond of each other. One of the things I love about fantasy most is the world-building and the way that the imagination has free reign. The descriptions of things that are completely imaginary and even from our normal lives, but with an interesting twist. Ms. Wynne Jones knew her fantasy and I could see how influential she was to Neil Gaiman as an author. That twisted convergence of fantasy and the lightest edge of the horrific. The Witch of the Waste is on the periphery of this novel, but she's a disturbing presence. Also, she's a cautionary tale to those who are corrupted by magic.There's nothing to complex about this story. But simplicity can be gorgeous, and a well-told story outweighs author tricks that pad a novel unnecessarily. I consider this a fantasy classic.**A note about the movie:I do so much love the Anime version of this. It's gorgeous, and I can watch it again and again! There are some changes between it and the novel, but it's a great adjunct and exploration of the novel in a visual format. Definitely recommend it, but the source material is where you want to start. Read this book!
What do You think about Howl's Moving Castle (2001)?
Read for the 2015 Reading Challenge #3 A book that became a movie3.5 I liked the book, it was funny and fast paced, but I saw a lot coming. Maybe the author waited too much to reveal the secrets. Anyway, I enjoyed the book, the characters were all very good, Calcifer and Michael being my favorites, but everyone is really interesting and different from the others. I guess if you want something light but with some mystery and you also want to have fun, you should pick this up. Gracias a Aideeeee Jess Daniela y el resto (no se si las tengo a todas) por unirme a su twitter-lectura XD Estuvimos usando el hashtag #AtrapaUnaEstrellaFugaz por si quieren saber las locuras que se pusieron :D aunque puede que tenga spoilers.Unas cuantas hojas leídas y ya sabes que te divertirás en grande con este libro.Pero a pesar de lo fácil que se lee, lo corto y lo divertido que esta, sentí que la autora tardo mucho en dar los giros en la trama. Todos están apelmazados en los últimos capítulos. Yo me la pase dándole vueltas y vueltas a las cosas durante mucho tiempo pensando “a este personaje ya se le menciono mucho y no aporta nada a la trama, seguro algo pasa con el al final, seguro que el es este o este, bla bla bla” y al final muchas de mis predicciones eran acertadas. Y no me gusta ver venir las cosas, la verdad no soy buena desvelando misterios, lo cual me lleva a pensar que estos eran muy ligeros como para que yo los resolviera sola. En si no tengo nada negativo que decir, no propiamente dicho algo negativo, los personajes son todos muy buenos y variados, la trama es buena, el mundo o mundos interesantemente bien combinados, pero dentro de lo ligero que es, es un poco predecible. Uno de los mas grandes puntos a favor es la protagonista Sophie, literal no solo cambia de niña a anciana en el físico, si no mentalmente también, prácticamente la protagonista es una viejita berrinchuda adorable! Sin más, fue una lectura divertida mientras duro, muy probablemente leeré la continuación pero no por el momento. Es un buen libro pero si piensas mucho en lo que esta sucediendo probablemente termines adivinando el final. Recomendable si no estas buscando algo con mucho peso. PD: espero poder ver la película este fin de semana, se ve que todos la aman! XDPD2: estuve viendo GIFS de la película, se ve toda lindaaaaaaa, :D DEBO verla este fin si o si :D
—Denisse
I've read all three as well. I actually started with Castle in the Air; I didn't know it was part of a trilogy. But I really need to re-read them all - and in the right order. ;)
—Mara
I watched the movie first. In fact, it was entirely accidentally that my cousin and I, in the midst of this loud, busy family reunion, came across the movie version and were completely sucked into the tale of Sophie, Howl and Calcifier. So when the movie was done and I sat back with a sigh and some sadness that another good thing had come to an end, I thought of reading the book to prolong the loveliness. Because everyone knows that books are always better, right?In this case, the book was just as good as the movie in a couple of very different ways. The movie takes some liberties with the narratives, clipping away some characters and giving more importance to others than the book graces them with; all the changes made, however, work to present, or should I say, transfer the story from one medium to another with a seamlessness that, were you not to read the book after all, you would not find anything lacking in the movie narrative. The movie and the book both preserve the most important parts of the novel: the characterizations. Though the movie changes the kid a fair bit, the personality remains intact. Anyway, Howl's Moving Castle is so amazing, you guys. I don't know why you haven't read/watched it if you haven't yet. Obviously I lived under a rock for most of my life (also known as Fiji) so I hadn't even heard of it but what's your excuse? The story, the pacing, the lovely narrative voice, these are all so wonderfully done - they celebrate the loveliness of the story, the beauty of the imagination, creativity without being buried under its own importance. I think this is one of those works that parents should hand their children when they reach a certain age and let them enrich their own imaginations with the stories of the castle, the fire demon and Sophie.
—Nafiza
