Reviews - Howl's Moving Castle

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

22.4k reviews for:

Going into this, I had a built idea of what would occur because I've seen the movie more times than I can count. And some of what happened in the movie did occur in the book, but it's all slightly different in a bunch of mini ways.

The writing is fluid and describes things in a way that feels quick, so in the book, a lot of things occur. Sophie in the book comes off as much different than I thought she would. She is caught up in this notion that her being the eldest means that she is somehow just meant to head straight toward failure and boredom as soon as she gets out in the world if she gets out at all. This isn't portrayed as much in the movie, where Sophie just comes off as quiet and withdrawn in her shell, at least until she is put in a situation that calls for action. Something else that caught my eye is that people can learn magic! Sophie's sister Martha is sent in the beginning to go learn magic with a witch and "get her fortune," which means it's not to far off to assume that anyone can learn magic if they apply themselves (though it does seem, like with all things, there are people who have the predisposition to be talented at it more than others).

With many books, you have to look deeper into the actions that take place and interpret them to understand what is being said or taking place. But I am quite a literal person, so if it is not spelled out to me, I have a hard time interpreting. This is exactly why so much of my time is eaten up by reading cheesy romance novels where everything is explicitly said, and the characters' feelings are clear. In "Howls Moving Castle," it is less obvious that there is romance. If I had not seen the movie, I would not have picked up on whatever is going on between Howel and Sophie. I still thought Sophie did not like Howel that much so I was very surprised by the scene where they gazed into each other's eyes....did not see that coming at all. I could tell that somewhere in the book, there had been a shift in Howl's behavior towards Sophie in little ways

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like when he asked her what she wanted the shop to be when they had to move because of the Witch of the Waste, or he used magic to help with her aches and pains.

And the same with Sophie

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like when she essentially threw that other woman out of the castle because of something that could not otherwise be explained by anything other than jealousy

but I can't pinpoint the moment they actually "fell" for each other or why. But, again, this could just be because I'm very literal and need bright yellow flags all over saying, "this person like this one!!! So I would categorize this more as Fantasy than Romance.

Overall, Howls Moving Castle is a quick and easy read and very entertaining to follow, especially when

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we find out the black door leads to a world similar to ours and has technology. Though I'm still unclear if the world there had magic as a casual thing or if magic there is a rarity.

and

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when we find that the Witch of the Waste has a fire demon that has somehow taken the form of a human! How exactly did that take place, I wonder, and why is it that Calcifer did not gain a human form?

Sophie is entertaining (I think even more so than Howl). I love that they both kind of had their own tantrums, Howl with his slime and Sophie with her watering can! Ha

landinojones's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

blessjessmess's review against another edition

4.0

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

jenpen's review against another edition

4.5

lighthearted slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

I didn’t expect to love this so much! It’s very similar to the movie but the main focus of the story is different. It’s truly a cozy fantasy, with some lines that had me actually laughing out loud. A lot of the characters were far more charming/likable than their movie counterparts.