Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Howl's Moving Castle

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

48 reviews

merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Who me? I assure you, my friends, I am cone sold stober. ... What a lie that was! ... My shining dishonesty will be the salvation of me.

Oh my goodness, what an absolute joy of a book. I've seen the movie approximately 50 times and I was so happy when I got gifted the beautiful Folio Society edition and then it stood in my shelf for a year. But I finally got to read it as part of my university bookclub and I absolutely loved it (as was to be expected.)

I am usually not the biggest reader of introductions but in this case I was very happy I did because it was informative and funny and taught me things that made the story even more special. For example that Diana Wynne Jones came from Wales, that she had juvenile rheumatism and that she attended lectures by both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. I really enjoyed her storytelling and her creation of this world which is such a delightful mix of fairy tales, myth, and folklore and went on to inspire many more.

The story itself surprised me in the places in which it differed from the movie, which kept me on my toes to anticipate any changes that were made. Both Howl and Sophie are much more ... assertive and rude? :D And I don't mean that in an entirely negative way it just surprised me a little. I read a couple days ago that the book is the story told from Sophie's perspective and the movie is the story as Howl likes to tell it. And I think that is very accurate because Howl sure is more annoying that he is made out to be in the movie.

I enjoyed having to rethink some relationships and names that might've appeared in the movie but were connected differently in the book like Mrs Pentstemmon, the Witch of the Waste, the king, Michael, Sophie's sisters... basically most of them. But since the Ghibli movie was made to convey a very specific message and chose a specific route for that, I can totally see why changes were made and some things were left out. Still I would've loved to see animated Howl in rugby uniform.

I will most definitely reread this many times and extend my tabs and notes. I shall recommend this to everyone and I've also added the artbook for the movie to my wishlist :D

Megan's full of envy because she's respectable and I'm not.

Content Warnings

_kael_'s review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I prefer the Studio Ghibli movie adaptation over this book. I found the book underwhelming. They changed majority of the parts from the book in the movie and made it better and shorter. When I was already halfway, I thought nothing much has happened. I found it slow and hard to read, and I keep checking how far I am from finishing the book. I wanted to see what happens and how different it is from the movie. The book felt uneventful, and the ending part of the book got exciting but still couldn't compare to the movie. It felt like I was reading about the lockdown. Nothing much happened. The romance was also ? but maybe I'm just dense. I found Howl unlikeable but I don't expect characters to be perfect either.

I didn't really feel anything when he became vulnerable and honest in the end. Maybe bc I didn't see a build-up happening. Also if Howl can just easily defeat the Witch like that, what's the point of the Witch's curse on him? I didn't really see its importance. If it was explained/implied on the book, I must have missed it.

They have stronger personalities in the book though. I only liked Sophie, and a little less Calcifer. If I read the book first before watching the movie, I don't think I would want to watch the movie.

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mmefish's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Loved it way more than the movie! It is as wonderful as everyone says.

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enabditouri_'s review

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adventurous funny 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

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jessthebluestocking's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I ADORE this book! It is an utterly delightful, whimsical, and quirky fantasy with depth.

Content Warnings

julesadventurezone's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted 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

5.0

Content Warnings

juli100101's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Da Das wandelnde Schloß zu meinen absoluten Lieblingsfilmen gehört, stand Diana Wynne Jones Buch schon lange auf meiner Leseliste. Während die erste Hälfte des Buches sehr nah am Film ist, sind das Ende und auch die Themen des Buches etwas anders.
Während der Schwerpunkt des Films für mich eher auf Kriegserfahrungen und Sophies Weg zur Selbstakzeptanz und -liebe liegt, stand im Buch die Abenteuergeschichte im Vordergrund. Wahrscheinlich hätte mir das Buch auch nicht so gut gefallen, wie es das tut, wenn ich den Film nicht gesehen hätte. So hatte ich natürlich immer Hayao Miyazakis Charaktere und die wunderschöne Welt aus dem Film im Kopf und hab mich über alle neuen Details, die man im Buch erfährt, gefreut.
Ich habe von einigen gelesen, dass sie die Liebesgeschichte am Ende als zu gehetzt und unnatürlich empfunden haben, aber da

Howl ja erst am Ende sein Herz zurückbekommt und auch Sophie erst während dem Kampf merkt, dass Howl eigentlich gar nicht so schlimm ist

passt das für mich in die Geschichte.

Content Warnings