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A review by samsamsam
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
i’ve seen (and loved) the film many times and finally decided i should go read the source material. my main take away from all this is that ghibli did Le Guin so dirty with that mediocre Earthsea adaptation.
in some ways this book felt like it was written for the tiktok generation. (I guess I just don’t read a lot of books for younger audiences, and don’t have kids myself.) it’s all over the place and i found it genuinely quite hard to follow in parts. as an aside, there’s something to be said for this, the faith that Jones has in her younger readers, that they are capable and worthy of a story that makes you pay attention and fill in the gaps. but it made the pacing feel quite slow, until the end, where (almost) everything is explained over only a few pages
in a similar vein, i felt the character development slowly revealed who the characters truly were, rather than they themselves growing and changing as people
ultimately this wasn’t really for me. at this point i think i am far too attached to the adaptation. but little of the pratchett-esque humour i’ve seen others mention came through for me; Jones captures mopey-teenager energy in Howl a little too well to find it enjoyable; and the whole Howl-Sophie thing i wasn’t feeling at all.
it’s still a charmingly written story, with some fantastical ideas, and i’m glad i read it
in some ways this book felt like it was written for the tiktok generation. (I guess I just don’t read a lot of books for younger audiences, and don’t have kids myself.) it’s all over the place and i found it genuinely quite hard to follow in parts. as an aside, there’s something to be said for this, the faith that Jones has in her younger readers, that they are capable and worthy of a story that makes you pay attention and fill in the gaps. but it made the pacing feel quite slow, until the end, where (almost) everything is explained over only a few pages
in a similar vein, i felt the character development slowly revealed who the characters truly were, rather than they themselves growing and changing as people
ultimately this wasn’t really for me. at this point i think i am far too attached to the adaptation. but little of the pratchett-esque humour i’ve seen others mention came through for me; Jones captures mopey-teenager energy in Howl a little too well to find it enjoyable; and the whole Howl-Sophie thing i wasn’t feeling at all.
it’s still a charmingly written story, with some fantastical ideas, and i’m glad i read it