Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl’s Moving Castle (World of Howl, #1)

by Diana Wynne Jones

‘Quite simply the best writer of magic there is’ Neil Gaiman

‘Truly magical … Guaranteed to leave you gasping’ The Bookseller

‘She is the best writer of magical fantasy for children’ Evening Standard

In this beloved modern classic, young Sophie Hatter from the land of Ingary catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell…

Deciding she has nothing more to lose, Sophie makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above her town, Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl, whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls…

There Sophie meets Michael, Howl’s apprentice, and Calcifer the fire demon, with whom she agrees a pact. Her entanglements with Calcifer, Howl and Michael and her quest to break her curse come alive with Diana Wynne Jones’s unique combination of magic, humour and imagination.

From one of the most beloved, bestselling and award-winning fantasy writers of all time.

Reviewed by nannah on

4 of 5 stars

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(4.5)

Ah, good ol’ Howl’s Moving Castle. To be honest, I haven’t read this for a long time, and I remember feeling lukewarm about it then, but I’m glad I had time for a re-read. Some stories age well.

Book content warnings:
- decapitation (not shown on page)

Representation:
-

Though adventure and destiny are for the youngest children, Sophie Hatter -- eldest of three -- gets thrown into an adventure involving the dreadful Witch of the Waste and the evil, heart-eating Wizard Howl.

After being cursed to become an old woman by the Witch, Sophie seeks Howl’s help, and discovers through his fire demon that Howl himself is cursed by the Witch and has a contract he needs to break. Sophie makes a deal: she’ll break his contract, and the fire demon, Calcifer, will break her curse. As Sophie stays on in the castle and prepares to face the Witch, she (unfortunately) finds that there’s more to Howl than she first thought and is perhaps growing fond of him.

Ah, Howl’s Moving Castle, you have nearly everything: brilliant and complex characters, romance, the element of time running out, the found family trope, and a wonderful setting. Okay, so it might be my love for the Ghibli movie talking as well, but the book does stand on its own (I really tried to read as objectively as possible). But it’s really hard to ignore the book’s charm; it reads like a fairytale almost, with a fun modern wit.

The one thing I’d mention is that right after the climax, the book ends. There’s no breathing room. I know it’s deliberate (Howl and Sophie unwilling to look away as the other characters scramble for their attention) , and it creates a very sort of satisfying finality, but I don’t get a chance to settle before it’s all over. I also wish there were more from Howl -- we get everything from Sophie’s PoV: when she fell in love with Howl, when she started seeing everyone in the castle as her family, etc., but you only get teeny tiny glimpses of what Howl’s feeling through other characters’ dialogue. The dialogue at the end could’ve been where things could clear up, but it went by so fast!

This is a very personal opinion though! Howl is a character of mystery anyway, so other people could love this about him (when he truly fell in love re: the tiny glimpses, etc.). Who knows?

As for true flaws I really can’t find much. It’s just a really well-written and well-constructed book. There’s a reason it’s such a loved classic. Now that I have a better appreciation for it, I’ll definitely be going back to read it again and again.

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  • 26 August, 2020: Reviewed
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