Howl's Moving Castle: 1 (World of Howl)

I loved this book. It’s just so cozy and fun. And the Studio Ghibli adaptation sticks surprisingly close to it—at least, in the earlier parts of the book. It does diverge significantly towards the end. The plot is twisty-turny with plenty of mystery about things like Howl’s identity, the nature of his contract with Calcifer, what happened to the prince and the former royal wizard etc… And Sophie Hatter is caught up in the middle of it all ultimately just trying to find a way to break the curse put upon her by the Witch of the Waste. I do feel like the Ghibli movie cranked up the coziness to maximum compared to the book, though. In the book, Calcifer isn’t as cute (but he’s just as snarky), Howl is much more melodramatic (and a bit of a dick), and the scarecrow is made out to be a lot more terrifying to the characters. The characters themselves are all wonderful, and there’s a much wider cast than in the movie. We get to see Sophie’s sisters and their stories as they go off to find their fortune, as well as the magical shenanigans they get up to. Calcifer and Michael are a brilliant pair and we spend a lot more time with them. Michael is older here, too, and a lot more capable. Howl absolutely steals the spotlight whenever he’s on-scene, with a huge personality that everybody else just has to work around. It’s all great fun. One of the more unsettling aspects of the story is not just that Sophie has been cursed to look like an old woman, but that she actually is, with all the ailments and frailties that go along with it. There’s the sense that it could actually kill her before she finds out how to change back. Diana Wynne Jones’ prose is elegant but fun. It reminded me somewhat of Ursula K. Le Guin’s prose, but much more geared towards the younger reader. The pacing, however, is a little uneven. It starts off really great, and it ends marvellously. But in the middle, there’s a large section where, honestly, not a lot happens. We just have Sophie watching from the sidelines sewing up one of Howl’s suits as Michael and Howl go about their business. She gets involved in the odd caper, but it did sag a bit. I don’t want to talk too much about the worldbuilding because a lot of it is left a mystery. There’s enough to get the implication that it’s a portal fantasy of sorts, and there’s a little explanation about some of the magic system when it relates to the fire demons like Calcifer, but mostly it remains very soft. Being the first book in a trilogy, I’m willing to bet that a lot of the worldbuilding gets fleshed out in the next two books. The nature of the world is one of the mysteries the book leaves open, likely deliberately. Overall, as I said, I really enjoyed this book and I’m absolutely going to be reading the rest of the trilogy. Highly recommended!

I love Howl's Moving Castle! To be honest I own 3 different versions of this book and bought this latest one because of it's stunning front cover, and it did not disappoint! Arrived quickly and in perfect condition. If you haven't read Howl's Moving Castle yet then please do. It's a brilliant book - lots of characters and places to explore, funny moments and a wonderful storyline mixing magic, curses and a little bit of love. First in it's series and all beautiful in their own way.

My introduction to both this book and author originally came from the Japanese animated movie of it by the legendary studio Ghibli. I loved it, amazing characters, excellent plot and a well realised world. Over a year later my partner pointed out to me it was based on a book by British author Diana Wynne Jones so naturally I had to give it a try. While very similar they differ greatly and it's obvious studio Ghibli changed quite a lot of it. The main character is a young woman named Sophie Hatter who lives a rather unfufilling living making hats in a small shop in the land of Ingary. Her life becomes infinitely more interesting when one day the Wicked Witch of the Wastes appears in her shop and transforms the young woman into an old crone. Not wanting her family to see her like this Sophie runs (well, hobbles) off eventually ending up in a place no one would think to look for her, the castle of the evil Wizard Howl that roams the countryside. The ideas in this book felt really original in so many ways and are supported by some surprisingly humorous moments, some of which are pretty subtle. The characters are great, especially Sophie once she becomes a bossy old woman really made me smile. Despite being a book for young adults I found it well suited for people of all ages really and had a good time reading it. I did however I must admit, enjoy the film more, (rare that is the case) if only because I found the pace of the book pretty slow, there are stretches where little really seems to be happening but it all ties together nicely in the end. If you're a fan of the film or just want a creative story that's a little bit different then you certainly can't go wrong with Howl's moving Castle. + Very original. + Great cast of characters. + Good humour in places. - Pacing is a little slow in a couple of places.

I first watched the movie before reading the book. I know, I know. Why would I watch the movie first when the books are always better!?! In my defense I was a child when the movie came out and back then you couldn't get me too read to save my life. However the movie of this amazing book became one of my favourite movies and is still to this day one of my many comfort movies. It is however very true that the book is better than the movie. You see a lot more character development, a lot more side characters (Martha is great) and I googled a lot more than with the movie, Calcifur is the sassiest fire demon I've read and Howl himself seems way more selfish in the books than the movies, however I do love how he admits to being a coward and needs to be a coward to get himself to do the right things. I love this book, I love this author and I still love the movie. If you have not watched it read Howls Moving Castle you need to go do it now.

I loved this. I saw the movie ages ago and bought the book but I only skimmed it. But after reading another book I needed something completely different. This did not disappoint. It was so wonderfully written and whimsical. The beautifully visual descriptions, the dialogue and characterisation. I enjoyed this so much. Also it was so nice to see sibling characters getting along and caring for each other and the step mother not being portrayed as wicked. Very refreshing. Also Sophie was delightful, Howl was dramatic and Calcifer was snarky. And despite loving the movie, I definitely prefer the subtler tension of this ending. It, as a story, makes way more sense.

One of my all time favourite books, so whimsical!

As a great lover of Studio Ghibli and their films, Howl's Moving Castle was always my favourite and I'll admit that I had no idea it was based on a novel. When I did find this out, I immediately wanted to read the book that inspired one of my favourite films. It took me a while to get it, but I'm so happy that I've read it now. Diana Wynne Jones's tale of Howl, Sophie, Michael, and Calcifer was so vastly different from the movie version I had loved that I felt like I was reading something entirely new and yet it was still so familiar. It was a wonderful feeling to crack open the book and find characters that I know and love but in a lot of different situations. There's obviously a lot more to the book, which is to be expected, and it added a whole new level of depth to the story that I was accustomed to. We see a lot more of Sophie's sisters, following their lives once they've moved away from the hat shop and fallen in love. We learn more about Sophie's step-mother and her personality - which I'll admit always confused me a little in the film. Finally, there's a whole new sub-plot added with Wizard Suliman and Prince Justin. Even though I went into this with certain expectations in my head, I wasn't disappointed in the slightest when the story pulled away from these expectations within the first few pages. I was instantly charmed by Jones's writing and I fell into the story just as easily as the film on my first viewing. The characters had a lot more spark to them, which I had expected because a movie can't always portray everything that a writer could. Howl was much more dramatic in the novel, and although it made me like him a little less, it didn't make me hate him exactly. Michael is older in the novel than the movie and I enjoyed seeing him grow and build his magic skills. Sophie was actually quite similar, if perhaps a bit more crotchety. The only major disappointment I had was that the Witch of the Waste didn't feature as much in the novel as the film. I didn't realise that this story was from the 80's either! I was quite shocked when I saw that. I definitely think that this could fall into the category of classics. It's such a beautiful tale of friendship, love, and adventure. I genuinely loved it and am excited that it's a trilogy because it means that there is more! I highly recommend this to everyone.

It is impossible for me to write an unbiased review of this book. I love Diana Wynne Jones her books. I love the adaptation made by Miyazaki. However, I really want to confer on potential buyers how wonderful this book is. Howl's Moving Castle tells the story of Sophie, a young girl that does not think to much of herself as she is the eldest of three sisters, which in a magical world means that you have a boring future in store for you. But when a wicked witch puts a spell on her, everything becomes very interesting especially as she has to seek out the dreaded Wizard Howl, who eats the hearts of young girls. Wynne Jones weaves together fairy tale wisdoms that we we all grew up with and know with strong, amazingly complex (for a children's book) characters and our own world. I especially love how characters are not really good or evil but, just as everyone you know, sometimes heroic, egotistical or insecure. If you have already seen the movie, please take the time to read the book. I found it filled in a number of small gaps that I did not understand and to be honest, the characters are more interesting in the book, especially Calcifer a fire demon with a secret. To keep this review brief, I can only recommend this book wholeheartedly. I would not know for which ages and up its appropriate, some scenes may be a bit scary, but mostly there is nothing shocking or obscene. Read it and love it.