Howl's Moving Castle
Ratings593
Average rating4.2
quite a delightful, whimsical read. cozy despite some descriptions actually being quite gruesome (i'm looking at you, witch of the waste).
Este libro estaba en mi lista de lecturas, pero no en la lista de más próximas. Regularmente me leo un libro y luego veo la adaptación, asi que al revés resulta a veces difícil sobre todo con una película que te parece tan buena como la adaptación de los estudios Ghibli “Howl´s Moving Castle”, a mí es que me encanta. Soy fan de Miyazaki y ésta es una de mis películas favoritas. Pero era un día lluvioso, no estaba en mi casa y el libro que estaba leyendo lo había dejado en el carro. Sin muchas mas opciones pensé: qué más da, lo empezaré.
Personajes de los que te encariñas, Sophie con su vida monótona que no sabe lo que le llegará tan pronto, Calcifer, Michael, Cabeza de navo y Howl, tan vanidoso y todo un drama queen.
—¡Bonito! —gritó Howl—. ¡Cómo no! Lo has hecho a propósito. No podías descansar hasta hacerme sufrir a mí también. ¡Míralo! ¡Es color zanahoria!. ¡Tendré que esconderlo hasta que me haya crecido! —extendió los brazos dramáticamente—. ¡Desesperación! —gritó—. ¡Angustia! ¡Horror!
—Me encuentro mal —anunció—. Me voy a la cama, donde pueda que me muera. Y, por favor, enterradme junto a la señora Pentstemmon —y subió las escaleras penosamente mientras gemía.
—¡Socorro! ¡Ayuda! ¡Me voy a morir aquí abandonado!
Que ganas de patearlo a veces. Lo amo. Uno extra.
—Tengo que ir a un funeral, aunque me mate —dijo Howl con tristeza—. La señora Pentstemmon siempre tuvo demasiada buena opinión de mí. La cegué con mi encanto.
Y por supuesto el castillo que es casi un personaje más. Quien no quisiera girar la perilla y salir en diferentes ciudades, países, donde uno quiera.
Mágico. Divertido. Recomendado a todo el mundo.
My first contact with Howl's Moving Castle was through Miyazaki's movie, which is my favorite from him.
I have been delaying reading the book because I didn't want to be disappointed with either versions, and was kind of waiting to read it with my kids, which I did not.
Diana Wynne Jones book is wonderful, albeit different from the movie, it definitely gave me a new appreciation for it. Sophie is gentle and kind, and keeps unwillingly, and unintentionally, messing with Howl's life.
Howl's is, at surface, a spoiled brat and a womanizer, too powerful for his own good. Sophie obviously sees his gentle and benign ways, and it is through her that we fall for him too.
I loved both the movie and the book!
My heart leans more towards the movie regarding the love story bit. While Howl's and Sophie's love is quite abrupt in the book, the movie makes a wonderful job showing them falling in love and my heart always aches when he gives her the flowers field. I can see Miyazaki interpreted Howl as every girl wanted and I appreciate this very, very much.
On everything else, I think I prefer the magic of the book. I rewatched the movie yesterday and some things are much more clear now (e.g: Sophie being a witch and how she gives life to things, which makes her the only person able to break their curse without killing Calcifer). I don't know how I was interpreting this before... I should have rewatched before and after reading the book
Summary: Sophie, the eldest daughter of a hatmaker, is cursed by an evil witch and has to figure out how to break that curse.
I am not sure why I have not previously read Howl's Moving Castle. I know that I mistakenly thought that I had watched the movie. (I am pretty sure I watched Spirited Away and wrongly remembered it as Howl's Moving Castle.) I was looking for some fiction last week and saw the audiobook at my library after seeing someone say on Twitter that they reread it every January. I picked it up on a whim and finished it in three days.
Howl's Moving Castle is a book that I want to read again in print. I enjoyed the audiobook, but there are a few times when I think I missed small plot points because it was audio and not in print. There is depth in the story here but like many young adult books, there is a lot of the story that is rooted in misunderstanding. And some of that misunderstanding is the characters not understanding their own emotions.
Sophie, the protagonist, is a witch or magician, but she doesn't not know it. Her lack of awareness of her gifts is the main plot point. She slowly comes to an awareness of her gifts as she comes to an awareness of her love for Howl's, the self-centered womanizing wizard who is responsible for the moving castle. The magic has a video game and steampunk feel to it. It works, but it isn't as much classic Mideavil sword and sorcery fantasy as it is a 19th-century world that has magic.
I know the age difference in romantic partnerships was less concerning in earlier generations, but I am concerned about it here (and many other young adult books.) Sophie is 18 or 19 in most of the book. And Howl is 27 more experienced in the ways of the world. Howl's Moving Castle does not really explore Howl's womanizing. It is mostly off-screen and fairly PG. But the gap in age doesn't sit right with me. (Similar to my feeling about almost all of L'Engle's books.)
Part of why it is likely less important to the book is that Sophie is cursed early in the book and is changed into an old woman. She isn't just made to look old; she becomes old with the ailments of age. This gives Sophie some wisdom around age but doesn't give her the experience of life, just the experience of being treated as if she were elderly (and the experience of feeling old.) Sophie's change in appearance allows her to change her personality and she becomes more aware of her own desires and needs as well as more responsible for doing what it takes to get there. She stops being a doormat and becomes more emotionally and relationally mature.
There are a lot of threads to the story, and they mostly resolve themselves quite neatly. The way so many things come together is part of what makes me want to pick up the next book fairly soon. But I do have some other books I need to work through first.
This review was originally published on my blog at https://bookwi.se/howls-moving-castle-2/
This is probably one of my favorite books now. I watched the anime after and didn't like it as much, the characters were too sickeningly, unrealistically sweet and boring. This had me laughing left and right, plus I was really attached to all of the characters. It felt like reading an old fairy tale.
desert island book for sure.....I used to memorise chapters of this in primary to read in my head when my book got taken away......diana wynne jones is so excellent, this holds up every time, I need everyone I know to read it, it's deeply ingrained in my personality, love you forever and always.
A Magical Journey for All Ages
I know I should have read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones when I was younger, but I can confidently say that you'll enjoy it at any age. This book is pure magic and joy on every page! The whimsical world of Sophie, who is turned into an old woman by a curse, and her encounters with the eccentric wizard Howl, is filled with charm, humor, and heart.
The story's delightful mix of adventure, magic, and quirky characters makes it a true page-turner. Jones' writing brings the world to life in a way that feels timeless and enchanting. I'm so glad I got to experience this as part of a group read—it really added to the enjoyment.
While the pacing felt a bit slow at times, the overall story more than makes up for it. If you're looking for a book that feels like a cozy escape into a fantastical world, Howl’s Moving Castle is the perfect choice
I loved the movie and now I love this book. It was magical, whimsical and a bit silly. I didn't love the ending for a few reasons but the rest of the book was a super fun and an excellent listen.
You know it was a good book when, as the last page turns, you are smiling.
Obligatory Movie Tangent: I had watched the Studio Ghibli animated film a very long time ago, so I couldn't really remember it while I was reading. So, reading the book was like a new experience. I then watched the movie again afterwards to compare the two. One thing that really struck me at the end was how different the book is from the movie. I will say, if you are reading one or watching the other, you do not have to worry about spoiling the experience. They're almost like two different interpretations of the same concepts...I actually really enjoy when a book and movie are different like that. I think it's a bit boring to adapt the book exactly as-is when making a movie, and I respect when a director takes liberties to try and give the movie an identity of its own.
Onto the book:
The book is wonderfully whimsical and refreshingly original. The characters are so fun to read about; the dialogue is witty and humorous, and each of the characters has their own quirks about them that make them very engaging. It doesn't take long to endear to each of the characters in their own special way. Sophie, as an old woman, is cantankerous without being too mean and quite clever. Howl was a great surprise; I actually much prefer him in the book versus the movie. He is the perfect match of coolness and childishness. He feels so human in this way, dressing up in beautiful suits while complaining about Sophie trying to clean his room. This was a book where I greatly enjoyed the whole cast of characters, including Michael and Calcifer.
I admit I can be cautious when I read older fantasy books. As much as I love fantasy, there's no denying that you can see the same trope throughout countless books and things don't age well. It was a pleasant surprise to see how original this book was. I didn't run into the same character tropes or predictable plot developments. This is not a story where you could easily slap the outline onto something else; the premise, the characters, and the execution were delightfully one-of-a-kind. For example, I completely expected Calcifer to have a plot twist of secretly being an evil demon while maintaining a falsehood of being friendly. I mean, isn't that one of the oldest tricks in the book? The obviously “evil” character in the cast (in this case, the fire demon) secretly pretending to be an ally until during the book's climax, revealing himself to be the villain. Jones completely subverted my expectations!
This book just has delight written all over it. There's no grimdark fantasy here or any heavy quest. It's about a group of magical people in a quirky world, dealing with problems both mundane and magical. I find those to be some of the best books of all. We don't need an epic 1000 page quest to get some merit out of fantasy literature. The characters are fun to read about, the world is fun to read about, and it's hard not to smile as you turn the pages.
Honestly, my only complaint is the ending part of the book. The pacing seemed to crank up by 1000x speed in the last two chapters and things were resolved so quickly, it was quite jarring after such a long and gradual journey of build-up. The climax of the book, the falling action, and the resolution really happen all in the last two chapters...but the ending does not dictate the journey, and it didn't dampen my enjoyment of everything leading up to it.
All in all, a wonderful and delightful book. I haven't read something that cheered me up this much in a while. If you are a jaded adult reader that is struggling to find wonder in books like you used to as a child, take heart from someone similar - it is still possible to be charmed.
Audibook Review: I listened to this book via audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Jenny Sterlin, and was excellent. Sterlin is a great narrator, putting emotion into her words without it being overly exaggerated and comical. It really did give the feeling of having the story told to you by a master storyteller. Her voice is very soothing, smooth, easy to listen to and perfectly fitting for the atmosphere of the story. My only complaint is that her voice for Calcifer could be a little grating (but still fitting for his character, considering he's a fire demon) and her accent for Howl seemed to occasionally be off from time to time. These are minor complaints all-in-all, and listening to the audiobook was a fantastic experience.
3.5 stars
I was liking it at first, but it just maintained a steady “they go here and do a thing, then they go here and do another thing” flow and it got a bit dull. I had heard this is a comfort read for some people, but it just didn't scratch that itch for me. I will rewatch the movie though.
A childhood favourite of me and beloved by all my family, I pulled this out to re-read on Christmas Day. It holds up to adult re-reading and analysis. So clever! So engaging! I love How Wynne Jones messes with all kinds of tropes (fairy tales, fantasy, gender roles, family dynamics, romance), all while galloping the plot along to a satisfying conclusion. Hooray for Howl and Sophie!
I set out to read - and hopefully love - this because it came with high praise by most of my GoodReads friends and my daughter (who loves the film, though).Thus prepared, I set out on this literary journey and quickly got confused: Sophie gets cursed by the Witch from the Waste? Whatever for? And she just gets up, moves out without thinking and stumbles upon the eponymous [b:Howl's Moving Castle 6294 Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle, #1) Diana Wynne Jones https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1630502935l/6294.SX50.jpg 2001]? Huh?She accepts any crap coming her way because »Sophie was a failure anyway. It came of being the eldest.«?Sorry, what? Every ridiculous and absurd situation that goes on to arise can be summarised as Howl does near the very end of this book:»“I'm the eldest!” Sophie shrieked. “I'm a failure!”“Garbage!” Howl shouted. “You just never stop to think!”«Some of you might think me too old for this - but for one thing, I still love the Moomins for example. Plus: I can tell you right here and now that as a child I would have despised this even more strongly.The entire story is just too wild and fantastic for my taste. It's a glorified fairy tale, akin to other wild rides without much substance.Still, it's not entirely bad and, thus, it's still getting three stars out of five from me.Blog Facebook Twitter Instagram Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam
I picked up this book because I loved the film, as I'm sure many people have. It's quite different to the film, but It's wonderful. I love the characters and although a bit ‘wtf' at places, it's such an interesting and spellbinding story! I'd highly recommend it :)
The charming story of a young girl whom has been bewitched by a notorious witch to become old. She has to live with the notorious wizard Howl and his speaking fire. Rumor has it that Howl eats young girls hearts.
It is very different from the Movie. I think the characters in the movie were more likable. Especially Howl and Calcifer.
Nevertheless the book is pretty solid. I can say that it is a quick read and it won't bore you even for a minute.
sometimes the best way to pass time is to read a book you would’ve been absolutely obsessed with as a child
I'm going to try and read all 3 of the books in this series this year.
First up is Howl's which I enjoyed even more than the movie (which I LOVE). We are in Sophie's head more. There are more characters. I felt like I understood Michael more.
We know the book is almost always better, but I loved being steeped in this world. Sophie has always kind of amazed me. She wakes up an old woman, losing probably 50 years of her life, and she's like well, okay. She owns it and moves on.
I listened to most of the audiobook while getting the garden ready for planting. It was perfect.
Yet another one I somehow missed as a kid. I liked it, the narration of the audiobook was great, I enjoyed Sophie as a character a LOT - she's no damsel-in-distress, and she can hold her own, even as an old woman under her curse. I don't have any stronger feelings than that, but I suspect I would have if I'd read it at a younger age.
2nd time reading this.
Just as good as the first time.
This book is brilliant and if you love the movie and haven't read the book, I beg you to read the book. Also fantasy lovers? You need to read this classic.
What's commendable to me about Wynne Jones's writing is the deft hand with which she undertakes the children's / teenage fantasy genre. To be more precise, the deft hand which makes the story unfold in tens of confident plot strands, turns as well the most obvious–and perhaps most base–
readerly expectations of loud or bombastic showdowns of witches/wizards into a narrative ultimately entrenched in endearing-intelligent sense of humour.
One requires perhaps a patient tracking down of the narrative movement, following the t0-be-tied-down-later threads of the plot, the eventual ‘understanding' of the metaphoric import, however, emerges as a rewarding and satisfying read. That someone like Miyazaki would be convinced by the tale to be brought to the celebrated Ghibli anime repertoire, is testament to Diana Wynne Jones's command over craft.
In the world of the ‘moving castle', dogs, cats and people (the eldest of siblings take special mention) – (discount not the hats and dresses) are so much more than who we might expect them to be.
The final image that would stay with me, and which the book crystallizes into, is the inevitably ‘moving' castle, which accommodates as many and much as the colours of the door-knobs would allow.