Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published Date: 5th March 2009
Page Count: 320
ISBN: 978-0007299263
Price: £7.99
Reviewer: Gwendoline SK Terry (8th May 2024)
Blurb
Sophie Hatter becomes entangled with the Witch of the Waste, her intriguing apprentice and the fire demon Calcifer in this classic fantasy from the pen of the beloved Diana Wynne Jones.
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.
Review – may contain spoilers!
It has been a long time coming for me to read Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I’ve loved the magnificent Studio Ghibli animated film adaptation for years, but it’s taken me until this year to actually read the book.
The animated film kept loyal to various parts of the book, however there is so much more in the book that did not make it to the film. In the book, Sophie is sassy, stubborn, and no-nonsense bickering hilariously and constantly with the dramatic and ever-vain Howl. I was surprised to find out that Howl was from Wales and had a way of accessing “our world” and the fantastical one that Sophie is from.
Diana Wynne Jones’ writing is detailed and fun and lyrical and engaging. This was an absolutely amazing book, and I look forward to reading the other two in the trilogy.
gwensalir 