Howl's Moving Castle

I've seen the anime film which, after listening to the audio edition of the book, should be said to be ‘loosely based on'. Not so far away as [b:Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? 36402034 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1507838927l/36402034.SY75.jpg 830939] is to the movie BladeRunner but not a true rendition either. I like both. I do have a question about the narrator's interpretation of a Welsh accent. She made it sound more Jamaican to me but I've not heard a native from Wales speak.

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.

A very cute and charming novel. I would recommend it for younger children, or if you just want a light-hearted, easy read. There are parts that are very different than the Studio Ghibli version, but both are worth getting into.

A charming book, very different from the Ghibli adaptation!

I don't know why I put off reading this for so long. It was a fun read.

As much as I love the Ghibli movie, this book is so much better. The movie leaves out most of the story in favor of a general feeling of plotless whimsy, and so the story here feels almost brand new. It's a truly great fantasy novel, easy to read and get lost in with memorable characters and imagination to spare.

4.5

A fun fantasy book. Quick searching found it in the public library, and I almost abandoned ship when I got there and saw that it was in the children's section - NOT the Young Adult section, the actual board books and first-word children's section. But I had taken a 30 minute train just for this book, so hell's bells, I'm getting it. WORTH IT! Fun, light, fast-paced fantasy book, great for those of us who are still new/fairly new to the fantasy genre. It was also nice that there was not any real violence in the story; I seem to appreciate violence-free stories more and more as I grow older. Highly recommend.

Empieza segun recuerdo igual que la pelicula de Ghibli. Alguna pequeña diferencia.
Pero no tarda demasiado en ser bastante distinto. Hay mucho mas personajes, hay mucho mas contenido en el libro.
Para mi el unico problema a partir de cierta cosa que parece que deberia ser un conclusion pero no lo es y como que el asunto re-empieza. Me parecio que era alagarlo mas de lo necesario.

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.

4 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews

Sophie is the eldest of three daughters, and therefore destined to fail first and worst. Soon enough, her stepmother sends her sisters off to safe places, and Sophie has been cursed by a witch. She takes refuge in the castle of an infamous wizard, and things get stranger from there.

I'd only heard of Howl's Moving Castle in recent years, but I'd heard only good of it. So much so, in fact, that I was sceptical, as I tend to be about anything with lots of hype. Diana Wynne Jones' book, however, was one of those exceptions to the rule. It's as good as I heard, and much better than I'd feared.

Howl isn't a perfect book - it follows a standard fantasy romance trajectory - but Jones both acknowledges the formula, and has fun with it. In fact, the defining characteristic of the book is its light-hearted fun, never taking itself too seriously, but never forgetting to tell a good story. It's a story that ends well, but not necessarily one I'll follow, for all the good writing. I'm not confident of the story stretching well enough to cover two more books. While Jones writes well, she also takes some shortcuts with the plot. For example, we're introduced very early to an urgent and important bargain between Sophie and a fire demon. Then the bargain essentially disappears, except for sparse and cursory reminders that it's there, and that Sophie has no plans to do anything about it. It's an unfortunate gimmick that undermines the otherwise credible action.

I enjoyed the read, and am pleased to have (quite late) discovered Ms. Jones' work. The edition I bought includes excerpts of three other works, of which only one interested me, so I'm not sure that I'll be diving into Jones land soon. This book, however, was a whole lot of fun.

I hate doing this, but my actual grade here is 4.5 stars. Sorry.

Well, first of all, I love Diana Wynne Jones. I loved her already from her Chrestomanci books, which I read as a kid, and I love her now even more. Howl's Moving Castle is as fun and well written as I expected it to be, and the worldbuilding is simple and effective in a way that many authors can't manage to do nowadays. Jones's characters are very much alive, and I love how each is different from the others, how the story gets to develop their personalities without overexposing them. Also, uh, yes, I re-fell in love with Howl Jenkins. No, I couldn't help myself. Yeah, stop. Stop judging me.

I freaking love this scene so much, and I was so so happy it was in the book.

As most of this generation, I think, I saw the animation first. It didn't bother me much at the beginning, but I developed a... curious sensation as I approached the ending of the story. I don't think I can explain it properly, but I feel like the book and the film complement each other in a way that I haven't really seen written work complement adaptation, like, ever? It's weird, even. This is, of course, my opinion, and you are well entitled to feel differently, but I find it funny that the characters are best developed in the novel, while their film counterparts are more charismatic and easier to relate to; the novel's plot is more complete, it has a “bigger” feeling to it, but the film's is more... consistent. Does it make sense? I don't know.

Anyway, read it, love it. Diana Wynne Jones was a genius and deserves each and every praise she gets.

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.

Dur dur de détacher le film du livre pour le coup tellement le film m'avait marqué. Les deux sont assez différents mais se complètent en un sens, l'histoire ici creuse les personnages plus en profondeur, et crée un univers unique autour du château ambulant. Un très bon moment, enchanteur, et assez poétique :)

Ugh such a beautiful novel. I somewhat wish i had read this as a child because i can imagine it would have had such an incredible effect on me.

Didn't expect it to be as dry as it was. It did offer more explanations than the movie did, and I would recommend reading the book first. However, though it was quite good in the fantastical bits and in the world-building I believe it lacked some in the dialogue and connection between characters. The developing relationships between the motley crew of characters really lacked in foundation, so much so that the ending felt a bit abrupt and rushed.

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 :)

This will forever be one of my all time favourite comfy reads. Reread it more than 10 years later and still in love with the characters, the writing and the world.

I don't think I can empathise enough how much I love that book.
Some or even many people may know the move adaption by Ghibli and I can tell you it is nothing compared to the book! So when you like the film I guarantee you you'll love the book.
Only after reading it I understand some of the scences in the movie, so go on and read it while I wait for the other two volumes to arrive at my local bookstore ;D

I really enjoyed this!

Great story that's quite nuanced. Probably missed half of what was really going on until the ending.

Off to watch the movie adaptation now!

Howl's Moving Castle is a very light and fun read, one that you can pick up and put down at any time without affecting the story :). I appreciate that in a book. As a person who is constantly reading more than one book, it's nice to have a light and airy read sitting, waiting for me to dive back in!

Sophie, Howl, and Michael all interact in a lovely manner, their different personalities constantly clashing and melding. Howl is spastic, Sophie hard and resourceful, Michael young and full of life. I would liken the pace of this book to skipping! Sounds odd I know, but the book just rolls along peacefully to the end, and ends like all good fantasy tales should.

Overall I did enjoy this book. It is a sweet and throughly enjoyable story complete with romance, ample magic and a little bit of snarky humor thrown in!

I loved this book. It was different enough from the movie that I felt it was a new story entirely.

This was an interesting book that I really enjoyed reading - I didn't put it down till I finished reading it, in one day. :)