Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones; narrated by Kristin Atherton | 2019; originally published 1986 | HarperCollins UK | Audiobook $ 18
Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl’s castle. To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there’s far more to Howl — and herself — than first meets the eye.
The animated film version of this story was my first wonderful experience of the art of Studio Ghibli (Hayao Miyazaki). I later learned that the movie was based on a book by Diana Wynne Jones, author of The Worlds of Chrestomanci, one of my favorite book series as a child. You can see why it was basically imperative for me to add this title to my list for Classics Club.
The story manages to be both familiar and unusual, in a way that grabs the reader’s typical fairy tale expectations — enchanted castles, mysterious wizards, witch’s curses — muddles up all the commonplace cultural context and typical tropes behind its back, and then offers up something extraordinary in exchange.
As you might expect, the movie version made some changes from the book. A few characters are a bit different or missing; there are no magically connected alternate worlds; there’s a little more focus on the war plotline than on the individual characters’ foibles and personal development. I personally feel that the changes are not egregious, though, and can be viewed as a creative interpretation that makes sense for the medium.
I was simply enchanted by this book and would be happy to recommend it to just about anybody. I wish I had more insightful words about it to share with you, but quite honestly my brain is behaving a bit like congealed mush after all the recent holiday stuff, so this deflated excuse of a review will have to do.
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Publication information: Jones, Dianna Wynne. Howl’s moving castle. London, UK: HarperCollins UK Audio, 2019. Audiobook.
Source: Public library, via Libby.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products
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