Howl’s Moving Castle

This was a suggested read from multiple friends and my girlfriend as I am a big fan of the movie adaption directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

Also, as writing this, I learned the book is part of a trilogy called “The Castle Series.”

Being a fan of the movie the book has some stark differences.

Both stories are whole and very well told. The characters are similar and I now see how the movie takes from the spirit of the characters, capture most of their essence, but then was transformed through the lens of Miyazaki.

 The book is a well spun children’s tale, though at times confusing. Particularly, I’m not sure why Wales played a part in the novel at all, as hardly any time is spent there, and there were other plot devices to accomplish the same thing.

I also did not like Sophie’s fatalism as much; I think it was a bit too heavy. This seems a recurring theme in some of the literature I’ve read this summer (Robin McKinley’s “Sunshine” and of course Neil Gaiman’s and Terry Pratchett’s “Good Omens”). I also think there was a bit too much focus on chasing girls (Howl and Michael).

As for the rest of it, I love the depth of Calcifer’s character. I also really like that Sophie is unwittingly a powerful witch.

It may be awhile before I read the rest of “The Castle Series.” But I do enjoy the characters of Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer immensely and would read about more of their adventures.