Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Howl's Moving Castle
Book Review: WoW!
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the book that introduced me to DWJ and i must say it seems to be her best.The way she seems to portray her characters is magnificent, and you can't help just falling in love with Howl! It has to be said he is the typical male!
Mystifying story which is well worth reading, and reading, and reading. Just like i did
Book Review: 'We can't all be Mad Hatters'
Summary: 5 Stars
Even a short study of fairy tales will show that in any family of 3 siblings, the youngest will make his or her fortune, but the eldest will come off worst - Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Puss in Boots, to name three - and Sophie Hatter, eldest of the three Hatter sisters, has been very well educated indeed; so much so that upon her father's death, the sisters discover that he was deep in debt over their school fees. Sophie has always backed up Fanny, her stepmother, in working to make sure that Martha, the youngest, is prepared to make her way in the world; it's no surprise that Fanny has arranged for Martha to study with Mrs. Fairfax (a good witch), Lettie to be apprenticed in a pastry shop, and Sophie in the family hat shop.Sophie gets very lonely trimming hats, being set apart as the boss' daughter, and throws herself too much into her work - although she pays attention to customers' gossip about Wizard Howl, who's said to steal the souls of young girls and eat their hearts. On May Day, Sophie finally ventures out to visit Lettie at the pastry shop - but Lettie and Martha have swapped places on the sly. *Lettie's* the one who wants to go on learning, while Martha wants to socialize, settle down, and raise a big family. They're both worried about Sophie having hypnotized herself with the theory that she can't amount to anything, being the eldest. :)
Before Sophie makes up her mind to rebel, her future takes a new turn: the Witch of the Waste comes to call at the hat shop, looking for the upstart 'Miss Hatter' - and curses Sophie, aging her from her twenties to her eighties, with the added touch that Sophie can't speak of the spell to anyone who doesn't know it already. Sophie faces up to the challenge - 'of course I shall have to do for her when I get the chance' - and walks out of the hat shop on the spot to seek her fortune. With no clear destination in mind, she seeks out Howl's castle just outside town.
Being old is the making of Sophie; she doesn't care anymore about being embarrassed, and is a *very* outspoken old woman indeed, and bossy - not at all the downtrodden mouse she was becoming in the hat shop. She bullies her way past Michael, Howl's young apprentice, and takes a seat by the hearth, claiming to be waiting for Howl (after all, he's only interested in young girls). Calcifer, the fire demon under contract to Howl, can see the Witch's spell, and offers her a deal - if she'll stay and find a way to break his contract, he'll figure out how to break the spell. And how will she make an excuse for staying? Well, Howl may be a wizard, but this *is* a bachelor household. 'I'm your new cleaning lady, of course.' :) (What better excuse for searching the place - and just generally being nosy?)
Nice touch: 'heartless Howl' isn't *evil*, and he only devours the hearts of young girls in a manner of speaking. As Michael says, 'We've had lawsuits, and suitors with swords, and mothers with rolling pins, and fathers and uncles with cudgels. And aunts. Aunts are terrible. They go for you with hatpins.' Howl cultivates a bad reputation professionally mainly to keep customers from imposing on him, but it's not working...
Book Review: Howl's definitely moved me!
Summary: 5 Stars
Thank goodness there are people out there like me!! I have read this book at least 20 times (probably more!) since my early teens and at 23 I'm still going strong, thumbing through dog-eared pages!I have no hesitation in saying that this is my favourite book of all time. I fell in love with the magic and the mystery the book conjures up. I was sucked into the world of Ingary and every visit I made I never wanted to leave! I have been waiting eagerly for years for this book to be made into a film. Forget Harry Potter, this is the fantasy story that deserves a cinematic showing.
I know the characters so well they almost feel like family! Sophie with her defiant attitude and ambition (despite a spell that's turned her into a 90-year-old crone!) and Howl with his womanising and three-hour long bathroom stints, hmmm reminds me of a few men I know!
With a door that can open to four different towns Howls Moving Castle is a fantasy masterpiece that everyone must read. If you're a lover of all things weird and wonderful this book will knock your seven league boots off!
Book Review: A brilliant childrens fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read both Howl's moving Castle and its sequel, Castle in the Air, and enjoyed them both emensly. I am a fan of Diana wynne Jones, and when I learned that she was the author behind the book on which Myazaki's(I am a fan of his work) new film was based, I had to read the book.It is enchanting and surreal, but also very funny, everything I look for in a book.
I would reccomend this book and its sequel to anyone.
Please read, you will not be dissapointed.
Book Review: An enchanting fantasy world!!
Summary: 5 Stars
The wizard Howl's complicated personality was very attractive for me. He is quite smart and an excellent wizard but he doesn?ft like to display them. He always behaves like a kind of flirt and run away from answering questions. That irritates Sophie and she gets angry. However, after she gets used to live in the moving castle, she starts to find out a lot of secrets about Howl: where he came from, why he made a contract with a fire demon "Calcifer" and so on. At the last, she finds out his deep kindness to her and realizes that she is in love with Howl. The life with Howl, Michel and Calcifer changes her boring life into a brilliant one. A lot of developments surprised me and there was no time to get bored. The process that they are getting to become like a real family taught me wonderfulness of bonds. Sophie?fs strength to never give up and over come obstacles encouraged me. I recommend this heart-warming book. You will be enchanted by tremendous Jones?f witty writing and drawn into the world filled with fantasy.