I’ve not seen the film of Howl’s Moving Castle but I can see
why it was made into an anime film as it was pretty much made for it. I will
definitely be watching the film at some point to see how they’ve done it. There
are lots of different landscapes that I imagine the animators had fun with.
The book is set in the past but in a past where magic is an
actual thing. It follows the story of a girl called Sophie. She is the eldest
of three sisters and her dad and step-mum run a hat shop in the village where
they live. As the eldest she isn’t really expected to amount to an awful lot.
Elder siblings never do. All is going well until she gets turned into an old
woman by the Witch of the Waste. Sophie can’t tell anyone what’s happened to
her so leaves the village and ends up at the castle of Wizard Howl that moves
across the landscape but never comes into the village itself. Howl is an evil
wizard who steals young girls’ hearts. The story then follows the adventures of
Sophie as an old woman trying to break the spell on her and encountering other
people with curses on them on a similar mission to herself.
I was a bit unsure of the book to begin with but really
enjoyed it in the end. Sophie is a likeable character and, although she has her
bad days, is generally pretty cool. She accepts the fact that she has been
turned from a young woman into an old woman with stiff joints very calmly. That
can be overlooked as it is a children’s book and not an overly serious one. She’s not going to take any nonsense from
anyone either, be it Howl or a scarecrow. I suppose growing up in a world of
magic you’re not going to be as easily shocked by strange occurrences as you
might be. Sophie has also taken on the mentality of some older people and just
isn’t fazed by anything, she absorbs the situation and processes it later.
Howl is a different kettle of fish. Not having things from
his perspective it’s difficult to tell what he’s thinking and what his
motivations are. He’s in a battle with the Witch of the Waste as they are both
the two most powerful people in the land. Also, she put a curse on him. The
problem with being magically powerful is that they can’t do it alone. Each of
them has a fire demon to help them with their spells. They may have had good
intentions to begin with but joining forces with a demon is never a good idea.
While the demons aren’t inherently evil, the human mind is so easily
manipulated that it often turns out badly.
Howl’s castle is almost a character in itself. It has one
door but the doorknob has four different sides. Depending on which way up it’s
facing you could end up in four different places. Three of the doorways come
out in different places in the world that the book is set. The fourth place
that you come out in is our world. You see, Howl is originally from our world.
I’m not sure it explains how he ended up where he did but it may have something
to do with the Witch of the Waste. It’s an idea that’s been explored before but
it works well here. It shows a more human side to Howl as you get to see some
of his family and how he interacts with them.
I didn’t really know what to expect from the book but I did
expect it to be a little bit odd just because there is an anime film of it. It
is a strange book but it also sort of makes sense. It draws you in and you want
to know what happens to the characters, even the minor ones like Sophie’s
sisters and the not-so-minor ones like Howl’s assistant Michael. They each go
through highs and lows and all have their reasons for ending up at Howl’s
Moving Castle. They are trying to sort their lives out but also they have to
help out others in their town with potions and powders, including the King.
The book has mysteries in it too as there are a few
characters with curses on them. In order to break a curse a different character
has to work out why or how the person has been cursed without directly being
told anything. They can be given hints but only if they are subtle and the
other person doesn’t know they are being given a hint. It’s a bit complicated
but obviously if this wasn’t the case then curses would be really easy to break
and there would be no point putting a curse on anyone. Despite being a
children’s book it is really well written and is an enjoyable story. I will definitely
read some more of Diana Wynne Jones’ books. She is a well-known children’s
author for a reason. She tells a good story and combines reality with fantasy
smoothly.
Overall rating 4 out of 5.
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