As a child, I had a crush on Howl from the movie, Howl’s Moving Castle, based on this book by Diana Wynne Jones. Despite my long-standing love for the movie, I had not gotten around to reading the book, so when the opportunity arose, I couldn’t say no. I read this book to relive a bit of my childhood, but found that I actually quite enjoyed the story beyond simply the nostalgia factor. Even though the book is geared toward children, there are numerous adult themes throughout the book which makes it enjoyable for a wide range of audiences. The main character, Sophie, faces struggles related to getting old, leading to several relatable moments. The Wizard Howl is non-committal and tends to avoid conflict as much as possible. While he puts up a menacing exterior, we learn through his kindness and quirks that he is not quite what we expected, perhaps in a way similar to someone we know in real life. Even the fire demon, Calcifer, is more than he first appears. His goal to free himself from his contract with Howl is straightforward enough, but in reality, he shows compassion and genuine concern for the wellbeing of Sophie, Howl, and the other minor characters. I found all the characters believable and burdened by enough unique struggles to make them feel real.

Having watched the movie first, I knew generally what to expect out of the book’s plot. The storyline of the movie does resemble the book, but there were several places where the book contained far more detail that was cut from the movie. By the end of the book, I started noticing these differences even more. That’s not to say I liked the book more or less than the movie, but they certainly are different. From my assessment, the movie took the key elements of the book and squashed them into an hour and half show that got the main points from the book, but really lacked the nuanced plotlines that rippled throughout the book. The movie and book exist in the same world, but the plot of the movie is a lot less rich than the book. Now that I have read the book, I would like to watch the movie again to see where exactly they strayed from the book’s plot.

Overall, this is a good read. I would recommend it to parents and their kids to read together so they can discuss some of the more subtle and adult themes that arise. The book is a good portrayal of characters who are not entirely good and not entirely evil either – an important lesson for young people.

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Created Jan 11, 2020 at 3:37pm • Submit your own review...