Howl's Moving Castle

I've seen the movie, Howl's Moving Castle, a number of times. I found it enchanting, even if certain elements seemed a little unclear. I have to say that if you've seen the movie and liked it, even a little, then you should read the book. It's better.

Sophie is the eldest sister of three, and believes she will never amount to anything. She works as a hat maker in a shop run by her step mother. One day, the Witch of the Waste arrives and curses Sophie into an old woman. Unable to explain her curse, Sophie flees town. She finds herself on the doorstep of the evil wizard Howl's castle. Taking on as Howl's cleaning lady, Sophie uncovers the wizard's true nature and works to break his own curse as well as his contract with a fire demon.

The book is every bit, if not more so enchanting than the movie. The building of the world, the characters, and the magic is simply wonderful and immediately sucks you in. Things only started to slow down for me when the real world was introduced. I felt it broke some of the magic going on. And how Howl came from this ordinary world into this magical world to be one of the most powerful wizards isn't explained.

The ending of the novel also seems to happen very suddenly. It's not clear when exactly Howl turns his attentions to Sophie, nor is it clear when Sophie stops believing she can't achieve anything grand in life. The change happens subconsciously for Sophie and she mistakes it on Howl, making it easy for the reader to miss since the novel is told from Sophie's point of view. I think a re-read could fix this and might soften the blow I felt from the introduction of the real world as well.

All in all, I liked the novel very much. I don't feel I could call it one of my favorites without giving it a second read, but I'd pretty much recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy or has seen the movie to give it a try.