Howl's Moving Castle

Written by Diana Wynne Jones

Narrated by Jenny Sterlin

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book and ALA Notable and Best of the Year in Young Adult Fiction, Howl's Moving Castle by acclaimed fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones was transformed into an Academy Award-nominated animated motion picture by Hayao Miyazaki. On a rare venture out from her step-mother's hat shop, Sophie attracts the attention of a witch, who casts a terrible spell transforming the young girl into an old crone. "A wonderful blend of humor, magic, and romance."-Publishers Weekly

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 5, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436186124

Diana Wynne Jones

In a career spanning four decades, award-winning author Diana Wynne Jones (1934–2011) wrote more than forty books of fantasy for young readers. Characterized by magic, multiple universes, witches, and wizards—and a charismatic nine-lived enchanter—her books are filled with unlimited imagination, dazzling plots, and an effervescent sense of humor that earned her legendary status in the world of fantasy. Her books, published to international acclaim, have earned a wide array of honors, including two Boston Globe–Horn Book Award Honors and the British Fantasy Society’s Karl Edward Wagner Award for having made a significant impact on fantasy. Acclaimed director and animator Hayao Miyazaki adapted Howl’s Moving Castle into a major motion picture, which was nominated for an Academy Award.

Reviews for Howl's Moving Castle

[Cassidy Perreault · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this story. Despite being absolutely fantasy the characters are very real and honest. It's nothing like the movie, in case anyone is thinking that it would be. But it is a lovely story and very well written.

[Nadine Cunningham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this movie growing up but never knew there was a book too! The stories are a bit different but nonetheless it was such a good book!

[Caitlin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful! Utterly delightful I can't wait to start book two!

[Amanda Huch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorite books ever. Sweet, light, with a beautifully built universe and slow burn love story

[Arielle Nathanson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

As soon as I started to read, I instantly wanted to read it aloud as if to childern. It doesn't take more than the first page to be transported into a fantasy land. The story is heartwarming. This book has earned a spot in my permanent library.

[underwaterlily · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book reminds me of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (one of my absolute favorite novels), though I can’t exactly articulate why. It has little to do with the nature of Calcifer and Yvaine, and more to do with portals to other realms (the castle doors; the gap in the wall). Howl amuses me; he was a rugby player in Wales, yet he spends hours in the bathroom each day doing his hair and scenting himself with hyacinth and other flowers. (Another reviewer describes Howl as having a “temperamental glam rock exterior,” and I couldn’t agree more!) It’s hard to reconcile Wizard Howl with Howell Jenkins, but that’s what makes him such an interesting character. Everyone in Howl’s Moving Castle wears a disguise that is still quite transparent. Sophie enjoys the freedom being an old woman gives her; it allows her to shed the curse she believes accompanies being the eldest of three daughters. By the end of the book, it’s obvious she never was the shy little mouse Howl meets in the market (he, of course, realizes as much immediately, though it’s never explicitly stated). A wonderful story!

[Rebekah Christie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First was introduced to this story via the Studio Ghibli film which has always been a comfort to me. Finally decided to read the book but didn't have the time to simply sit and read so I settled on this being my first ever audiobook. I will never regret that decision and have found a new beloved way to consume stories.

The book is of the same essence as the film, the sign of a good film adaptation, but is so expansive that the characters and story itself feel completely different. Sophie's character especially is much richer and has more of a heroine role making her a delight to cheer for in her quest to find her fortune.

The recording is beautifully voiced and engaging in a way that was quite unexpected for me. Though, as this is my first experience with an audiobook, that could be due to my own inexperience. I look forward to "reading" the other books in the series soon!

[aspirit-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book is more comedic, less romantic, yet as delightful as the Miyazaki movie.

[B Kali S · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book and narration! I loved it more than the movie which I saw first and also loved.

[Carley Marston · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I like the narrator. She has a lot of personality and her voice fits the part of Sophie. Can't wait to listen to the next one

[emily · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really loved this book it was a good listen and I am glad I read it!

[John Stephens · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantastic! The anime is one of my favorite movies, so I decided to listen to the original book. It is not a carbon copy. It expands the characters, especially Howl, and brings new life to the story I thought I knew. The audiobook voice is perfect. Will probably listen to it again soon.

[jazminderr-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An all time favourite ♥
I almost think of the book and movie as separate entities as the tone of each are different. DWJ's dry english wit differs from the style of Mitazaki, but both completely gorgeous and enjoyable.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another reread review. Howl's Moving Castle isn't one of the books I go back to again and again, partially because I haven't owned it that long. I saw the movie first, which has rapidly become one of the movies I put on whenever I'm sad or bored or just need a pick-me-up. I can't tell you how many times I've seen it because I've seen it so many times. However, reading the book again reminds me of how limited the movie is. There's so many subplots that just get cut out of the movie, so many that you wouldn't think that they could've fit into the relatively short book either. Michael's girlfriend, the Martha/Lettie switch, Wizard Suliman/Prince Justin, Miss Angorian, Howl's origins in Wales... The book and the movie are really entirely different entities, with different conflicts and different resolutions, although at the heart of the story there's still Sophie's artificial aging and Howl's contract with a fire demon.

Anyway, in terms of the book alone, I always find Diana Wynne Jones' writing very... quick. In that I can breeze through one of her books very quickly, and yet there is a lot in there. In a way, one could wish for more world building, but for an easy-to-read fun book I think she's got it down quite well. I like the POV of the book, which is third person limited. Sophie's head is quite a fun place to be, really. The chapter titles are a particular favourite thing, too, for example, "In which Howl expresses his feelings with green slime".

One could complain that there's not that much development in the Howl-and-Sophie relationship. Reading the book, I didn't really get how they were going to get together in the end. But somehow the ending made me squeal, anyway, so that's alright.

I can't really explain how I feel about this book. It's fun to read and I enjoy it, but sometimes I feel it's lacking some development or world-building, or some final piece of plot, that would make me wave it around and declare it one of the best books ever.

[A Journey to Books · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is just as amazing as the movie. A lot is different but just as enjoyable. The voice was perfect for this.

[rvhatha · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

fantasy, fairy tale, YA, strong female protagonist, 2013 reading

[wisewoman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones is a much-lauded YA fantasy story that pokes gentle fun at the predictable fairytale fate of the oldest of three children. The oldest is always doomed to fail in the most spectacular ways and the middle child does scarcely better, but luck and success come without half-trying to the youngest. Sophie, the oldest of three daughters born to a hatter, knows that she is dogged from birth by this fate. When their father dies and Lettie and Martha are sent away to promising apprenticeships, Sophie stays in the shop trimming hats for her young stepmother. But even in this humble and retired life, an eldest daughter is not safe. The wicked Witch of the Waste, mistaking Sophie for her sister, curses her with immediate old age. Or... is it a curse?Thus changed, Sophie flees the town and installs herself as a cleaning woman for Wizard Howl, whose moving castle is an ominous sight on the horizon. Howl is known for eating the hearts of young girls, and Sophie is determined to stop him. But first she must figure out the contract binding Howl's fire demon Calcifer, who promises to break her spell if she can break his. Not that fire demons can be trusted, of course.I was somewhat underwhelmed by this story. I'd heard nothing but praise for it and my expectations were pretty high. But the romance is a bit too predictable. The story drags at times; in retrospect I can see that Jones is giving the reader clues all throughout the slow sections, but they're still slow. And lot of the clues aren't relevant at the end. I also didn't care for Howl's predatory advances toward young girls... disturbing, to say the least. And he is never held accountable for what he did. Yes, Jones is a skilled writer. Yes, the characters are quirky and memorable. Yes, the setting and magic are not cut-outs from the generic medieval fantasy world of so many stories. It's the same with Jones's Dalemark Quartet which I've read twice; I can appreciate all the elements that make the books technically excellent — a creative fantasy world, well-drawn characters, a smooth prose style — but somehow I just can't warm to them. There is a disconnect there, and it's probably on my side as Jones's work is beloved by most other fantasy fans I know.It was fun to see where Megan Whalen Turner pulled the line "What a lie that was" that she uses in The King of Attolia. And I don't mean to put others off the book; if you're anything like the rest of the fantasy-reading population, you'll probably really like it. Overall, I found it diverting but not outstanding; definitely overhyped.

[lokiaesir · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A delightful and cosy tale of a smart but subdued girl in a fairy tale world who, as the oldest of three, has resigned herself that nothing special will ever happen to her (that is the prerogative of the youngest sibling in fairy tales). Then, without explanation, an evil witch curses her, and her life changes forever. Silly without being overly ridiculous, heartwarming without being sappy, and suspenseful without being particularly scary or violent. Fun fantasy for all ages.

[Plato Kasserman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is one of my very favorites. It is different from the animated film it inspired, and such an adventure.

[Jordan Holsopple · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I'm not going to bother comparing this to the movie. As both are wonderful

[bezoar44 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A genuinely delightful fantasy, right from the start, where the eldest of three sisters realizes it's no use going to seek her fortune because the first two of three siblings always fail. The story can be read lightly, but it is incredibly carefully plotted, with several sets of complications balanced by mirror-image resolutions - for example, [spoiler] two characters that have disguised themselves as each other end up happily ever after (maybe) with two characters who had also shared a single identity in a very different way. I think, in retrospect, that the main characters don't really grow during the course of the plot - they are who they are, and only become more so, though of course some of their decisions have irreversible consequences that move that story along. Using characters who stay themselves is a legitimate aesthetic choice, and it's refreshingly plausible, but it also makes the ending a little hard to swallow - it's not so clear that two vital characters who end up together could make it last more than a few months.

[samjehanzeb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Frau Jones hat hier eine zauberhafte Welt geschaffen, in der man selbst gerne ein paar Streifzüge machen würde. Das Ganze wird auf eine so humorvolle Weise verpackt, dass es schwer fällt, Sophie im Schloss des Zauberers (im Original: Howl’s Moving Castle) aus der Hand zu legen. Es ist wohl eines der wenigen Bücher, die nachhaltig in Erinnerung bleiben und auch nach dem dritten, vierten und fünften Lesen noch immer Freude bereiten.Zu verdanken ist dies wunderbar gezeichneten Charakteren, die von schrullig bis überdimensional wehleidig und wahrhaft seltsam alles abdecken. Wir haben hier eine grantige alte Dame mit Putzfimmel, einen Feuerdämon mit Existenzängsten, einen wahnsinnig mächtigen Zauberer mit einem ausgeprägten Eitelkeitsproblem, eine anhängliche Vogelscheuche, Hunde, die keine sind, und Zauber, über die man nicht sprechen kann. Mit einem außerordentlichen Gespür für Sprache haucht die Autorin der Welt Ingari und ihren verschiedenen kleinen Städten buntes Leben ein. Es bedarf tatsächlich nicht vieler Worte, um sich alles im Detail vorstellen zu können.Die eigentliche Quest, den mysteriösen Vertrag zwischen Howl und dessen Feuerdämon Calcifer zu brechen, damit letzterer im Gegenzug Sophies Fluch aufhebt, wird dabei beinahe zur Nebensache, und doch wird das Buch nie langweilig oder sinnlos. Man erlebt die Handlungen und Entwicklungen der Charaktere so gerne und selbstverständlich mit, dass es einen mit Empörung zurück lässt, dass auch dieses Buch irgendwann enden muss.Diana W. Jones gilt zwar als Kinderbuchautorin, und auch Sophie im Schloss des Zauberers wird offiziell als Kinderbuch gehandelt, dennoch wirken die vielen versteckten Anspielungen und Kniffe oft zu komplex für Kinder. Manches dürfte sich erst im Jugend- oder Erwachsenenalter tatsächlich erschließen, da es ein gewisses Maß an Allgemeinbildung oder auch emotionaler Entwicklung benötigt, um Anspielungen auf Hamlet, König Artus, Alice im Wunderland und Der Herr der Ringe zu erkennen oder auch Dinge wie die ersten Anzeichen von Verliebtheit und Ironie. Denn der Humor springt einem hier nur selten mitten ins Gesicht. Er zeichnet sich vor allem durch Wortwahl und teils hitzige Dialoge aus.Vermutlich dürfte auch nicht einmal vielen Erwachsene auffallen, dass in dem Roman ein Gedicht von John Donne zu einem wichtigen Bestandteil der Handlung wurde.Natürlich kann man Sophie im Schloss des Zauberers auch ohne das alles genießen, doch gerade diese Kleinigkeiten verleihen ihm seinen ganz eigentümlichen Charme. Die Verwendung bestimmter Begriffe, Namen oder bekannter Zitate unserer realen Welt geben dem Buch teilweise selbsterklärende Eigenschaften oder auch ein Gefühl von vertrautem Wiedererkennen.Ungewöhnlich ist auch die Herangehensweise der Autorin an ihre Figuren. Anders als man es gewohnt ist, wird Sophie nach dem Tod ihrer Eltern nicht zum Spielball ihrer Stiefmutter. Nein, besagte Stiefmutter liebt sie sogar genauso sehr wie ihre eigene Tochter, auch wenn die Autorin versucht, den Leser diesbezüglich auf eine falsche Fährte zu locken. Dies ist nur ein Beispiel dafür, wie Diana W. Jones sich den typischen Klischees der Fantasy in diesem Roman widersetzt und alles ein wenig anders macht.Ein einziges Mal wurde die Autorin schwach und verlieh dem Roman ein so umfangreiches Happy-End, dass einem glatt schwindelig werden könnte. Alles andere hätte Sophie im Schloss des Zauberers allerdings seinen märchenhaften und ohnehin vor seltsamen Ereignissen strotzenden Charakter genommen. Man kann also getrost sagen, Frau Jones ist ihrer Linie vom ersten bis zum letzten Satz treu geblieben.Obwohl die Übersetzerin der deutschen Ausgabe, Gabriele Haefs, hier eine sehr gute Arbeit abgeliefert hat, geht natürlich doch der ein oder andere Wortwitz verloren und die Sprache wirkt manchmal etwas zu betont einfach. Wer gerne auch mal auf Englisch liest, sollte daher zur Originalausgabe greifen. Einen empfehlenswerten Lesegenuss bieten aber durchaus beide Sprachen.Ignorieren sollte man allerdings den Klappentext der deutschen Ausgabe, denn der hat nur bedingt etwas mit dem Buch zu tun.Für diejenigen, die nicht genug kriegen können von Sophie, Howl und Calcifer, gibt es noch zwei weitere Bücher, die in Ingari angesiedelt sind: Ziemlich viele Prinzessinnen (Castle in the Air) und House of many ways (nicht ins Deutsche übersetzt). Es handelt sich dabei nur indirekt um Fortsetzungen, da die bekannten Personen lediglich kleinere Nebenrollen einnehmen. Für Fans von Sophie und Howl dennoch zu empfehlen.Verfilmung:Das Buch wurde 2004 von den Ghibli Studios in einer wunderbaren Umsetzung verfilmt. Hier gibt es auch eine ausführliche Besprechung dazu.

[jessica_olin_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read this book. My only defense is that I was in 9th grade when it was published, and "too grown up" for this kind of book. This story, filled with fairytale themes, magic, and humor would have pleased me then, I know. My enjoyment of it now, though, was so intense that things probably worked out for the best. As a bonus, I actually listened to this as an audiobook and Jenny Starlin is a phenomenal narrator. I'm going to leave my review at this because anything else would include spoilers, so I'll just finish by saying that I enjoyed this book more than I would have thought possible.

[sparkleponies · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story seems like a very long dream where anything can happen. I kept turning the pages to find out what the next magical episode would reveal about who was good, who was bad, and who was ugly. If you accept that anything is possible, you're ahead of Sophie, the main character, who believes that her life is doomed to failure because she is the oldest of three daughters. Unhappy in her role as a hatmaker and separated from her sisters, Sophie is cursed by a witch and turned into an arthritic old woman. This change makes her more determined, more powerful, and more likely to find happiness. She is an unlikely princess in a very untraditional fairy tale.

[eurekas_5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reads a little like a mystery in that many questions are answered at the end. The main characters, Sophie, Howl, Calcifer and Michael are nicely drawn, well-rounded and believable. The castle is a wonder and a delight, very imaginative.

[joririchardson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book seemed mostly without direction or a plot, but the characters were all extremely well written and lifelike.I loved the funny character of Howl - the vain, dramatic, and handsome young wizard who is also selfish and foolish.Sophie, the main protagonist, is a pretty hat-shop apprentice until she is placed under a spell that turns her into a grumpy old woman.Michael is Howl's careful, timid, and kindhearted apprentice, and Calcifer is a tricky fire demon imprisoned in Howl's fireplace.I liked the characters, and the story was funny and cute, but I still think it should have had a lot more substance to the plot line.There were, at times, too many things going on, and half of them never even led up to anything. Such as, the scarecrow that was following the castle. I suppose that this is the one of those books you have to read the sequels to in order to truly finish the story.This book has great characters, but not such a great plot.

[jdifelice-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked this!I enjoyed the story, and how it was different from what I'd seen in the movie. I liked Sophie and her sisters, and Howl was great. I don't know if I missed it in the movie, but the Howl romancing girls thing wasn't a thing? I liked that aspect in this novel though. I still got that whimsical feeling from the audiobook and I really love the world that Jones created. The plot was very intriguing and I liked how everything fit together.The narrator was kind of annoying. I really found his voice for Howl was extremely annoying, and it felt like he was yelling a lot. His voice grated at times.Overall, I really enjoyed this whimsical story, and I really want to pick up the physical novel.

[bookappeal · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Perhaps I should have read this when I was in middle school. The new edition is gorgeous with sprayed edges and more appealing cover art than the original but I found the story disjointed and confused.

[verixsilvercrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There's plenty of differences between this book and the movie, but the book is still lovely - full of originality, great characters and so many different worlds and characters pulling us along. The magic never really becomes systematic, but you get a feel for it, at least; though my favourite bit of "magic" was when Sophie gives a young man, about to enter a duel and requesting a way to make the fight a fair one, a packet of cayenne powder and tells him to throw it in the air before the duel. The young man later reappears, saying that he won the duel while the other man was sneezing "and he's now suing me."

Oddly I found Calcifer one of the highlights; so many of his lines are dripping with sardonic humour that I clearly could hear Billy Crystal in them.

Four stars.

[keebrook · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It’s a cozy tale of ordinary and extraordinary magic and characters. Diana Wynne Jones isn’t given enough credit. Rich and vibrant characters with very interesting stories all to themselves- even minor characters- populate this book, carrying us along to care about them. The only character i really found that i had no feelings for was the titular character, Howl. he bops in and out so quickly we barely get a glimpse of him except in extremely tiny bits. The picture we form of him comes from others talking about him: his apprentice, his fire demon, and the townspeople. Only late in the book do we find out more about him and begin to see a whole person whom we might give a farthing for.

The way she portrays magic is always refreshing, too. Inhabitants of the world of the book treat it matter-of-factly and even seek apprenticeships with certain magically accomplished persons as though taking piano lessons. Sophie, the main character through whose eyes we see the story, slowly discovers that she, too, is magical and powerfully, if subtly, so.

The story dips and soars through the very intriguing world full of kings, missing wizards, cursed dog-humans, fire demons, and hopping scarecrows with frequent stops in the mundanity of cleaning rooms, gathering flowers, cooking bacon and eggs, and family responsibility.

It’s a brisk walk, though. like a proper fairy tale, we don’t get much time to sit and ponder the predicaments nor see even the main character’s internal machinations about their life and whether or not it’s working out for them. The story just lifts us and carries us along, describing things, showing us the way. I believe this would be a wonderful book to read aloud.

It’s very easy to see why Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli picked this up to make into a film. It really smacks of his imaginary style and reminds me of Spirited Away in its depth and complexity and characters. He had to do very little to adapt it to the big screen, staying extremely faithful to the book.

Youth book? Yes. but i daresay Wynne Jones is as fun and engaging for adults to read as Harry Potter (which, in my opinion, was hugely inspired by Wynne Jones’s work). unless you’re just curmudgeon. Or a turnip-headed scarecrow whose parts are spread out between several people.