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Mark Lawrence's Reviews > Howl’s Moving Castle
Howl’s Moving Castle (Howl’s Moving Castle, #1)
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I read this to my daughter, Celyn (10 at the time), who is too disabled to read books by herself.
I had seen some of the anime film version years ago but remembered basically nothing of it.
I found the whole thing original and refreshing. The point of view character (Sophie) is engaging and no-nonsense with a very capable can-do attitude. The story moves along at a good pace and the whole moving castle / multiple doors thing is a great idea and used well.
The Welsh connection is well-played, and the continuing reveals keep everything interesting.
My only complaint is that the end seemed rather tortured with so many story-lines converging in ways that felt rather unsatisfying / hard to believe. The (view spoiler) part, for example, seemed to come out of left-field and made very little sense to me.
If I were a touch harsher then that ending would pull this down to a 4*. But Celyn loved it. I enjoyed reading it. And I'm in a good mood. So 5*!
I can see why it's a classic, and if you have a 10 year old, point them at it! We may well pursue the author's other works.
Edit: We've now finished the trilogy!
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I had seen some of the anime film version years ago but remembered basically nothing of it.
I found the whole thing original and refreshing. The point of view character (Sophie) is engaging and no-nonsense with a very capable can-do attitude. The story moves along at a good pace and the whole moving castle / multiple doors thing is a great idea and used well.
The Welsh connection is well-played, and the continuing reveals keep everything interesting.
My only complaint is that the end seemed rather tortured with so many story-lines converging in ways that felt rather unsatisfying / hard to believe. The (view spoiler) part, for example, seemed to come out of left-field and made very little sense to me.
If I were a touch harsher then that ending would pull this down to a 4*. But Celyn loved it. I enjoyed reading it. And I'm in a good mood. So 5*!
I can see why it's a classic, and if you have a 10 year old, point them at it! We may well pursue the author's other works.
Edit: We've now finished the trilogy!
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
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Reading Progress
January 2, 2015
– Shelved
January 20, 2015
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Started Reading
January 20, 2015
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Finished Reading
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by
Joey
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rated it 4 stars
Jan 19, 2015 05:58AM
I loved Diana Wynne Jones for ages. Oddly enough I feel in love with her books thanks to Archer's Goon. This series was a treat.
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thanks for the insight ... I also have watched the anime .. Looking forward to read it.
It improves on second reading, we find. Apparently she had done two other books tied to this one...
Tom wrote: "It improves on second reading, we find. Apparently she had done two other books tied to this one..."She did. Her novels are usually very charming and very kid friendly. Usually.
One of my absolute favorite books, as a younger one. A lot of hers were, really.
yes, its a great book, and an entertaining trilogy. the other two books end in a similar maelstrom of "surprise! reveal" and each have the pros and cons while being enjoyable. You should really rewatch the Ghibli movie, as it adds to the story, like a second parallel adventure. they're very different, the book and the movie, but equally good in my opinion.
An interesting thing about the end and its converging story lines is how the book compares to the movie. The movie does mostly the same convergence, but hadn't even brought up one of the plots except in an almost inaudible conversation between two people Sophie passes on the sidewalk while the opening credits are still going. I thought it was charming when it popped up in the last scenes--I took it in a "magic is everywhere!" sort of way. But then I picked up the book shortly after watching the movie and I ended up feeling the book handled the multiple story lines and their endings much, much better. It's hard to see it any other way now, as a result of never seeing it with fresh eyes.
I agree with your feelings on the ending, but I still enjoyed this book (and the anime) greatly :)
This sounds wonderful. Thank you for the wonderful review!
Such a great book and wonderful series I loved it!!!!
Strangely original style. Simple, yet compelling.
Great review!😉
It was a great movie, Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed it as a loose adaptation of the book, as always I would imagine the book is superior, but the movie was very good
Thanks Mark for the review. Bought it to read to my 6yr old son. I tend to buy all my books on Amazon these days - often ebooks but sometimes feel guilty about supporting its hegemony - any views on the best way to buy books?
Steve wrote: "Thanks Mark for the review. Bought it to read to my 6yr old son. I tend to buy all my books on Amazon these days - often ebooks but sometimes feel guilty about supporting its hegemony - any views o..."The best way to buy books is from bookshops - but it's not the cheapest or most convenient option, and I buy most of mine from Amazon...
Thanks for your review - I'm glad you found it original and refreshing! I thought it was unique when I read it too. I'm glad you and your daughter liked the book!
Steve wrote: "Thanks Mark for the review. Bought it to read to my 6yr old son. I tend to buy all my books on Amazon these days - often ebooks but sometimes feel guilty about supporting its hegemony - any views o..."Heaps of bookstores have an online option now that is much more affordable than the physical store.
Plenty of second hand quality options also.
I still need a physical version for my favs 😬🤓
Anyone know if this one’s pages have large or small amounts of writing?
Ella is 12, and wants to read older styles, but is overwhelmed by large amounts. She tends towards comic-style.
Trying to find her some in between options to experiment with…
Not too young, but also simple and sparse enough to intrigue.
I think you said it very well about the ending not making sense, especially miss Angoria , I totally agree!
