Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

 

The tragedy of this book is that I don't think as many people know it exists as it truly deserves. First published in 1986, Howl's Moving Castle was turned into a Miyazaki film in 2004. Miyazaki did a superb job adapting the story to the point that most people seem to be unaware of the source material which is, as I've said, a shame. No matter how good and faithful an adaptation is, the novel will always still have more depth and that's true here as well.

The story is about Sophie Hatter who is a somewhat over serious and self-defeated oldest of three sisters. She runs afoul of the Witch of the Waste and ends up sheltering with the beautiful, but vain, Howl whose nasty reputation is a deliberate misdirection on his part to avoid work and responsibility. The whole story is set in a fantasy kingdom that is taking conscious pokes at several common fairy tale motifs such as the successful sibling always being the youngest.

As is often the case, this is a story about love. However it is also a story that deliberately plays with, and breaks, many of the common fairy tale archetypes. Because of this, the major characters are all well-developed, well-rounded characters with interesting character arcs.

I originally bought a copy of this for my sister-in-law as a present. She wanted it and was having a hard time locating a copy. The most recent 2001 edition has since gone into reprints and is readily available now. While I'm sure younger kids would like the basic story of Howl's Moving Castle, much of the nuance playing with genre expectations would require a more experienced audience. Nevertheless, the book is appropriate for any age that can tackle the language in it.

Miyazaki's film adaptation is faithful to the source material, but cuts out most of the side plots, side character development, and focusing almost entirely on Sophie. While it is one of my favorite movies, it sacrifices almost all of the subtlety that I love in the novel. So, watch the movie by all means but make sure you read the book too.