Howl’s Moving Castle Read Along Week #1

Hello Readers!
This month I’m participating in the Wyrd and Wonder read-along of Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. I was only supposed to read chapters 1-7 for the first section of the read-along, but I got so sucked into the story I was already on chapter 9 before I knew it! Having already seen the movie, I was so excited to read the book because I heard so many good things about it. I’m delighted to say, all of my expectations for the story have been fulfilled. The book has the same whimsical and silly tone that made me fall in love with the story. There are a lot of differences between the two though, so I’m excited to jump into this discussion of the book.

***Spoilers for Howl’s Moving Castle ahead!!!***

You might also like: my plans for Wyrd and Wonder

Title of List

For those who have seen the film adaptation/first-time readers: these opening chapters already make it clear how much of a difference there is between the two versions of this story. How do you feel about that difference? Are you curious to read on, or has it thrown you?

In the initial chapters, there are a few major differences, but the essence of the story and the most memorable moments were the same. For example, the dynamic between Sophie, her younger sisters, and her stepmother is explored in much more depth in the book, but the general dynamic was the same. It was much more clear to me in the book that Sophie was an unreliable narrator about her stepmother–who was exploiting her. Other differences that stood out to me were…

• There’s no war in the book (so far, anyway?)
• Howl’s apprentice’s age (movie: 10, book: 15)
• Book Sophie having magical abilities (she might also have in the movie, but it was much less clear than in the book)
• The turnip-scarecrow as a potential antagonist figure in the book vs. a friendly sidekick in the movie
• Book Sophie and Howl bickering about everything
• The romantic plot between Sophie and Howl is much less obvious in the book (I’m actually doubting whether they even have a romance in the book?)
• Both of Sophie’s sisters having romantic subplots
• THE FACT THAT HOWL TRIES TO SEDUCE ONE OF SOPHIE’S SISTERS (fuck you, Howl)
• The fact that Michael *does* seduce one of Sophie’s sisters (good for him)

I’m actually loving all the differences. I feel like the book explores the depth of Sophie’s relationships much better than the movie. I still love the movie and think the creative choices were appropriate for a movie adaptation, but reading the source material has made me so happy.

In terms of tone and/or subject matter, this is perhaps not your average young person’s book. How are you finding these factors – do they work for you as a reader?

I actually do not know the target age range for this book. That being said, I think the book would fit into a “coming of age” category.

However, there are a lot of very unconventional elements in the story, the main one being that the main character is an old woman. On top of that, one of the main side characters is a pathetic pretty boy who throws tantrums when his hair dye gets mixed up (never change, Howl. Never change). Sophie and Howl’s relationship is a bit silly at times, but in a way that’s very relatable. They get on each other’s nerves the same way real people do. I think that’s part of what makes the story relatable to both children and adults.

Sophie has quite the ordeal dropped on her early on – or does she? She seems to be handling her sudden transformation surprisingly well. What do you make of Old Lady Sophie so far?

I actually don’t think Sophie handles it well. It’s clear to me that as the eldest daughter with parents that are either dead or horrible, Sophie has resigned herself to receiving no support. She deals with the curse like she deals with everything else, she presses on without acknowledging or processing her feelings.

The fact that Sophie is so willing to accept the curse does make her interesting as a character though. I love how she immediately starts to view the world through the eyes of an old woman. I laughed out loud when she called Howl a “young man”, implying that he couldn’t be a powerful wizard if her were that young. Sophie spent one day in an old woman’s body and said, “I’m too old for Howl’s shit” and she was right for that.

Perhaps less admirable (advisable?) is the way she wanders so blithely into a bargain with a demon, even one as entertaining as Calcifer. Do you think Sophie ought to be a bit more wary of Calcifer, or can she handle herself?

Hm. I actually didn’t think about this much.

I think it was more surprising to me when Sophie decided to leave her life so soon after she was cursed. She didn’t consider many options before she wandered out into the waste with no extra clothes, no food, and no plan.

But I think what it boiled down to was the fact that she was in shock. In an instant, she was transformed from young to old. As a reader, I expected more of an emotional reaction from her, but when I think about how she was introduced as a character, it made more sense. The shock sent her into survival mode. She’s not the type of person to show her distress visibly, but we can see that she’s distressed by the curse through her actions. She impulsively leaves her home to find a way to break the curse (without thinking through how she would manage that) and she pounces on the first opportunity she gets to break it.

So, I think when she encountered Calcifer, she wasn’t thinking clearly. Through that lens, it makes perfect sense that Sophie would impulsively agree to this demon’s proposal.

The Wizard Howl: Lovably misguided, or dangerously ignorant? Discuss.

Oh, Howl. What a guy.

As much as I love him, I have to say he’s dangerously ignorant. He seems to have good intentions with training Michael and under-charging people for spells, but that’s not enough when he consistently runs away from real responsibilities. He has a problem with people expecting anything from him, and that prevents him from developing true relationships with people. He’s not dependable.

Have you read or watched Howl’s Moving Castle? What did you think of it?

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