Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

[meganbmoore]

Though her younger sisters are apprenticed out to live much more exciting lives, eighteen-year-old Sophie Hatter is kept home by her stepmother to work in the family hat shop. While her stepmother, Fanny, rides in carriages and wears fancy clothes, Sophie is left to decorate all the hats, making the shop famous in the process. The oldest sister in a world where fairy tale tropes are accepted as a normal fact of life, she’s long since accepted that her life will be dull and uneventful.

That changes, however, when the wicked Witch of the Waste comes to the shop. Mysteriously offended by Sophie, the witch casts a spell on Sophie, turning her into an old woman, and also preventing Sophie from being able to tell anyone that she’s been cursed. While wandering the kingdom, looking for a way to return to her true age, Sophie finds herself at the castle of Howl, a wizard who supposedly hunts and eats young women. Inside Howl’s castle is Calcifer, a fire demon locked into a contract with Howl. Even though Sophie can’t tell him, Calcifer can see that Sophie is under a curse, and strikes a bargain with her: if she can free him from his contract with Howl, he’ll break the witch’s curse, so Sophie gets Howl to hire her on as his housekeeper.

Howl, of course, doesn’t actually eat young girls, he just spread that rumor (and a number of others) himself trying to get some privacy, though not for any scholarly or noble reasons. Though chivalrous and kind-hearted (but don’t tell him you noticed) Howl is on the petty and flamboyant side, not to mention, well, cowardly. So cowardly, in fact, that he will ask his housekeeper to pretend to be his elderly mother and badmouth him to the king to get out of looking for the king’s brother, and when that doesn’t work, flee.

While Howl was quite fun, the book is Sophie’s story, as she grows from the quiet, meekly obedient girl resigned to a dull and uneventful life into a young (in spirit) woman making stepping far outside of what she thinks is her assigned role and taking charge. I admit, at first, I was a little unsure. One of the big problems I had with Charmed Life wass that Cat’s character growth and development of a spine happened abruptly within a few pages, as opposed to throughout the book, which kept me from really caring about it. Sophie’s growth, however, is very gradual, most of it without her knowing about it, though the men in her life certainly do, as she slowly but surely bullies them into shape.
Between Howl and Christopher, though, I have to wonder: does Diana Wynne Jones really like vain heroes? (Not a complaint, just curiosity.) 

Comments

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I think she does. Or rather, I think she likes positioning initially bland protagonists against a very colourful, contrasting supporting character. Sometimes it's a good balance (like with Sophie & Howl) and sometimes it doesn't work as well (Cat vs Christopher).

I like your new layout, btw!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah. Though, I don't think the lack of contrast would have helped Cat any...

(Did you not see me fretting about the layout all over the place over the weekend?)

[cerusee.livejournal.com]

She likes complex and flawed characters, and characters with colorful personality defects. Vanity is a noticeable one, and very effective because it's a genuine flaw.

She mentioned in a recent interview that she thinks of Cat as being slightly autistic--mostly a normal, functional person, but intrinsically lacking the ability to tell people things, even when he knows they're important and wants to tell. I think I've always read him that way, so instead of feeling frustrated at him for not standing up to Gwendolyn even as it becomes clearer that she is behaving badly and doing dangerous, malicious things, I feel frustrated on his behalf for his not knowing what to do but not asking for advice. (On the theme of real personality flaws, I never felt like we were supposed to pity Cat for not knowing how to react to his sister, since the passiveness resulting from his confusion is clearly a character flaw.)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The problem with Cat is that, while his situation is sympathetic, there was nothing about the character that came across as sympathetic. Even just an awareness that there was something wrong would have helped.

did you see the connection to Neil Gaiman's Stardust?

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

DWJ loves complex characters, and there's a definite pattern of authority figures gone lax/bad/plain useless, especially regarding parents. I think that is played up mostly in Hexwood, though...

[calixa.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was renovating all day all weekend, so I probably just missed the posts.

Re: did you see the connection to Neil Gaiman's Stardust?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

YUP! I definitely saw a connection, especially the framing of having aworld and situation shown through naive and foolish(in different ways) eyes, and then later the exact same thing shown through mature and experienced eyes. But when I startedto talk about it, I realized I was just adding a huge chunk about Stardust, so I just used my Yvaine Approved icon instead.

[lesbiassparrow.livejournal.com]

Ever since I've seen the film I have planned to read the book; thanks for the review.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

The book adn movie are very different, though still the same story(unlike, say, Ella Enchanted.) The book is almost all Sophie and her growth, and there are some subplots that aren't in the movie. (I should rewatch it, though, while the book is fresh on my mind.)

Re: did you see the connection to Neil Gaiman's Stardust?

[calledinvain.livejournal.com]

and also the John Donne poem.

:D

Re: did you see the connection to Neil Gaiman's Stardust?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

True. I've seen it a lot more than the narrative tool, though, so I didn't associate it with Stardust as strongly.

[lyssie.livejournal.com]

Possibly, this is one of my most favorite books. Ever. I re-read it at about the same frequency I re-read Freedom and Necessity (at least twice a year. Or more, if I'm randomly bored)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It seems quite worthy of being a favorite. (I try not to declare things the best thing ever until there's a bit of separation between reading/watching and saying it.)