Wow! What a ride. From the start, Howl's Moving Castle
grabs you and takes you on a wild ride of magic, adventure, mystery and love. At the beginning of the story, we meet Sophie, a plain young hat-maker. For some reason, the Witch of the Waste casts a spell on her and Sophie is instantaneously an old woman. She can't tell anyone about the spell and ironically sees the spell as an opportunity to set out on her own.
Tired and weary from a day of walking, Sophie must seek refuge in Howl's moving castle. Inside, she finds an unholy mess. She then meets the fire demon Calcifer, Howl's apprentice Michael, and eventually Howl.
Despite his reputation for evil-doing, Howl is not one to turn out someone in need. When Sophie tells him that she is the new cleaning lady, he allows her to be that and she sets to the task (barring a few limits which Howl has placed upon her cleaning.) The ragtag team of people in this 'household' become close.
Sophie learns about the ties that bind Howl and Calcifer. She learns much of the magic of the house and even comes to find out she has some magic herself. To no avail, she tries to help Howl elude the responsibility of finding the Prince and the Wizard of Suliman. She roots for Howl in his fight with the Witch of the Waste but she is still concerned over his womanizing and the inevitable heartbreak which will befall her sister Lettie.
So much happens in so many interesting places, I would do a disservice to say that this is a summary of the book. Suffice it to say, that I recommend that you read this book. Howl's Moving Castle
is a fun-filled adventure that will leave you breathless.Please note that the movie and the book are very different from each other. While we love Miyazaki movies, we thought the story in the book was better than the one told in the movie.
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