Hmm you probably all thought this post was going to be about
the movie. WELL IT IS NOT. My sister found a copy of the original book that the
movie is based on and sent it to me for a read. I had no idea that the movie
was based on a book at all. And here we are!
First of all, the book is quite different from the movie.
The book gives a lot more background to the Witch of the Waste as a more
menacing character, rather than the movie where she is a bit one-dimensional.
Howl’s background is also much more interesting in the book, where he is from a
modern-day Wales! The castle has a door that leads to there and he takes Sophie
as well as his apprentice there once when a poem is swapped with a spell. I
think this is a fascinating and quite interesting aspect that the book doesn’t
go into much detail about, but it’s a really cool bit of world-building. In
that case though, it is understandable that the movie leaves it out. And also,
in the movie there’s Markl, a young boy in the castle. While in the book,
there’s Michael, Howl’s apprentice. Michael also is romantically involved with
Sophie’s other sister (also absent in the movie) so it does kind of make sense
to eliminate him as a character, but keep around Markl as a sign that Howl can
show compassion.
Now that the comparison is out of the way, the book itself
is a lot of fun. It’s a great fantasy story where whimsical and fun things
happen and are patiently accepted by the characters most of the time; just
taking the reader along for a ride. It makes for a great reading experience,
I’ve missed this kind of fantasy.
My sister found the book confusing and I can see why. There
are a lot of characters to start with and a lot of very similar characters.
There’s Sophie’s two sisters, who also swap places at one point. And then there
is the prince and the ex Royal Magician who are split into different pieces and
recombined by the Witch of the Waste. Not to mention the people that are in
Wales as well. So that makes for a lot of parts to keep track of. But it isn’t
hard to get the main gist as long as you keep track vaguely what a person is
associated with.
I alluded to this earlier, but the world-building is pretty
neat. Which is partially why it is so confusing, it isn’t a long story but
there’s a decent amount packed into it. There’s all the doors that the castle
has, and one opens out into Wales! I still think that is hilarious. Really wish
that mechanism was explained a little more than “magic stuff” but it is the
style of fantasy where nothing is explained and you just have to suspend
disbelief. It is super amusing to see Sophie’s reaction to cars and computers
and things. And to see computer games in the 80s.
Final thing is that I love Sophie as a character. Her story
is still primarily one of acceptance, here she is accepting her faults and
learning to control her magic. (Similar to the movie.) She also has a great
perspective, pretty sassy and also clever. I loved seeing her thoughts written
out in a book instead of just illustrated in a movie.
Regardless of whether you have seen the movie or not, I
would highly recommend the book as well. It is a lot of fun to read, and
fleshes out the characters a little bit more. I think you can find it somewhere
online, so may as well take the recommendation and have at it!
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