YA September Book Club

This month, I decided to look at Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. This book was first published way back in 1986 - when the original ‘Top Gun’ was a hit in cinemas and ‘I’m Your Man’ by Wham was on the radio. So why am I returning to this book, when every year there are hundreds, if not thousands, of new novels being published?

I chose this book because, like many people, I love the Studio Ghibli film. It oozes with fantastical magic! It’s the whole vibe, the music, the gorgeous animation, the costumes! Of course, I had to give the book a go.I love fantasy, but I am more inclined to a soft ‘cosy’ fantasy version – and this book is precisely that. There are no violent wars, complicated sparring factions, or in-fighting royal families to remember countless names. With quiet villages and wide, open country sides that echo the Welsh country side (you’ll have to read it to discover why!), this novel promises to be the most delightful form of escapism.

Immediately, the reader is enchanted from the very first page. With sprinklings of traditional fairytales throughout and dripping with gorgeous description, the novel feels comforting and familiar. The descriptions of Sophie’s family, her three sisters, and the town she lives in are dreamy. There is real charm to the immersive narration. Even from the very first line, the novel whisks you away into the quirky fantasy world, while highlighting that relatability of family life:

“In the land of Ingary where such things as seven-league boots and cloaks of invisibility really exist, it is quite a misfortune to be born the eldest of the three. Everyone knows you are the one who will fail first, and worst, if the three of you set out to seek your fortunes.”

Each character has a clear voice, Sophie in particular. To begin with, she doesn’t stick up for herself. She lets things happen to her for the good of her sisters and accepts her fate to remain in the hat shop while her two younger sisters get wonderful apprenticeships. Life is frustrating and dull for Sophie, until one day, in the heat of a bad mood, she annoys the mysterious Witch of the Waste. In what can only be described as the most unsettling and uncanny instigating events of any novel – a spell that turns our youthful heroine into an old lady – Sophie’s life is changed forever. In time and as her adventure unfolds before her, she grows to be stubborn, headstrong, and fierce – and I ended up adoring her. I want more cranky, defiant, and deeply loyal heroines!

Calcifer is probably my favourite character though, instantly stealing my heart with the line “I hope your bacon burns”. His sassiness is marginally beaten by Wizard Howl, the drama queen, - “I’m dying of boredom,” Howl said pathetically. “Or maybe just dying.” Howl and his castle are complex and full of dualities. Chapter by chapter you learn something new about him. It is so wonderful to fall for him alongside Sophie, to see him at his best and his worst, and observe his growth. He is selfish, vain, and stroppy (“Look. Survey. Inspect. My hair is ruined! I look like a pan of bacon and eggs!”) but he is also sensitive, kind, and endlessly charitable to those in need. The book gives a lot more time to Sophie and Howl’s relationship as it grows than the film, and the romance element is a lot more subtle and authentic. This slow-burn, heartfelt romance feels so sincere and real, no wonder half of the readers of this novel are obsessed with Howl!

This novel is carefully plotted, beautifully described, and wonderfully mystical (I would recommend reading it twice, if you have the time! You will notice so many things you did not the first!) but it really is the characters that drive this incredible novel and make it the timeless classic it is.

Questions for readers:

1) Did you read the book before seeing the film? Did the order you watched/read this story affect your experience? How does it compare?

2) Many of the characters a deceitful and conceal their true identity. Who was you favourite character and why?

3) There are many plot twists and different threads throughout. Did you have a favourite part? Did you expect the ending?

4) The author has created a rich and vibrant fantasy world. What did you think of the world building? Did you have a favourite place to ‘open the door to’?

5) [*SPOILER*] One of the doors opens to Wales. Did you expect this? Did you find the description of our ‘real world’ entertaining? Did you expect this background story for the fantastical Wizard Howl?

Close Reading Exercise:

In your exams, you are often given a blind close reading activity. If you want to practice this, each month, I will provide an extract and a choice of two questions to answer.

Good luck! About this time everyone began talking of the Witch of the Waste again. It was said the Witch had threatened the life of the King’s daughter and that the King had commanded his personal magician, Wizard Suliman, to go into the Waste and deal with the Witch. And it seemed that Wizard Suliman had not only failed to deal with the Witch: he had got himself killed by her. So when, a few months after that, a tall black castle suddenly appeared on the hills above Market Chipping, blowing clouds of black smoke from its four tall, thin turrets, everybody was fairly sure that the Witch had moved out of the Waste again and was about to terrorize the country the way she used to fifty years ago. People got very scared indeed. Nobody went out alone, particularly at night. What made it all the scarier was that the castle did not stay in the same place. Sometimes it was a tall black smudge on the moors to the northwest, sometimes it reared above the rocks to the east, and sometimes it came right downhill to sit in the heather only just beyond the last farm to the north. You could see it actually moving sometimes, with smoke pouring out from the turrets in dirty gray gusts. For a while everyone was certain that the castle would come right down into the valley before long, and the Mayor talked of sending to the King for help.But the castle stayed roving about the hills, and it was learned that it did not belong to the Witch but to Wizard Howl. Wizard Howl was bad enough. Though he did not seem to want to leave the hills, he was known to amuse himself by collecting young girls and sucking the souls from them. Or some people said he ate their hearts. He was an utterly cold-blooded and heartless wizard and no young girl was safe from him if he caught her on her own. Sophie, Lettie, and Martha, along with all the other girls in Market Chipping, were warned never to go out alone, which was a great annoyance to them. They wondered what use Wizard Howl found for all the souls he collected.

1) To what extent is the gothic present in this extract?

2) How does the language used within this extract create meaning and develop character?