سوفی گفت: «مرده است؟» صدایی در ذهنش گفت: «اما او که تا یه ساعت پیش زنده بود! مرگ همین است. مردم زنده‌اند و ناگهان می‌میرند!»

اوه، نمی‌دونم چی بگم و چی بنویسم. اول از همه از ایده‌ی فوق‌العاده‌ی کتاب شروع می‌کنم. ایده‌ای که واقعاً نو و تازه است و درگیر کلیشه‌هایی نشده که توی بسیاری از داستان‌ها دیدم. یک قلعه‌ی متحرک که چند در داشته باشه و هر کدوم به یک سرزمین و حتی یک زمان دیگه باز بشه!

در مورد داستان: با اینکه نثر بسیار ساده‌ای داره ولی عجیب دلنشینه. اتفاق‌ها با سرعت منطقی رخ می‌دن و جالب اینکه همون‌طور که پشت کتاب می‌خونید هیچ‌چیز توی داستان بی‌دلیل و بی‌مورد نیست! همه‌چیز مثل قطعات پازل هستن که به هم ربط پیدا می‌کنن. حتی اون کلاه‌هایی که سوفی اول داستان باهاشون حرف می‌زنه.

طنزهای کلامی و موقعیت داستان عالیه. شما با یک گروه فوق‌العاده طرف هستید. یک جادوگر پرحرف که خیلی به ظاهرش می‌رسه و بیشتر اوقاتش رو توی حموم سپری می‌کنه. به‌خاطر اشتباه سوفی که باعث شد رنگ موهاش تغییر کنه، خونه رو پر از ژله‌ی سبز می‌کنه در‌حالی‌‌که برای سوتی‌های خیلی‌خیلی بزرگ‌تر سوفی واکنش وحشتناکی نشون نمی‌ده. یک دستیار جادوگر عاشق‌پیشه که می‌خواد به هر نحوی جلوی ولخرجی‌های استادش رو بگیره. یک شیطونک آتش با حرف‌های وقت و بی‌وقتش و شیطنت‌های خاص خودش و یک پیرزن کله‌خراب که کار خودش رو می‌کنه و اکثراً خراب کاری می‌کنه. کل‌کل‌های سوفی، هاول، مایکل و کلسیفر خیلی خیلی خوب از آب در اومده.

با وجود اینکه باید هاول رو تا آخر داستان یک آدم بدجنس به شمار بیاریم، ولی چیزهایی توی وجودش هست که نمی‌شه اون رو دوست نداشت. هاول از فقرا پول نمی‌گیره، با سوفی خیلی خیلی مهربونه و با کلسیفر هم رفتار دوستانه‌ای داره . هاول همون‌طور که سوفی در اولین برخورد با اون گفت واقعاً آدم باوقاریه.

نقطه‌ی قوت دیگه‌ی داستان دیالوگ‌های خیلی خوبشه. با اینکه شاید داستان ساده به نظر بیاد، جای جای داستان دیالوگ‌هایی وجود داره که آدم رو به فکر فرو می‌بره.

اتفاقات غیرمنتظره‌ی خیلی زیادی توی داستان می‌افته! از جابه‌جایی دوتا خواهر سوفی بگیر تا اون فصلی که هاول به سرزمینی می‌ره که واقعاً از اونجا اومده!

گرچه ترجمه‌ی داستان آن‌چنان خوب نبود و خیلی جاها علائم نگارشی رعایت نشده بود و به نظر می‌اومد قبل از اینکه داستان چاپ بشه ویراستاری نشده، ایده‌ی داستان و روندش اون‌قدر خوب بود که بشه از این ضعف، که به ناشر ایرانی برمی‌گرده نه خود داستان، چشم‌پوشی کرد.

باید بگم این کتاب رفت توی لیست محبوب‌هام.

قلعه‌ی متحرک هاول از اون داستان‌هاست که حالتون رو خوب میکنه و قابلیت این رو داره که هر چند وقت یک بار دوباره خونده بشه.

مطمئنم دلم برای سوفی، هاول، مایکل و کلسیفر تنگ می‌شه.

پ. ن: با تشکر از این دو عزیز (۱ و ۲) که این کتاب رو برای خوندن به‌نحوی به من معرفی کردند.

Haulov pokretni zamak je izuzetno kreativna i šarena bajka koja čitaoce ne ostavlja ravnodušnim. Glavni likovi su izuzetno maštoviti i trodimenzionalni, a pejzaži kojima lutamo zajedno sa njima poprilično živopisni.
Čitaoci na momente mogu predvideti neke stvari, ali to ni u kom slučaju ne može da naruži lepotu ovog romana.
Dajem čistu peticu Haulovom pokretnom zamku, a na listu stavljam nastavak.
Šteta je što roman nije nešto naročito promovisan i popularizovan u Srbiji i što je tek nekih dvadeset godina nakon nastanka dobio svoj prevod.

Delightful a'f, I don't know what more you could want in a whimsical fantasy

-This book will appeal to every age group and gender.
-It's simple yet extremely well plotted
-You can read it in one sitting!
-Doesn't rely on tropes at all, it's its own original story
-You will feel joy throughout the entire book
I highly recommend this.

so whimsical i actually really enjoyed this. this book is perfect for end of summer when you’re ready for fall but it’s still really hot outside but also rainy (very specific i know). i was shocked at how different it is from the movie but i think it was done so well and i just really unexpectedly enjoyed this idk. howl is boyfriendism fr

One of the best fantasies, and a clever mystery besides. Read it, for probably the 10th time, but this time I read it aloud to my 7yo. He loved it, though I did have to explain a few things. I would love a Calcifer of my own.

2020: read this beautifully illustrated edition to all three kids, who loved it. (Of course.) One of the best books of all time? Indeed.

SO FREAKING GOOD! Why did I wait so long to dive into this?

Howl's Moving Castle was a delight to read. This whole world, where magic is taken advantage of instantly piqued my interest. I wanted to know more about this place and everything in it. After meeting Sophie, the MC, I thought she was okay. However, her character definitely grew on me more with each chapter that I read.

It was interesting how Sophie knew her sisters would have more amazing lives than herself. Which kind of made me sad.. because she was an interesting character. I did, however, wish she would break out of her shell a lot more often because shy people tend to drive me bonkers.

The world building in this book was amazing. Then there's the characters, whether they were weird or not, they were enjoyable. Sophie's character definitely grows throughout this book. Towards the end, she is nowhere near the type of girl she was in the beginning - which made her a lot more likable in my eyes! Then there's Howl, who intrigued and creeped me out all at the same time. He also loves to break hearts because he can't seem to find the one girl for him. He's the typical bad boy that just needs to be tamed. Eventually.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting from start to finish and I'm mentally kicking myself for waiting this long to dive into. I definitely need the next book soon.

I love this so much I need to lay down and think about everything first... RTC

8th reread: December 2021 (audiobook format)

7th read? 8th read? Who even knows. XD So worth it. <3

6th reread, April 4, 2019

Still the BEST. <333

5th read (March 2017)

THIS BOOK THOUGH.
HOWL.
AND MICHAEL AND SOPHIE AND CALCIFER.
AND ALL OF IT.
^____^
<3333333333

4th reading -- read aloud (May 6 2016)

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY A REASON WHY THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK.

I LOVE IT SO MUCH.

WORDS DO NOT SUFFICE.

<33333333333333


***

Re-reading, third time to read: (April 10, 2015)

This is probably my second favorite book ever.

(And anyone who knows how much I love The Lord of the Rings will know how extreme that is.)

This was my third time reading it and I love it more each time.

It makes me happy and is hilarious and perfect and I love all the characters and the plot and the brilliant and witty writing and the humor and the colorfulness and the fantasy and the fairytale bits.

Howl is one of my favorite characters of all time.

That ending left me in a happy glow of book love. I'm in the clouds right now, indescribably happy.

I cannot adequately express my love for this book.

Howl's Moving Castle is perfect.

This is going to be a quick review because I don't want to waste any more time on this book. I honestly can't believe the high ratings this has! The characters are whiney, self-centered and unlikable. There was no character development, I didn't care what happened to anyone and I could not find a point to the story. The whole thing was monotonous, uneventful and extremely dull. Here is an example of how repetitive the story was:
"If Sophie had cared to look, she would have seen..."
"If Sophie had had any attention to spare, she would have seen..."
"If Sophie had been attending, she would have seen..."
and, just for a change of pace:
"If Sophie or Howl had had any attention to spare, they might have noticed..."
All in the last *4* pages of the book! No joke!! I won't even mention the endless amount of mending Sophie does, or how often we have to hear about Howl visiting girls and all Michael ever does is work on a spell and we have to hear about Calcifer's flames continuously. That is basically the whole story in a nutshell.
It should not have taken me almost a week to read this - I had no desire to pick it up again. To sum it up, I found it to be completely stupid.

Howl’s Moving Castle was recommended to me by one of my friends. It’s her favorite book, so I knew I had to read it.

Sophie is the eldest daughter, so she knows she’ll have the worse of everything of her and her two siblings. Eldest children are always unlucky. So when their stepmother keeps Sophie at home to work at the hat shop and sends her sisters to become apprentices, Sophie isn’t surprised. What IS surprising is when the Witch of the Waste shows up and curses Sophie into an old woman. Sophie leaves and ends up at Howl’s moving castle, where the Wizard Howl lives.

ACTUAL RATING: 4.5 Stars

I loved the whimsical writing. A lot of the events in the book were pretty unique and contributed to Jones’ style. The world Sophie lives in is pretty close to a fairytale.

The book went relatively quick, but for me it felt a lot slower than I believe it really is, because my mom and I read it together.

I was a little surprised as the story progressed, because I saw the book was labeled a romance and it didn’t really have any romantic elements. It wasn’t exactly described to me as a romance, either, but I came into this book relatively blind so I didn’t know what to expect. Anyway, I thought it was pretty clear from the beginning who Sophie was supposed to end up with, but nothing romantic happens until the very end of the book. I’m not complaining about the this; I think it works really well. However, it’s not a typical romance novel by any means.

Honestly, I’ve waited so long to review this that I don’t remember much more about it. I do remember how impressed I was. This book is very cute and very fun. Actually, I read it for the “optimistic speculative fiction” square for book bingo. So, if you’re looking for something easy to read and a good pick-me-up, I can guarantee Howl’s Moving Castle is the book for you.

I am so pleased to say I loved this book!

This was exactly what I needed to read right now. My year thus far has been full of more serious books with heavy content, but this was a perfect balance of fantastical and lighthearted.

Sophie and her two sisters work in a hat shop with only their stepmother for company since the unfortunate death of their father. Being the eldest of three, she has accepted that she is destined for a life of utter mediocrity.

When the infamous Witch of the Waste curses Sophie into the body of an elderly woman, she accidentally finds herself in the middle of an adventure that is anything but mediocre.

I just want to say that I do not usually enjoy Middle Grade Fantasy.

There is normally an odd quality to the writing style of Middle Grade. It's crammed full of ridiculous scenarios that end up feeling like it's just a competition of who can be the weirdest.

I can see why others enjoy this, but it's generally not my style. Especially The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I just couldn't get into that book to save my life, so I generally stay away from this genre except on recommendation.

n  BUT THIS!n

Cutest. Book. Ever.

Sophie is such a delightful character. I loved watching her deal with the craziness in this book! She's clever with a kind heart, and a wonderful role model for children.

I also really enjoyed all of the secondary characters in this book, it was totally a cast of kooks. Calcifer and Howl had me laughing out loud, and even little Michael gave me a cackle now and again!

In this case, the strange writing really played to the story's advantage. It was just odd enough give me that whimsical, spellbound feeling.

I would recommend this for people of all ages! It absolutely meets the goal it sets out to achieve. I am very excited to watch Miyazaki's movie adaption now that I've read the novel.

Buddy read this with my girl Celeste!

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3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)

“I'm dying of boredom,” Howl said pathetically. “Or maybe just dying.”

Like many, I fell in love with Studio Ghibli's adaptation of this novel. I consider it a personal favourite and have watched it many times. So once I learnt that it was ‘loosely’ based on a book, I was eager to get my hands on it. For some reason or other however it took me a few years to actually to do so (this was my oldest book on my TBR shelf).
From the first pages I became absorbed by Diana Wynne Jones' playful writing. The way in which she blends together magic and humour is simply enchanting. Although some of the plot and characters felt familiar, there is a sardonic tone that is entirely missing from Ghibli's version.
The narrative follows Sophie as she embarks on a fantastical romp. There is comedy, drama, and an abundance of absurdities. Sophie, the oldest of three, believes there is only one path for her...she is proven wrong when she is stripped of her youth. It was fun to see the way in which old age allows her to be 'more' of herself. For one, she is a lot more confident...and she happens to be quite headstrong.
The banter between Howl and Sophie was highly entertaining. Their very different personalities clash time and again with often hilarious consequences. Whereas Sophie has a rather serious disposition, Howl's is one of the most overdramatic characters I've read about:

“I feel ill,” he announced. “I'm going to bed, where I may die.”

There is also a metafictional aspect to this novel that adds a layer of amusing self-awareness to the storyline and to its use and subversion of genre conventions, and it brought to mind authors such as Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling.
Towards the end, the weirdness did get to me a little...but perhaps a second reading would make things clearer.
Overall, Howl's Moving Castle is a delightfully magical read that is lighthearted and fun and makes me want to read more by Diana Wynne Jones.