House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Title: House of Many Ways

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Series: Howl's Castle

Date Read: January 12^th

On TBR for: 83 days

Format: Physical book

Source: Bought

Challenges: 2012 Outdo Yourself, Off the Shelf 2012, What's in a Name 5



In the last of the Howl's Castle series of books, we start with Charmain, a bookish 14 year old, who gets volunteered by her great-aunt to take care of her distant great-uncle William's house. Well, magical house. Charmain is a respectable young lady (read: sheltered and spoiled) and, as such, she doesn't know how to do much besides reading a lot, and eating a lot of pasties. That includes washing clothes and dishes, and goes as far as making tea.

Luckily for her, the house is indeed magical, and does provide for her meals, and she has always her Uncle's recorded instructions, that help her navigate around the house and help solve some mishaps. Did I mention it is a magical house? Well, it is. From the outside it looks small, but turn left instead of right at a doorway, and you'll find yourself in a completely different room, or building.

To add to the joy, in comes Peter, great-uncle William's new apprentice that he didn't know about, and who doesn't know his master isn't home. Peter, unlike Charmain, does know how to do things around the house, which should have come as a relief, if he didn't botch every magic attempt. And there were a lot of attempts.

And, as one job isn't good enough for bookwork Charmain, she writes to the King to tell him she would like to help him and his daughter organize the Royal Library. I do understand the girl, of course, a library is such a wonderful place to work when you love books.

But there is something missing here, isn't it? Of course, it would fit the series if Howl and Co. weren't there. And they are. Sophie is helping the King with his financial and magical problems, and Morgan and Calcifer come along, of course. And Howl, because he couldn't bear to be left behind. So he appears in his most adorable form ever (I'm not telling what it is, though it's easy to see when reading the book).

And so, Charmain has some adventures with magic, kobolds and lubbocks, manages not to destroy a house or kill her housemate, while getting herself a puppy.

Did I like this book? Hell, yeah! It was a rollercoaster of fun, but that was to be expected. It's Diana Wynne Jones, after all. But I did like it more than Castle in the Air, probably because of Howl. But Charmain was also a reason – incompetent as she was in household tasks, she is a bookworm, so I can find no fault in her (well, I am able to overlook most faults). I loved reading her adventures and misadventures, and if there was a lot of fun on the Castle scenes with the regular cast, her interactions with Peter were really great.

Had there been more books to this series, I would have read them. As it is, I will treasure these three forever.


Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Other Reviews: Cuidado com o Dálmata

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Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

Castle in the Air

Castle in the Air is a sequel to companion to book set in the same world as book written by Diana Wynne Jones where Howl also appears. I loved Howl's Moving Castle, so I really was expecting more of the same in this book. And I really shouldn't have because this book is not about Howl, and he is not even important to the story.

This book is about Abdullah, a carpet merchant on the distant land of Zanzib. A disappointment to his father, and with a prophecy made at his birth that he knows nothing about, Abdullah is quite happy living in his booth at the edge of the Bazaar and spending his days daydreaming (and occasionally selling carpets). Everything is fine until a merchant sells him a magic carpet. Soon all his daydreams start to come true.

While reading this book, I spent most of the time trying to figure out how it related to Howl's Moving Castle. Every new character that appeared had me thinking “Is this Howl in disguise?”, “Where's Sophie?” and so on. Which, as expected, takes some of the fun out of reading.

Castle in the Air is quite a good story, and stands very well in its own. Yes, Howl and Co. do appear (eventually), but this book is about Abdullah. He is quite a wonderful character, that I can't help but relate to (it must be all those daydreams). And all the other characters that appear throughout the novel are so funny, each very different (and that means something when there about 30 princesses in there).

If I started this book with expectations of a story with the characters from the first book, by the time one of them finally appeared I only wanted to know about these new amazing characters.

Like its predecessor, this book has its fill of funny (and silly) moments, without ever sacrificing the story to humour. But, unlike Howl's Moving Castle, the inspiration for Castle in the Air comes from Arabian folklore and myths, giving it a Arabian Nights (or Aladdin) feel to it.

This is a good book, one that I feel that everyone should read – young and adult readers alike.


(4/5)

Other Reviews: Libri Touches

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Howl's Moving Castle


Howl's Moving Castle is one of those classics that I only discovered when the movie came along. Pity, really, because I could (should) have read it sooner. It's a brilliant story, full of adventure and humour. It is also a love story, but you don't realize it till the end.

Howl's Moving Castle is the story of Sophie, the eldest sister, who is destined to be the least accomplished of all, and to have a (very) dull life. So she believes. After being cursed by the Witch of the Waste, turned into an old woman, she sets off from her home and finds herself seeking shelter in the castle of the “evil” wizard Howl, known for stealing girls' hearts. And then the adventures begin.

Although the story of Howl's Moving Castle is very good, what I really love about it are the characters, that are truly wonderful.

Howl, with all his vanity and drama queen behaviour, seems quite shallow at first, but, deep inside, is a very good person and quite intriguing. And his temper tantrums are the best, with green slime oozing out of him just to spite Sophie off.

Sophie, suddenly transformed into an old lady is very vocal and nosey. It's amazing how she acted as being 90 years old, like she had lived enough to be able to complain about everything, and be entitled to boss all the “youngsters” around, yet still shows some adolescent traits, like the way she thinks that it's not fair that she looks 90 being so young, and that the Witch of the Waste which is an old hag looks young and elegant.

Calcifer, my favourite, is a fire demon, bound by a contract with Howl, in charge of moving the castle (besides providing, begrudgingly, hot water and fire for cooking). He is the one that convinces Sophie to stay, enlisting her to break his contract with Howl, while he promises to break her curse.

I read Howl's Moving Castle after seeing Miyazaki's versionof the story. And although I truly love that movie, the book is indubitably better (as it always is). But as such, most of the plot was known to me, and I already knew which characters would be important. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. If at first the story seems to be exactly the same in the book and in the anime, soon there are little details in the story that enrich it, give depth to the characters (for example, the inclusion of Wales in Howl's world. Usually the appearance of “real” places into an otherwise fantasy world makes me cringe, look at the book with distaste and ponder never to pick it up again; in Howl's Moving Castle I found it fitting).

So, Howl's Moving Castle is going to be one of those books that I will never part with, reread until the pages are worn, and recommend to everyone I know.

(5/5)