Dave's book review for Howl's Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Pages: 448
Finished reading: 2026-05-26
Back to my books page for more reviews, etc.
My Review
My reading journal tells me I previously read this book in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and now 2026. That’s five readings over the course of a decade. All of these were out loud as a bedtime story to my kids.
There’s a reason this book keeps coming back out. It’s pure magic. The characters, the world building, the magic system, the mystery, the sheer power of Diana Wynne Jones’s storytelling ability. It’s all here.
We’re big fans of Studio Ghibli in this house and Miyazaki’s take on Howl’s Moving Castle is right up there with Porco Rosso, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki’s Delivery Service. There’s tons of great things in the book that are not in the movie. But there are also a few really great things in the movie that are not from the book. It’s one of those handful of cases where I love them both despite all of their differences. (But if I had to pick, I’d take the book.)
I think I might finally have all of the plot threads and twists in this story figured out. But perhaps not. And I definitely do not have all of the mysteries solved.
For those who’ve read the book, I thought it would be neat to include the entire poem by John Donne (1571-1631) here:
Song: Go and catch a falling star
by John Donne
Go and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root,
Tell me where all past years are,
Or who cleft the devil's foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy's stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind.
If thou be'st born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return'st, wilt tell me,
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear,
No where
Lives a woman true, and fair.
If thou find'st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet;
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet;
Though she were true, when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.
Song even has its own Wikipedia entry:
If you’ve already read the book or don’t mind possible spoilers, check out author Sharon X Wong’s page about the book’s use of the poem: