The Sword and Laser discussion

To say I’ve read this book before is a bit of an understatement. I’ve read it dozens of times and it’s probably my favourite book EVAH - certainly the book I turn to whenever I’m in need of a comfort read. I discovered it in my local library when I was about 9 or 10 and immediately fell in love with the world and the characters (in a fairly literal way- Howl was my first literary crush!).

The whole concept of the moving castle is enchanting, even- or especially- after you see the inside of the illusion. The fire demon Calcifer is both charmingly crotchety and genuinely otherworldly. All the details of the world are just ...The enchanted suit! The scarecrow! The hats! It’s all just so... magical. Yet also strangely down-to-earth - the no-nonsense way Sophie does magic is brilliant. It has some of the Terry Pratchett quality of “what if you lived somewhere that was actually governed by fairytale logic?” but DWJ is a more emotional and lyrical writer than Pratchett, less concerned with jokes and philosophy and more concerned with poetry and romance and the sheer joy of magic.

And the best bit is the reveal that Howl is actually from the magical land of (view spoiler)[ Wales. The scenes where Sophie tries to make sense of the very ordinary (to us) scenes of suburban Wales in the 1980s (down to Howl’s fancy clothes becoming a “Welsh Rugby” tracksuit) are hilarious and yet also reveal something oddly profound - anything can be beautiful and strange if you look at it in a certain way. (hide spoiler)]

Anyway, that probably wasn’t terribly coherent, but hey, don’t mind me, I’m just here to squee.

Too bad the SF Squeecast podcast is no more. You would be a good guest.

Tamahome wrote: "Too bad the SF Squeecast podcast is no more. You would be a good guest."

Um, thanks I think?

I absolutely love this book as well. The whole trilogy is one I can drop everything to read at anytime.
The Studio Ghibli version is enchanting in a different way, but one of my favorite films as well.
Squee all you want to Ruth!

Ruth wrote: "To say I’ve read this book before is a bit of an understatement. I’ve read it dozens of times and it’s probably my favourite book EVAH - certainly the book I turn to whenever I’m in need of a comfo..."

I love when we have a champion of a pick!