House of Many Ways

[marycatelli]

House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

A sequel not only to Howl's Moving Castle but to Castle In the Air as well.  It lists only the first on the front cover.  Gee, I wonder why?  

(I note that the movie does a lot of twists and turns and adding and deleting from the book -- but there are still points in it that I don't think would make sense without my having read the book first.)

But, like Castle In the Air, this book has a different main character:  Charmain, suddenly recruited to look after her Great-Uncle Norland's house.  Her magician great-uncle.  And the bits from the other books float in later, and I think the book is intelligible even if you read it as a stand-alone.  (Still, you miss some interesting allusions.)

So we have his house, and the kobolds, and Charmain's attempt to go work for the king, and the lubbock. . . .

I think it's not quite as neat in tying up the plot as the first two, but it's still a fun read.

Comments

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Is it just me, or does DWJ seem to have decided that Howl's character quirks are lovable, while Sophie's are annoying? I was very cross at Castle in the Air.

On a silly git note, I kept wanting to leap into the page and correct Charmain's name.

[marycatelli]

I didn't notice that about the quirks.

Though I can sympathesize with the royal tendency to call Charmain Charming. . . .