Howl's Moving Castle

by Diana Wynne Jones, Kristin Atherton (narrator)

Genres: Audiobook, Fantasy
Pages: -2
Rating:

Synopsis:

In the land of Ingary, where seven league boots and cloaks of invisibility do exist, Sophie Hatter catches the unwelcome attention of the Witch of the Waste and is put under a spell.

Deciding she has nothing more to lose, she makes her way to the moving castle that hovers on the hills above Market Chipping. But the castle belongs to the dreaded Wizard Howl whose appetite, they say, is satisfied only by the souls of young girls... There she meets Michael, Howl's apprentice, and Calcifer the Fire Demon, with whom she agrees a pact.

But Sophie isn't the only one under a curse - her entanglements with Calcifer, Howl, and Michael, and her quest to break her curse is both gripping - and howlingly funny!

This is a review more of the audiobook (narrated by Kristin Atherton) than of Diana Wynne Jones’ Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s a book I love very much, even though I saw the (very different) Studio Ghibli animation first. I love all the touches that show very clearly that Howl is Welsh in more than name: the rugby jersey, “Sosban fach”, etc. I enjoy the relationship between Howl and Sophie, and the way the real Howl is slowly revealed.

In the audiobook, Kristin Atherton does a great job. She does all the voices (though one or two come out sounding much the same — inevitable, really), and she does a Welsh accent for Howl and his family which is recognisable without being ridiculously exaggerated. The emotions of the characters come across perfectly, and the narration is lively when it ought to be. I kept wanting to keep listening, which is a little rare for me — often with audiobooks I get fidgety.

It’s really well done, and I really want to try more audiobooks narrated by Kristin Atherton. Luckily, looks like there are one or two in my collection already!

Rating: 5/5