Howl's Moving Castle | Plot Summary

Howl's Moving Castle Overview

Howl's Moving Castle is, on the surface at least, a fast-paced romantic romp through a familiar fairy tale landscape populated by witches and warlocks, shapeshifting characters, fire demons, and magic castles. All of these conventional elements are highly entertaining in themselves, as one may expect; however, they are also critical components of the intricate, humorous plotting for which Jones is famous. It is a measure of Jones's great talent that they are furthermore essential components of her theme, for she employs these customary accouterments of fantasy in such a way as to make readers question their own preconceived notions about such serious topics as selfidentity and self-expectation, the personal and social relevance of age, and the many faces and meanings of love.

The author places this entire mixture into yet another familiar context, that of the battle between good and evil, which is expressed here as a struggle...
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