I like this book.
The book revolves around Sophie a young woman who is doomed to be the elder of three sisters, and everyone knows that the oldest sibling while be the sister who fails the most and hardest like in all of the fairy tales. Haunted by this fate she is doomed to inherit her father's hat shop and run it for the rest of her life.
This all changes when the Witch of the Waste turns Sophie into an old lady when she (the witch) thinks that Sophie is a competing sorceress.
Sophie leaves home right away to seek her fortune and ends up in Howl's moving castle as the cleaning lady, embarking on a crazy adventure.
I like Diana Wynn Jones for the most part. The only thing that gets me is her apparently random jumps from the fantasy world she has created to the known world. It kind of ruins the mood for me. I get into the fantasy world and allow everything to believable, then she slaps you with Wales or Modern Day Britain. It kinda throws off my groove. I think I like it when the story starts in the known world then descends into the fantasy world, like Harry Potter or Charlie Bone. But that is more personal preference.
I do like that not everything is revealed until the end, and that it is truly told by the point of view of one character (Sophie). Overall I liked it though! The characters were interesting, and Howl really seems like a horrible, heartless flirt.
The movie was really very well done. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese films, but I really like this one. It is definitely worth a shot! So read it and let me know what you think!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Wow.
I mean wow.
Megan Whalen Turner is talented. Somehow she manages to write an entire book without revealing the true intentions of the main characters until the very end, but it still all makes sense.
The King of Attolia is actually the third book in the trilogy, preceded by The Thief, and The Queen of Attolia. I really enjoy these books but The King of Attolia is my favorite.
They are set in a Greece-like setting and are full of politics and intrigues. When I first grabbed The Thief off the shelves at the library, I didn't really have any idea what it was about. At first I was a little disappointed, but in the end Turners unusual style of story-telling is captivating. The Thief is written in first-person narrative, but you still don't know all of what that character is thinking or even who they are. By the end of the book the narrator reveals some character traits that he has kept hidden from everyone, including the reader! In a way, it describes the personality of the narrator even more, hooking the reader on for the sequel.
In every book, the main character, Gen, manages to beguile the reader, even when he isn't the narrator. His actions are shrouded in secrecy, especially when they appear to be open and above board to the reader, making it a fascinating read all around.
Now, I know I haven't given much plot background, but I'm afraid of giving anything away. Just go read it!!
Warning: These are political fantasies....so if you don't really enjoy reading fantasies about government policies and intrigues, you might not enjoy it...I like that kind of thing, especially when it is written the way Turner does!
I mean wow.
Megan Whalen Turner is talented. Somehow she manages to write an entire book without revealing the true intentions of the main characters until the very end, but it still all makes sense.
The King of Attolia is actually the third book in the trilogy, preceded by The Thief, and The Queen of Attolia. I really enjoy these books but The King of Attolia is my favorite.
They are set in a Greece-like setting and are full of politics and intrigues. When I first grabbed The Thief off the shelves at the library, I didn't really have any idea what it was about. At first I was a little disappointed, but in the end Turners unusual style of story-telling is captivating. The Thief is written in first-person narrative, but you still don't know all of what that character is thinking or even who they are. By the end of the book the narrator reveals some character traits that he has kept hidden from everyone, including the reader! In a way, it describes the personality of the narrator even more, hooking the reader on for the sequel.
In every book, the main character, Gen, manages to beguile the reader, even when he isn't the narrator. His actions are shrouded in secrecy, especially when they appear to be open and above board to the reader, making it a fascinating read all around.
Now, I know I haven't given much plot background, but I'm afraid of giving anything away. Just go read it!!
Warning: These are political fantasies....so if you don't really enjoy reading fantasies about government policies and intrigues, you might not enjoy it...I like that kind of thing, especially when it is written the way Turner does!
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