The book, an utterly enchanting romp something like Baum's classic Wizard of Oz but with a sort of steampunk twist that I find irresistible. There's even an umbrella. It's the book in a three part series that don't particularly need chronology to understand what's going on about a girl without magic who becomes cursed by the Wicked Witch of the West becoming an old woman and goes to the notorious Howl, in his moving castle who eats the hearts of beautiful young women, to try and learn how to break the curse. It's whimsical and deep in the same breath.
So the theme I'm loving is the whole, he's beautiful, she's old and ugly, and somehow that makes it possible for true love to blossom.
The movie. While it was utterly enjoyable visually, it lacked a lot of the backstory that made the whole thing rational. That didn't bother me, but it might bother some people. The best part of the movie, hands down, was Lauren Bacall as the Wicked Witch of the West. Absolutely brilliant! I'm so glad she's immortal so I'll never have to live without her (I'm talking about movies, not vampirism. Just to be clear).
I'm going to have to watch it again, and read it again, for the sake of deepening my understanding of the depth that I'm sure I missed the first time around. Definitely a must read/see!
Any fave movie/books that you can recommend? Any worst book/movie adaptations?
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