* * * *The book that sparked the famous Studio Ghibli movie was one of my childhood reads and after I realised that I knew the film version better than the original I thought that I had better reread it. Despite the same title the book and the film are actually very different stories, both equally good for their respective mediums.
The magical realm is created wonderfully as new magical characters or items are introduced slowly through the narrative. The fact that one of the strongest characters in the book is a fire demon name Calcifer shows how Diana Wynne Jones can deftly combine the normal with the extraordinary.
Diana's story is slightly different, following more characters and resolving things differently.
Personally I felt as though there were too many characters and in the final chapter was quite confused with who all the different people were. I think the writers of the film must have either felt the same way or decided that too many characters would cause the story to extend beyond the traditions 1.5-2 hours for children films. Either way their decision to remove a few unnecessary characters aided the story.
Only having read the first book, although there are 3 more, left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction because it ends quite abruptly. The final chapter contains everything and it becomes very rushed and simply ends. Another chapter or a epilogue, though quite extravagant for a children's book, would be helpful just to ease the reader out of the world.
Although it is a very quick and easy read for most adults and despite the flaws that I can pick in the book it is still a very worthwhile read because of the magnificent story, writing and characters which work together to create an entertaining book deserved of such a great film.
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