Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - El castillo en el aire

Moderate fatphobia and some… very of their times representations of the kind of setting the main character is from. But it’s great to see howl and all the other characters featured in HMC again

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beccaand's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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ireliajellycomb's review against another edition

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adventurous funny slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I don't think this book aged as well as Howl's Moving Castle. I didn't quite find the romantic quest between Abdullah and Flower-in-the-Night as charming, and it was a little jarring to see how the fat nieces were treated. The story made a rather big deal about how Flower-in-the-Night hadn't been fairly treated in not being allowed to choose her own husband, but the nieces were used more like plot tickets used to tidy things up.

Still, the book delivered quite a few funny moments and Abdullah is a clever and quick thinker. I was a lot more invested in the story once Howl and Sophie showed up again, and it was lovely to get an update on them after the events of the previous book. Overall, the book was alright, but didn't wow me. I have higher hopes for my re-read of the last book in this trilogy, which I think I liked a bit better than the middle one when I last read it.

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moonlitmarauder's review against another edition

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3.5

The fatphobia in this book had me going "brother eugh" frequently enough that I had to step away from it more than once. I understand it was published more than 30 years ago, but it's disheartening to see people's value and trustworthiness judged from the offset by weight. Abdullah's culture was very interesting to me as far as the flowery/polite conversation style. I am looking forward to reading the 3rd novel in the series to see if I can just dismiss this as a companion novel to anyone else interested in reading it.

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h_elene's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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midsummernoodle's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

I like a lot of things about this book. It is a fun companion to Howl’s Moving Castle, and the fairy tale adventures are satisfying. However, I think reading this book requires a critical lens. There is, unfortunately, some pretty explicit fat phobia/fat-shaming in the book, as well as some orientalism tropes. Not Diana Wynne Jones’s best work, and not necessary to read before you start House of Many Ways.

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evieissleepy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

While I love the other two books in this trilogy, I didn't like this one as much. There's some unnecessary fatphobia and while the misogyny feels fitting for the world it's in, it left a bad taste in my mouth. The story is very fun to follow and I did love the plot. Can't say I was a fan of the main character, though. Fun plot twists at the end!

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tristrams's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.5

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