Thought Train to Pusan

A magical little journey that was delightful but also didn't quite have the teeth for me to really sink in with it. I am of course familiar with Hayao Miyazaki's movie version of Howl's Moving Castle , but heard that the novel was quite different. And it is in some ways, but also follows a similar plot in others. It really is fun and delightful, and not too serious which was great for me to read through at work while in the midst of some personal issues. But there was something missing here which prevented me from truly loving it... Howl's Moving Castle deals with a young woman named Sophie, who has conceded that as the eldest of three daughters, her life is not meant to be special, as based on some strange idea or old-wives-tale perpetuated where she is from (at least, I have never heard of this before?). But of course, a curse from a witch leads her to suddenly become an old woman, and she decides that it's a great time to leave her life behind, and perhaps f...