Diana Wynne Jones, in this installment of the Howl series, draws inspiration from the atmosphere of the Arabian Nights, creating the character Abdullah, a carpet merchant who spends his dull time in daydreams filled with movement, colors, scents, and good fortune! Although this part was published four years after Howl’s Moving Castle, we travel through time with it, just as Abdullah does on his magic carpet, to live in the enchanting world of the nights filled with jinn and blue spirits, and the wishes granted by the genie with great effort!

The author doesn’t forget what she started in the first part about failure. Abdullah, much like Sophie, believes in his bad luck, and thus resorts to daydreams, filling them with everything he couldn’t attain in real life.

The title suggests dreams that do not come true due to lack of a firm foundation, like a castle hanging in the air. But Abdullah’s dreams took him far, as he suddenly transitions from the desert world to the atmosphere of Ingary, Howl’s land.

During this journey, Abdullah changes, just as Sophie did before, striving diligently to turn daydreams into a vibrant reality filled with movement, colors, scents, and good fortune!

Each journey becomes a step towards happiness, transforming each dream into a building block. Who said dreams don't build castles?