2020 EDIT: I read 'The Neverending Story' in two days. It's as wonderful and imaginative a fantasy book as on my first read, if not better on my second. It is fantasy beyond words and other forms of human expression. It is truly beyond this world.
As well as the power of imagination, this magnanimous masterpiece also expounds a lot about human nature, and how it can come to its own self-destruction; through greed, apathy, entitlement, and power for its own sake. Emptiness, ego, no satisfaction no matter what, and no love - these destroy civilisations.
This story would work phenomenally as a TV miniseries. It is such a charming and, dare I say, relevant epic.
Currently, 'The Neverending Story' is my favourite book ever.
Read my original review for more detail.
Final Score: 5/5
Original Review:
It's books like 'The Neverending Story' that make me love fantasy. It's 'The Neverending Story' that defines the meaning of fantasy, and turns it on its head in a way that's out-of-this-world. Literally. It's not just for children, but for adults looking for a philosophical analysis on why some people just love the fantasy genre and don't want to let it go even after growing up.
'The Neverending Story' has so many layers to its world, and so much depth to its well-thought-out themes about why childhood and reading are important. It is written in such a truly magical way that I could believe Michael Ende really was a wizard from a world like Fantastica - sent on a mission to help us to understand. To love stories. To be as creative as he was. Basically, this book within a book, with all its amazing depth, is about the most vital and growing progression in humanity: imagination.
So much imagination is at work in 'The Neverending Story', I simply don't know where to begin. It's charming and clever from page 1.
Bastion Balthazar Bux is your normal and relatable young protagonist who is bullied at school and hates it. What he loves more than anything in the world is reading. And when he hides in a book shop called Carl Conrad Coreander Old Books, he sees a book with the title "The Neverending Story". He can't resist. He takes it from the shop owner and ends up hiding all day in his school's attic to read it. With the power of his imagination and passion for stories, he is inadvertently helping the world of Fantastica, the "fictional" world the mysterious book is set in.
Once he grasps that the fate of Fantastica - and hence the realm of human imagination - is in his hands, will he have the courage to rise to such a challenge? Will his decision to help the characters - who he grew to care for in the book - make him come out of his insecure shell?
With the power to imagine comes the power to wish, and with the power to wish for anything comes a price. Will his wishes in his new life in Fantastica end up destroying everything he once was? And will he destroy the world - the one in which he himself created, in his own way - that he once loved?
All after stealing one special book.
Like 'The Shadow of the Wind' and 'The Book Thief', 'The Neverending Story' is a book for book lovers. Its author knew the power of stories and how they shape us.
You won't believe how much I enjoyed this reading experience, how much I felt and thought. I wondered open-mouthed at the concept of the light and dark sides of imagination; what this story about stories shows us. I never thought a piece of fiction could make me this expressive and passionate about fantasy, and make me believe in so many things. The world is beautiful, humanity is beautiful.
Hugely creative - from the settings, creatures, and the colourful characters such as Atreyu, Falkor and the Childlike Empress. It is one of those rare fantasy novels where not only does the worldbuilding work - after all, fantasy worlds have to have grounded and consistent rules - but it is wholly believable. Fantastica is all at once a dream, a nightmare, and reality; depending on how we imagine it as we read 'The Neverending Story'.
If there is one negative I have to say about it though, it's that it may ruin your view of the movie version, which is a nostalgic favourite for many. It only covers the first half of the book (I'm not going to talk about the sequels here). The novel has more depth in terms of fairy tale and myth deconstructing. I am sad to find that because of the film - which, don't get me wrong, is good in its own right - not a lot of people have even heard of the book, or they just don't want to give it a try. 'The Neverending Story' teaches us the importance of reading - adding to the sadness of its unfortunate obscurity.
'The Neverending Story' is a true fantasy, and a true epic. I cannot recommend it enough, whether you saw the film or not. The book is, and always has been, its own thing to behold.
Final Score: 5/5
Other reviews:
'A rich, enjoyable read... drawing in the most potent elements of fairytale, myth and invented fantasy' - Observer
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