The Neverending Story
by Michael Ende
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael EndeBrand: Dutton
Translator: Ralph Manheim
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1997-03-01
ISBN: 0525457585
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780525457589
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Book Reviews of The Neverending Story
Book Review: A Letter for School I wrote to Michael Ende
Summary: 5 Stars
Dear Michael Ende,
Since I was a child, the video's made of your classic book had always been the building block of every dream and fantasy I had. I remember sitting home at the age of Six in front of my TV, captured by The Neverending Story. Now, as a teenager, I have read the actual book, and I fully appreciate the movie for its gifts to me as a child, but in all truthfulness, the book itself it's simply a piece of art, which in no way can ever be captured in film; to me it is a gateway to one's own imagination, and you just provide the storyline for the reader.
When I read your book for the first time, I did not set it down once. I read the full 445 pages from start to end hanging on every last word. There are so many aspects of life which I find utterly boring, and most of the time I find most books quite plain. But to me, your "creation" or "masterpiece" which I consider quite amazing, seems to literally be a book written from the dreams of children, stories we had not heart of yet in nursery rhymes, or old folk tales long forgotten. I felt as if I were in every scene in the story, living the adventure as if it were my own. Your main character's Bastian and Atreyu seemed to make up the person I was. Bastian being a shy, timid boy, and Atreyu being a strong, confident worrier. I felt a connection with both of the characters, which helped me relate to your book much more and the choices the characters made during their adventures.
As a child, I did not have many friends. No siblings, and no neighbors to play with; watching your movies and reading your book was a way for me to get to have my own adventures as a child. I did not have imaginary friends, but I did imagine myself quite often as if I were in your stories, how the people would talk to me, different things I would do. For example, I would love to get to sit down and talk to some of the characters, asking them about their lives, and where they had been.
There were many times in the story you started to trail off into side stories, but ended them by saying "But that is another story and will be told another time". You only wrote one book, so was that you way of giving the reader his or her own power of imagination to think of what the story could possibly be? Or were you planning on writing a sequel to the story, and never got the time?
Out of curiosity of your life, I read your biography. Wondering perhaps, were you an only child, whose dreams and fantasies later ended up on the pages of The Neverending Story? Because it is not everyday that the ordinary person creates such an abstract story as the one you wrote. Come to find, you were an only child growing up in Germany during the Holocaust, with parents who did not get along. At times I feel as if I dislike my own family life, but to think of yours and how you must have dealt with things makes me appreciate the love my family has. I can imagine you sitting at home, playing with your toys thinking of adventures inside your head, which you're ultimately never forgot. The Neverending Story must have been a long growing story within your mind, which had accumulated bits and parts through your life. As a child, you were said to have many pets, which you're later had play main parts in your book. Also, you were said to be fascinated with the Dr.Doolittle books; was that the inspiration you had to create your story and characters? It quite surprised me to realize that many of the scenes and characters within your book have a deeper connection than just fantasy to you. One of the main characters, Bastian, was actually portrayed from a childhood friend of yours who died? Was the fact that you loved horseback riding was possibly a key to why Atreyu was a skilled horseback rider? There are many questions I have had in my mind about your story since I was a child. They are endless in my mind, but the one that never ends (no pun intended) is how one person can create such a vivid story within their own mind, and somehow put in into words powerful enough for others to see what you saw.
Even today at the age of Sixteen, I wish with my full heart that if even in a dream, somehow, I could experience the adventure your created. To ride on the back of Falkor, to sit with the children in Silver City, or to lie at night and count the stars in the forest of Perlin. All this may seem very childish and young, but to me the story is still as real as it was when I was six years old. I am still captivated by every detail of your story, and there are still many aspects of it, which I have yet to understand fully.
I have heard of you being called a philosopher in the past. Much like how Einstein or Franklin were men deeply compassionate with science and society, you were in a sense the "philosopher" of the imagination and mind. Some may just view you as a children's book author, but I believe only the unimaginative would say that. It is very hard for me to see how anyone could possibly not agree with the fact that The Neverending Story is a literary masterpiece. It seems to engulf the whole view of childhood fantasy in one, and can bring out the child in anyone who sits down to read it.
Looking back, when I was younger you story kept me company when I did not have friends to spend my time with. I was consumed with the plot, the storyline, the characters, and every detail you put into it. Ten years later, although I am it seems a different person, it keeps the same connection with me as it did ten years ago. I am still captivated by the beauty and imagery in every page you wrote. The most magnificent part of your book was in Chapter XIII when you described Perlin, The Night Forest. "Soon the velvety darkness all around Bastian and Moon Child, over and under them on every side, was filled with rapidly growing luminous plants. A globe of radiant colors, a new luminous world hovered in the Nowhere, and grew and grew. And its innermost center Bastian and Moon Child sat hand in hand, looking around them with their eyes of wonder." This small piece of work only shows a tiny example of your gift. Passages like these fill my mind with colors and images so vivid even I forget where I am, and at times I even feel like I have "fallen" into the book, and am experiencing it all first hand.
You may never comprehend the extent of that of The Neverending Story. I wish it were a book every child was made to read. I personally have lost count at how many times I have read your book. That doesn't seem surprising to me though, for my copy of the book is literally falling apart. Yet, on a rainy day at home, instead of reaching for my brand new hard cover books, I always pick up my warn, tattered copy of The Neverending Story, because no matter how many times I read it, it always seem to have more stories and new adventures every time I do. So in a sense, to me, and hopefully others, your book is in fact, The Neverending Story.
Sincerely and with Much Love,
Cassie
e-mail: geminifemmeqt@aol.com
Summary of The Neverending Story
Bastian embarks on a wild adventure when he enters the magical world of Fantastica, a doomed land filled with dragons, giants, and monsters, and risks his life to save Fantastica by going on a very dangerous quest.Classics by Age Books
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