FIVE STARS * * * * *
The first book review on my website couldn't be anything other than this, one of my favourite books of all time. The Neverending Story was first published in 1979 and is one of very few books I have read more than once. My first reading of it was as a young teenager and it left a mark on me that's never left. For adventure, tenacity, the unknown, of the bigger picture of life, of the idea of multiple worlds...
Synopsis
When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica - so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that this mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he is the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian overcome the barrier between reality and his imagination in order to save Fantastica?
My thoughts
For me, as a teenager, this book just took me away into another world entirely! It did so much to awaken my young self that there was more to the world than what I was thinking, feeling and experiencing. That there is a greater good in life to work towards. It may sounds melodramatic and intense but I believe we all have these kind of milestones in life and this book was one of them for me.
This beautiful version of the story is coloured in different ink to mark the two worlds through which you're narrated.
This is a story within a story, a coming-of-age, set in a fantasy. Even though fantasy is not my preferred genre to read, this book is phenomenal! I recommend it for every one, from young teens onwards!
About the author
Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende (12 November 1929 – 28 August 1995) was a German writer of fantasy and children's fiction. He is best known for his epic fantasy The Neverending Story; other famous works include Momo and Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver. His works have been translated into more than 40 languages, sold more than 35 million copies, and adapted as motion pictures, stage plays, operas and audio books. Ende is one of the most popular and famous German authors of the 20th century, mostly due to the enormous success of his children's fiction. He was not strictly a children's writer, however, as he wrote books for adults too. Ende's writing could be described as a surreal mixture of reality and fantasy.
Bio from Wikipedia
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