The Never-ending Story (Puffin Books)

Judging from the cover illustration of Bastian Balthazar Bux doing his "King of the World" thing aboard the Luck Dragon, you get the feeling that this is no ordinary fantasy book, and indeed it isn't.

I did get the feeling that some aspects of the story were lost in translation (which is another story altogether), as it has some abrupt swings in tone, the dialogue sometimes seeming clumsy and childish compared to the rest of the book - but that's nitpicking.

This is truly a Neverending Story, most of which springs from the imagination of the unlikely human hero, the aforementioned Master Bux, who steals the titular tome, and flees with it to the safety of his school attic, where he becomes much more than a casual onlooker of the worlds of Fantastica.

Michael Ende's imagination works overtime in creating Fantastica and all its inhabitants, and for each thrilling chapter, he introduces another story to be told at another time.

The main story however, is the metamorphosis of Bastian Bux from a frightened, insecure child, and the new relationship he was able to forge with his father after his great learning adventure.

Be wary in your reading of the adventures of The Childlike Empress, Atreyu, Morla, Ygramul, Falkor, Grograman, Hero Hynreck and Xayide, among others, beware the Nothing, and be careful what you wish for, least you also become a part of the Neverending Story, and forever lose your memories of this life.

Amanda Richards


An excellent story, one that can be read again and again   May 2, 2004
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

It is unfortunate that a movie was made out of this book, because it really takes away from it! This is a wonderful, original story - a boy named Bastian steals a book called "The Neverending Story" from a bookshop and hides himself in the schoolhouse attic to read it. The book he has stolen is about the magical world of Fantastica, a world that is interconnected with its ruler (the Childlike Empress); but she is dying, and Fantastica is dying with her. As he reads on, Bastian gets slowly more and more drawn into the book, until the two worlds begin to overlap...
The style of the book is clever and elegant. It is easy to distinguish the parts set in Fantastica from the parts set in the schoolhouse, for the parts in the schoolhouse are written in italics. The ideas are original (I love the idea of the "nothing" that engulfs Fantastica - you can't even see it properly because there is nothing to see) and nothing else I have ever read rivals it for ingenuity. Though the book is not particularly long, so much happens in it that by the time you reach the end you feel as if you have been reading it for years. The broad outline of the story that I gave only covers the first part of the book, I can't write any more because I don't want to spoil the story. It is also humourous and gives the reader a few things to think about, though not in an obvious way - the morals are there to be picked up if you happen to notice them. It is an absolute classic, and I would unhesitatingly recommend it to anybody who loves a really good fantasy novel. Just please do not watch the movies.


fantasy in its purest form   April 1, 2003
maria
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

this isn't just another fantasy book. this story is all about fantasising- creating a dream world and stepping inside. if you are new to the fantasy genre, than the neverending story is an ideal place to start. forget the film version, it can't compare to the story, emotion and imagination lovingly enclosed within these pages. buy it in hard back and save it for your children and grandchildren. both young and old will be equally enthralled by Bastian Balthazar Bux as he discovers himself to be a unique and valuable person. journey with him through fantasia and his imagination to meet faitytale creatures and see wonders unfold.