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Inkheart (Inkheart #1)

by Cornelia Funke

3.80 · rating details · 67,384 ratings · 5,695 reviews

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie has had her father to herself since her mother went away when...more

Paperback, 548 pages

Published June 1st 2005 by Scholastic Inc. (first published 2003)

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Community Reviews

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Jul 08, 2008

Jessica rated it

Shelves: borrowed-from-library, kids

I was very much looking forward to reading this, as it had very good word-of-mouth as a high-quality children's/YA fantasy that adults will also enjoy. And the premise, that characters can exist in the "real world" outside of books, or that real people can enter the world inside a book, is endlessly appealing. However, my local library is on the verge of opening a new wing with my overdue book fines on this, because I keep hanging onto it in the hope that eventually I will be able to f...moreI was very much looking forward to reading this, as it had very good word-of-mouth as a high-quality children's/YA fantasy that adults will also enjoy. And the premise, that characters can exist in the "real world" outside of books, or that real people can enter the world inside a book, is endlessly appealing. However, my local library is on the verge of opening a new wing with my overdue book fines on this, because I keep hanging onto it in the hope that eventually I will be able to finish reading it.

I think it's just not going to happen. First of all, there is something very stilted and anachronistic in the writing, and I can't tell whether that's just Cornelia Funke, or a result of the translation work. Also, the book is simply too long. It takes 150 pages for anything to begin to happen, and that's much too long, even for an adult book. I blame J.K. Rowling for this kind of bloating.

Finally, I'm extremely annoyed by people, whether real or fictional, who pat themselves on the back for loving books. People have loved books for as long as there have been books, and even before books, people loved storytelling and drama. You're not a special kind of intellect for loving books and wordplay. The people in Inkheart are paraded before us as people with an extra special super duper love of books that is so powerful that they can cause the boundary between books and reality to melt. But just carrying around favorite books in a little trunk and bragging you've loved books since you were a baby and could read before you could talk and so forth isn't particularly magical or distinctive or worthy of praise, and I got tired pretty quickly of Meggie and her father and aunt and their extreme reverence for books. Capping it off is Funke's annoying habit of using an epigram from other (mostly fantasy) books for each chapter. If she found those inspiring, fine, stick them on your bulletin board while writing. But they were yet more reason to jump out of the story, rather than having it propel along.(less)

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Mar 11, 2008

Ann rated it

Recommends it for: Fans of great stories and detailed plots and characters

Recommended to Ann by: Katie! Thanks again!:D

Shelves: fantasy, actionadventure, young-adult

What a great story!
This is quite the page-turner! I was driven to read more by both the action/adventure and the plot/conclusion. Both are excellently written! Funke’s style of writing (and indeed the translation made by Anthea Bell) makes for a smooth and beautiful read.
Wonderfully drawn and very detailed characters fill this book from cover to cover, each character being unique and complete. The story is told from multiple viewpoints, which adds another interesting dimension to...more

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May 06, 2008

Dana rated it

Oy... I really wanted to like this book. I had such high hopes for it. It was one of those books that whenever my students saw me reading it they said, "Oh, I really liked that book! It was so good." So, I thought it would be great. It just wasn't. The story was nice. In short (very short): Meggie's father repairs books. Her mother disappeared nine years ago. After a mysterious visitor shows up at their house, Meggie finds out that her father has a secret. He can read characters out of...more

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Oct 18, 2007

Kathryn rated it

Shelves: very-favorites, childrens-picture-books, fantasy-sci-fi

A wonderful, imaginative story. The characters are so vivid, the tale so engaging, the prose so poetic... A glorious tale for anyone who ever dreamed of being transported into the stories she reads, or of having friends from the tales brought into our world!

On her website, author Cornelia Funke says,
"I didn't suspect that this story would grow untill it could fill more than one book. I have dreamed for a long time of writing a story in which characters from a book come i...more

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Aug 03, 2007

Patricia rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Lovers of all things books

Shelves: booksilove, highestrecommendation, childrens, youngadults

This book is everything I ever wanted. It's a book about a book and lovers of books. It's very self-affirming for me. Now I don't feel like a COMPLETE goober for 1) smelling books 2) learning Elvish or 3) bringing at least 5 books with me everywhere I go.

Note: just because I don't FEEL like a complete goober, does not mean I am not one.

"Inkheart" is the first in a trilogy. "Inkspell" is already out, and "Inkdeath" will be out in 2008.

...more

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Feb 26, 2009

Em rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really liked the concept of this book. How many times have I dreamed of being a wizard at hogwarts, or dancing at a ball with Mr. Darcy, or dare I say it, being a Cullen? (just kidding). I did think the writing was a little dis-jointed at times, but maybe that comes from the translation. I also thought that she was extrememly long-winded. So much of the book seemed rather irrelevant to me. It could have been half the length and been just as good.

I also thought some of her characte...moreI really liked the concept of this book. How many times have I dreamed of being a wizard at hogwarts, or dancing at a ball with Mr. Darcy, or dare I say it, being a Cullen? (just kidding). I did think the writing was a little dis-jointed at times, but maybe that comes from the translation. I also thought that she was extrememly long-winded. So much of the book seemed rather irrelevant to me. It could have been half the length and been just as good.

I also thought some of her characters reactions to things were a little unbelievable. Like when Basta finds Pippo and is hauling him around and holding knives to his throat and all the little kid does is cry. Let's talk about tramautic events, and then you hear nothing more about it. It just seemed to me that sometimes she wanted her characters to seem real, with families and loved ones, and then other times they became strictly fictional, reacting to situations like no normal person would react, or like she just forgot about them and wanted to move on with the story. I also though Meggie seemed at lot older than 12. She's definatly more mature than most 12-year-olds I know.
One last note, I thought it funny that she kept saying throughout the whole book how people who read books never think about the authors, or if they do they figure all authors are old and dead.
All in all, a good book. I could definatly relate to their love of books, and when I get older and my kids are gone, I would love to live in a house just like Elinor's, stacked from top to bottom with more books than I could read in a lifetime. I did however think that their reverance for all books was a bit extreme, because what good is a book if you're not going to read it, but just lock it in a glass case. I never really understood the desire to be a "book collector." I'd like to have tons and tons of books, but I don't really mind what condition their in, as long as I can read them :)
I also enjoyed how she put qoutes from other books at the beginning of each of the chapters. Gave me a lot more books to look up and read.(less)

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Apr 02, 2009

Weni rated it

· review of another edition

Kalo kamu bisa memunculkan benda2 atau tokoh2 dari buku yang kamu baca, buku apa yg akan kamu pilih dan apa atau siapa yang akan kamu munculkan?

Mortimer (Mo), ayah Meggie, punya kemampuan ajaib, ia bisa mengeluarkan tokoh2 dari buku yang dibacanya (dibaca dg suara, bukan dlm hati). Kejadiannya sering tanpa sengaja dan awalnya Mo hanya mengeluarkan benda2 mati dari bukunya. Sampai akhirnya 9 thn lalu Mo membacakan Tintenherz untuk sang istri dan tanpa sengaja mengeluarkan Capricorn - ...moreKalo kamu bisa memunculkan benda2 atau tokoh2 dari buku yang kamu baca, buku apa yg akan kamu pilih dan apa atau siapa yang akan kamu munculkan?

Mortimer (Mo), ayah Meggie, punya kemampuan ajaib, ia bisa mengeluarkan tokoh2 dari buku yang dibacanya (dibaca dg suara, bukan dlm hati). Kejadiannya sering tanpa sengaja dan awalnya Mo hanya mengeluarkan benda2 mati dari bukunya. Sampai akhirnya 9 thn lalu Mo membacakan Tintenherz untuk sang istri dan tanpa sengaja mengeluarkan Capricorn - sang tokoh jahat, Basta - tangan kanan Capricorn, serta Staubfinger - si pemain bola api, sementara ibu Meggie masuk ke dalam buku. Sejak itu, Mo tidak mau lagi membacakan buku untuk Meggie, takut anaknya masuk ke dalam buku :D

Petualangan pun dimulai. Capricorn dan anak buahnya terus mengejar Mo dan buku Tintenherz miliknya demi kepentingan jahat. Mo sendiri berusaha menyembunyikan buku itu di rumah Elinor (bibi ibu Meggie) karena ingin mengeluarkan ibu Meggie. Sementara Staubfinger sangat ingin kembali ke dalam buku itu.

Capricorn berhasil menangkap Mo, Meggie dan Elinor, lalu memaksa Mo membaca Pulau Harta Karun dan mengeluarkan harta karunnya. Capricorn sebenarnya punya pembaca lain sbg tawanan selama ini, namanya Darius, tapi Darius blm dpt menyamai Mo sehingga tokoh2 yang keluar dari buku sering tidak sempurna. Stlh mengeluarkan harta karun, Mo dipaksa membaca Kisah 1001 Malam, tapi yang muncul adalah anak muda bernama Farid, sementara salah satu anak buah Capricorn menghilang.

Mo, Meggie, Elinor dan Farid berhasil kabur, berkat bantuan Staubfinger. Buku Tintenherz milik Mo telah dirampas Capricorn dan dibakar. Capricorn memang mencuri dan membakar semua buku Tintenherz yang ada, kecuali satu, agar tidak ada yang bisa mengembalikan dia ke dalam buku. Mo dan Meggie lalu menemui Fenoglio, sang penulis Tintenherz, sedangkan Elinor kembali ke rumah dan mendapati seluruh koleksi bukunya telah diacak2 dan dibakar oleh anak buah Capricorn.

Meggie kembali tertangkap Capricorn, kali ini bersama Fenoglio (yang terkagum2 melihat tokoh2 ciptaannya hidup). Maksudnya sbg umpan agar Mo datang. Tapi ternyata Meggie pun punya kemampuan yang sama. Tanpa sengaja dia mengeluarkan Tinker Bell dari buku Peter Pan. Maka Capricorn pun menyiapkan upacara, dimana Meggie harus membaca Tintenherz dan mengeluarkan anak buah Capricorn yang sangat menakutkan, Sang Bayangan. Sang Bayangan akan bangkit di bawah kaki tuannya dan menunggu tuannya menunjuk mangsa berikutnya. Capricorn menciptakan Sang Bayangan dari abu orang2 yang mati dibakar olehnya.

Bgmn cara Meggie dan Fenoglio mengatasi Sang Bayangan? Bgmn cara Mo dan Farid menyelamatkan Meggie? Dan bgmn nasib ibu Meggie? Baca sendiri bukunya :D

Buku tentang buku. Kisahnya berpusat pada sebuah buku (Tintenherz), tokoh2nya adalah makhluk2 yang keluar dari buku dan para pencinta buku (Mo adalah 'Dokter Buku', Meggie pergi kemana2 selalu membawa kotak berisi buku, Ibu Meggie selalu membaca buku, Elinor adalah kolektor buku).

Buku fantasi yang sangat menarik (menurut saya). Saya pasti akan membeli buku lanjutan Trilogi Inkworld ini dan menonton filmnya (ngomong2 dah maen blm sih filmnya?). Tokoh menarik dalam cerita ini adalah Elinor. Judes, pemarah. Rumahnya digambarkan penuh dg buku. Perpustakaannya luar biasa. Buku adalah anak2nya. Bayangkan perasaannya ketika koleksinya dibakar oleh Capricorn hehe.
Ada percakapan menarik antara Meggie dan Elinor, di rumah Elinor:
"Kenapa seluruh rumah dibiarkan begini gelap?" tanya Meggie.
"Karena aku lebih suka memakai uangku untuk membeli buku daripada membayar biaya listrik yang berlebihan !" jawab Elinor sambil mendelik.

Jadi... buku apa yang akan kamu baca dan siapa yang akan kamu munculkan? hehe(less)

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Feb 08, 2008

Maia rated it

Recommends it for: People against the world domination of FedEx

Shelves: fantasy

Okay, I'm at hundred pages, and I'm like: someone just kill that loser Capricorn, and then FedEx the rest of the gang home! PLEASE! I'll pay Preferred!
It goes like this: go here, go there, go back here, go back there, return to here, and so on...
Also, this story was kind of scary, which doesn't rate high in my book (pun intended).
The idea was excellent, but poorly executed.

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Jul 06, 2008

Richard rated it

A young adult novel, published in Germany and translated to English. River Kikkert recommended this book. A man discovers he has the ability to make people become real when he reads about them aloud from a book. Some villains from another time are brought into this world and they cause great problems .Takes place in modern day Italy in the country side. All the characters are described and given personalities in the book. It would be along the lines of the Lord of the Rings series in terms ...moreA young adult novel, published in Germany and translated to English. River Kikkert recommended this book. A man discovers he has the ability to make people become real when he reads about them aloud from a book. Some villains from another time are brought into this world and they cause great problems .Takes place in modern day Italy in the country side. All the characters are described and given personalities in the book. It would be along the lines of the Lord of the Rings series in terms of tenseness and conflict with villains. A 12 year old girl is one of the lead characters. Very complex story, not a cutsie children’s book; best read by a late teenager. Lots of tense times I “read” the book on audio cassette, unabridged, read by Lynn Redgrave. She does an excellent job in the reading, bringing life to the characters. I would recommend the book and the audio cassettes because of the author’s and Redgrave’s ability to transport me to the scene of action. At one tense moment I actually thought I was watching a movie of the action rather than listening to someone read to me out of a book. The writing and reading were so vivid I finally realize that it was words that were creating the movie in my mind. That is the sign of good author and good reading.

Following are some quotes from the book; taken out of context they seem to be gentle encouragements to read but they were actually at some very tense moments of the book: Again, this is a very tense book.

And one night, when she couldn’t get to sleep, she sat down at the desk in front of her window and began to write while the fairies played in Eleanor’s garden and the trolls rustled in the bushes. For Meggie had a plan. She wanted to learn to make up stories like Finolio. She wanted to learn to fish for words so that she could read aloud to her mother without worrying about who might come out of the stories and look at her with homesick eyes. So Meggie decided words would be her trade. And where better could she learn that trade than in a house full of magical creatures, where fairies built their nests in the garden, and books were put on the shelves by night. As Mo had said, writing stories is a kind of magic, too.
Cornelia Funke from Inkheart

Is there anything in the world better than words on a page. Magic signs. The voices of the dead. Building blocks to make wonderful worlds better than this one. Comforters, companions in loneliness. Keepers of secrets. Speakers of the truth. All those glorious words. Taste every word, . . . savor it on your tongue. Do you taste the colors? Do you taste the wind in the night? The fear and the joy and the love. Taste them and everything will come to life.
Cornelia Funke Extracted and slightly paraphrased from Inkheart

Meggie stroked its binding as she always did before she opened a book. She had seen Mo doing the same. Every since she could remember she had known that movement, the way he would pick up a book, stroke the binding, almost tenderly, then open it as if he were opening a box full to the brim with precious things. Cornelia Funke from Inkheart

(less)

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Aug 20, 2008

Kirsty (Blatant Biblioholic) rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy

Oof... it took me 12 days to finish this book. Not like me at all.

I liked the storyline. I love the fact that it is a book about books, and that is what initially made me want to read it. I read the blurb on the book and it sounded like a really fun read.

I was wrong.

The book was VERY long-winded. Whilst the plotline was good, and the characters were nicely built, the actual story dragged on most of the time. The best part of the book is the last few chapters, ...more

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Jan 20, 2008

Thomas rated it

· review of another edition

Die zugrundeliegende Idee ist toll, leider macht Cornelia Funke dann eigentlich zuwenig daraus. Das Buch liest sich zwar angenehm (gut, es ist ein Kinder- / Jugendbuch, aber trotzdem keinesfall anspruchslos geschrieben), aber von Zeit zu Zeit scheint die Geschichte anzuhalten und die Autorin muss sie dann relativ bemüht wieder in Fahrt bringen.

Trotzdem ein durchaus schönes, empfehlenswertes Buch, wenn man Sinn für intelligente Fantasy hat.

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Feb 24, 2009

bookczuk rated it

Shelves: bookcrossing, books-about-books

My reading soul was battered and bruised, and a friend offered this book to me to help soothe the hurt. A lovely fantasy tale, with just enough villains and heroic folks to keep it balanced. You root for a happy ending and keep reading. Each chapter starts with a quote from a beloved children's classic, so you get to visit old friends on the journey through the story.

A few passages helped assure me how much the author really does love books and all they represent. Meggie, tired a...more

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Mar 01, 2009

Ayu Palar rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Dini Yulianti

Recommended to Ayu by: Tyas Palar

Shelves: children-books

Tentu saja saya mencintai buku, kalau tidak buat apa saya ikut Goodreads? Tapi mempunyai kekuatan seperti Mo, ayah Meggie? Tunggu dulu, kayaknya saya akan berpikir ratusan kali untuk mempunyai kekuatan Lidah Ajaib. Sepertinya menyenangkan ya kalau ketika membaca sebuah buku tokoh-tokoh di dalamnya bisa keluar dan muncul secara fisik di hadapan kita. Kalau yang keluar tokoh yang baik seperti Harry Potter, ya tidak masalah. Tapi kalau yang keluar tokoh antagonis? Oops, di situlah konflik Inkheart ...more

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Oct 24, 2011

AnEyeSpy rated it

Shelves: fantasy, fan

(Rerated to 5* after consideration. One of those books that stick in your brain until you relent to the sequel). The rain drummed; my brain thrummed. I couldn't sleep. I began to read about Meggie, similarly afflicted. Warning: Scary. Very.
"Inkheart" is a tale with fairies, trolls, magic, vicious men who torture. Read aloud by Mo, villains and a victim appear in place of his wife and cats. Years later, evil Capricorn's gang kidnaps Meg, now 12, to blackmail the magician they cal...more(Rerated to 5* after consideration. One of those books that stick in your brain until you relent to the sequel). The rain drummed; my brain thrummed. I couldn't sleep. I began to read about Meggie, similarly afflicted. Warning: Scary. Very.
"Inkheart" is a tale with fairies, trolls, magic, vicious men who torture. Read aloud by Mo, villains and a victim appear in place of his wife and cats. Years later, evil Capricorn's gang kidnaps Meg, now 12, to blackmail the magician they call Silvertongue, for his power. The solution was obvious, but ends incomplete. Smells like sequels, yes ... Inkspell, Inkdeath. I don't know enough German to read the original by Cornelia Funke, so I am unsure of translation problems to English. Lavatory and only a few hours drive to abandoned villages in Italy transport us colonials to the magic world called Britain.
Late, on p427/524 is a possible moral theme, from great-aunt Elinor:
"She had been right. The world was a terrible place, cruel, pitiless, dark as a bad dream. Not a good place to live in. Only in books could you find pity, comfort, happiness - and love. Books loved anyone who opened them, they gave you security and friendship and didn't ask anything in return; they never went away, never, not even when you treated them badly. Love, truth, beauty, wisdom, and consolation against death. Who had said that? ... Words are immortal"
(Anatole Broyard said that in his dislike of "Lending Books" from editor Rabinowitz's collection "A Passion for Books").
Trailers for the '08 movie look smashing, entrancing. Helen Mirren makes Elinor slim, elegant, worldly, not fat, dowdy, reclusive. Can she still steal her precious books? Her 'pebbly' eyes glint like sapphires.
[Spoiler:
Is the moral not to read or write scary books? The grandpa author is banished to his creation, left trapped in the book. The mother remains mute. Elinor's secluded estate is a retreat for dozens of magical creatures who stray out. The literally cut-throat henchman is still here with others.
Daring young thief Farid from Aladdin is more a role model than Meg. She acts like a rebellious antagonistic toddler who rudely endangers others. She suspects Dustfinger, yet naively follows him. Adult parent who keeps secrets and endangers others is normal to me, but not an angry child who selfishly stops everyone's flight for safety to await answers. She mouths off beyond my standard of stalwart to stupid stubborn. She is the fourth generation (at least) to hide in books. How can she suddenly perform publicly, especially pressured by threat of violence? In the '08 movie trailer music video "I cont (sic) keep hiding ... gonna be stronger" she looks 15-17; sudden maturation plausible.]
(less)

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Apr 09, 2008

Xeyra rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-2006, fantasy, young-adult

I first heard about this book during a book swap game. Someone offered it on the game and since I didn't end up with it, it went on my wishlist. It seemed an interesting book and people recommended it, so when this bookring was proposed, I didn't hesitate, despite the mile-long list of bookrings I was already in. I didn't really know much about this book aside from its premise -- never heard of the author before. Well, after reading Inkheart, I'll certainly be adding some more of her titles to m...moreI first heard about this book during a book swap game. Someone offered it on the game and since I didn't end up with it, it went on my wishlist. It seemed an interesting book and people recommended it, so when this bookring was proposed, I didn't hesitate, despite the mile-long list of bookrings I was already in. I didn't really know much about this book aside from its premise -- never heard of the author before. Well, after reading Inkheart, I'll certainly be adding some more of her titles to my wishlist, including its sequel.

I really, really liked this book. The characters were refreshing and you couldn't help but like them (well, those you were supposed to like, that is -- the villains you hated, of course). It does follow a very interesting premise, which mixes reality and make-believe, and even brings in characters from much beloved stories. It's a magical tale that grips you and enchants you as you read it. But it also scares you and keeps you on the edge wanting to discover what's going to happen next, because you really don't want anything bad to happen to these characters, even though bad things do happen with frighteningly frequency.

For a children's book, it's dark. The villains are bad and enjoy inflicting pain, and even if they are not entirely too smart in some cases, they still scare you. In fact, the heroes seem to be in constant danger, which adds to the whole "keeping the reader on the edge" thing: you hardly get any time to breathe in and relax before bad things happen. The characters' fear is portrayed very well, as is their courage when it's necessary, faltering as it may be.

As you can see by my review, I thouroughly enjoyed reading this book. I was not disappointed with it at all, and I had somewhat high expectations towards it after hearing people gush over it.

Of course, not all books are perfect and I didn't quite believe when Meggie recognised a certain someone when they could not even see their face, just because of the color of their hair and the fact that they came from Inkheart. Afterwards, it was more plausible, but at the moment Meggie first saw the woman, I don't think she had enough clues to point her in that direction, but she seemed to have immediately thought of that possibility, which we, the readers, were already aware of by that time.(less)

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Oct 17, 2007

Michelle rated it

Hoo boy did I love this novel. Firstly, it's a book about books and the people who love them. You really can't go wrong starting from there.

For a young adult novel, it has several interesting quirks. Maybe it's because I'm used to reading about American and British heroes and heroines in my YA novels, and this book is translated from the German, but it was a nice change to have a different setting ... from what I could tell, this book takes place mostly in Italy.

And i...more

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Apr 14, 2008

Ankita *************************************** rated it

This book was the best book ever! It reminds me of when I thought I could go into a book by jumping into it (I got that idea from Blues Clues, hey, you can't blame me for being immature!)I literally jumped into one of those encyclopedias (I was looking at the pictures)and ended up getting my mom really mad at me...
Inkheart, however, casts an enchantment upon you that really does pull you into the book to follow Meggie and her friends on a quest to attempt to defeat Capricorn.
Though ...more

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Nov 12, 2008

Claudia rated it

Recommends it for: well read fantasy fans

Recommended to Claudia by: Bri, Kirsten, Alex, Katie...

Shelves: ya-books

What an interesting idea: a book about books, and characters coming to life in the 'real' world. People 'reading' characters into and out of books. What fun to meet Tinkerbell and the Steadfast Tin Soldier. Every character is deeply involved with books in some way. The climactic scene was as full of suspense as any I've read. I think my favorite parts of the book were the exerpts from OTHER books at the beginning of each chapter...Princess Bride, Wind in the Willows, Once and Future King, LOTR. ...more

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Apr 11, 2009

Helna rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: novel, thriller

Judul Buku : Tintenherz: Inkheart
Penulis : Cornelia Funke
Alih Bahasa : Dinyah Latuconsina
Tebal : 535 hal.
Tahun Terbit : Januari 2009
Penerbit : Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Harga : Rp. 58.000,-

Inkheart adalah buku pertama dari Trilogi Inkworld buah karya penulis asal Jerman, Cornelia Funke. Sebelumnya Funke telah menulis Herr Der Diebe (Pangeran Pencuri).

Sembilan tahun yang lalu, saat Mo membaca Tintenherz. Tanpa sengaja ia memunculkan be...more

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Jul 07, 2009

miaaa rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to miaaa by: Roos

Shelves: ophelia-s-library, fairy-haven

I've always imagined what it would be like if the characters from the books I've read, especially those who I like so much, are really alive, flesh and blood and I can enter their world. Like Alice in the Wonderland. Or Harry Potter, oh I'd do anything to enter Hogwarts. I was destined to be a Ravenclaw student!

But Funke offers more than that, what if there's very special people who able to call out characters from books. Who can bring them across the unknown border to our world. If...moreI've always imagined what it would be like if the characters from the books I've read, especially those who I like so much, are really alive, flesh and blood and I can enter their world. Like Alice in the Wonderland. Or Harry Potter, oh I'd do anything to enter Hogwarts. I was destined to be a Ravenclaw student!

But Funke offers more than that, what if there's very special people who able to call out characters from books. Who can bring them across the unknown border to our world. If you expected something great well you have it. Imagine you can hold Tinker Bell, talk to Farid or to the Thin Man! But you should aware that bad characters also included, think of what would you do when he's-the-one-who-should-not-be-named suddenly appear before your eyes and do the unforgiven charm. Think about the nightmares we all will have.

I prefer to have those characters, no matter how amazing they are, stay in their world. I don't want to see another Staubfinger taken to this world of ours. Feeling so sad and lonely all the time because he can't go back to his world. However, we need more amazing authors who are able to narrate us great stories and introduce us to another great characters. Someone like Funke.

***

Keren sekali kalau karakter-karakter favorit kita benar-benar hidup. Katakanlah dunia magis Harry Potter itu nyata, wah senangnya kalau bisa masuk Hogwarts. Kita juga bisa memegang Tinker Bell atau berbicara pada si Manusia Timah. Sayangnya jika kita bisa memanggil karakter-karakter itu keluar dari buku, pasti kita juga entah sengaja atau tidak memanggil karakter-karakter jahat. Bayangkan jika dia-yang-tak-boleh-disebut-namanya, atau orang seperti Basta yang membakar habis buku-buku koleksi tante Elinor muncul di hadapan kita. Itu namanya mimpi buruk yang sepertinya tidak akan pernah berakhir!

Bagiku lebih asyik jika semua karakter itu tetap di dunianya masing-masing. Dunia kita sudah dan sedang mengalami terlalu banyak masalah seperti pilpres, banjir, anak jalanan, koridor transjakarta yang gak berfungsi juga padahal halte sudah jadi dan sekarang menjadi sasaran vandalisme, dan macem-macem masalah lain. Tidak perlu ditambahi lagi kan?(less)

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Dec 07, 2008

Queezle rated it

I have no idea why people like this book. Where is the character developement, the intrigue, the plot? It's like a lump. After I read it, I thought back and couldn't even remember the storyline - it was too jumpy and mumbled. Not a good work of fiction.

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Jan 22, 2009

Rachel rated it

· review of another edition

I have little doubt that Inkheart is a magical read for children. As for myself, I wasn't particularly enchanted and can most simply describe my reaction to this book with a shrug of the shoulders and an indifferent "Ho-hum."

The writing style seemed rather stilted; I got to feel like I was reading the same paragraph over and over, but with different words. This, admittedly, is most likely the fault of the translator, but until I learn to read German, there is not much I ca...more

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Jan 08, 2009

Camille rated it

You know, I saw the movie trailer for this book and was intrigued so I went to the library and picked it up. It was interesting. I liked the idea for the story, but the writing style just was..... tedious. I had a hard time working my way through it. At the beginning of every chapter is a quote from another, more famous, literary work. This detracted from the flow of the story for me. I got pulled out of the story at every quote. I felt like a lot of the plot was left unexplored and under-descri...more

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Jan 04, 2009

Jeanne rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: juvenile

Meggie's father, Mo, has a very special talent: when he reads books aloud, the books come alive. And characters leave the books and enter Mo's world. And vice versa.

There is one very special book, and that is Inkheart. When Mo last read this book aloud, characters left the book, AND Meggie's mother entered the tome. Several characters left the book, including the evil Capricorn and the amusing Dustfinger. And all of these characters know that Mo has a special reading ability....more

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Dec 11, 2008

kaylajojo rated it

HEY i read this book about a year ago. its very good and Dustfinger is my fav character hes hilarious... theres a sequel called Inkspell

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Sep 21, 2011

Chloé rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, adventure, teen-children

Et bien et bien que dire sur Coeur d'Encre ? Que c'est un livre de fantasy jeunesse qui ravira les fana de lecture ? Mais je suppose que vous le savez déjà.

Qui n'a jamais rêver de voir sortir de ses livres préférés ses personnages préférés et de les rencontrer en personne ? Le problème c'est que ce sont parfois les "méchants" qui sortent... et les "gentils" sont nostalgiques de leur monde de papier et seraient prêts à tout pour y retourner. C'est en effet la tram...more

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May 03, 2010

Jillian -always aspiring- rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: disappointing-books, should-have-loved-it-but-didn-t

Okay, let me be fair: Cornelia Funke is a very descriptive writer who has fashioned a fantasy world that should have worked wonders in any reader's mind.

The problem?

I believe it's the characters. Though Funke has written a book about -- of all things! -- stories within stories and the worlds that exist in other books that can be lured out by people who have the special talent of reading characters out of books . . . the characters don't just latch onto you in any way. ...moreOkay, let me be fair: Cornelia Funke is a very descriptive writer who has fashioned a fantasy world that should have worked wonders in any reader's mind.

The problem?

I believe it's the characters. Though Funke has written a book about -- of all things! -- stories within stories and the worlds that exist in other books that can be lured out by people who have the special talent of reading characters out of books . . . the characters don't just latch onto you in any way. Mo's greatest attribute is that he's a father who's willing to do anything he can for his daughter to ensure her safety. Okay, great -- too bad I didn't feel it in the writing. As for Meggie, the "heroine" of the book -- her greatest attribute is that she loves to read. Not very great material to work with in characters.

The only characters I really liked were Dustfinger (who I feel is MAJORLY gypped in terms of character since he's rather exceptional -- not the usual hero whose only traits are good ones) and the author of the book within a book, Inkheart (who seems to offer the only logic in this crazy book world where books can be made real).

And then, despite the plot that's rather intriguing, the ACTUAL plot steps are dragged out to the point where you just want to flip ahead to see what WILL finally happen while you anticipate it and it never comes. Pacing was definitely slow in this book (and it's rather thick for a children's book even though we're post-Harry Potter, the king of thick children's books, but HP had exceptional characters and a plot that never in the least dragged), and that could ruin it for potential readers who want ACTION (and they want it NOW).

The end is anticlimactic -- just setting you up for the sequel to come -- which I still can't see myself reading unless I'm coerced. (My mind may change someday, but I have to get some of Inkheart out of my system first.)

I may want to watch the movie version of this if only to see if I actually care about the characters once they're on screen in flesh and blood. I don't know if it will make a difference, however.(less)

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Jul 15, 2010

Katniss rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, via-audiobook

i wanted to like this book so badly!
i didn't.

first thing to annoy me badly: the names. stupid, silly names. i stumbled across them and well, they just did not fit into the story, they prevented me from liking the characters behind the names and words. i did not care a thing what did or did not happen to them.

meggie and mo are bibliophile. okay. nice. i get it. but don't rub it in that much! i'm not a bad person just because i don't carry a trunk full of books around ...morei wanted to like this book so badly!
i didn't.

first thing to annoy me badly: the names. stupid, silly names. i stumbled across them and well, they just did not fit into the story, they prevented me from liking the characters behind the names and words. i did not care a thing what did or did not happen to them.

meggie and mo are bibliophile. okay. nice. i get it. but don't rub it in that much! i'm not a bad person just because i don't carry a trunk full of books around with me! just because i'm not able to write in elvish! this overpronounced booklove made me sick. it annoyed the hell out me. i guess funke crossed the line between "saying something" and "showing it". now that i think about it: it's like twilight! it's like bella's stupid love for shiny edward. funke did exactly the same thing meyer did in twilight. making the main subject annoy you to death.

moreover: millions of unanswered questions. what happens to the book when a person gets drawn out of it? what happens to the stories? are these people merely copies of themselves and have copies in their original story or are they leaving it completely? how does the original story work if one or more of the main characters are missing? i mean... try imagining harry potter without harry, ron and hermione! would voldemort just stop being himself, stop killing people, would he just wait for them to return, pause the plot? or would the story go on, take on different outcomings or maybe - would it be able to replace the main characters automatically with different characters, ie. luna, neville and ginny? would, or could they finish the story if harry went missing?

funke did not quite think this through and if she did: she didn't show it and i don't think, that this are answer i would be able to get by reading the sequels. which i won't. and creating a believable story means to explain while the plot moves on. i would have wished to know more about that world behind inkheart. funke could have explained that by explaining it to meggie. but meggie doesn't know a thing either. and mo doesn't know. and no one knows how it works, not even a bit about it. and the explaination it being "magic" won't work for me. that would be too easy.

there was also something in the way of funke's writing which annoyed me. it seemed quite too often dusty, old, out of place.

(less)

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Dec 21, 2009

Aths / Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day) rated it

Shelves: 2009, f-fantasy-scifi, fiction, series, favorites, f-general

At the outset, I should say I have been very hesitant to read this book. I was initially interested in the blurb at the back cover of the book, but from the instant I picked the book from the library, I have pretty much been dumping other books on top of it. What put me off? The cover! I guess the illustrator could have done a better job on that, I'm not sure. Or it could just be me. Somehow that magenta-pinkish-red color was repelling me. The book was screaming "fantasy" at me, fantas...moreAt the outset, I should say I have been very hesitant to read this book. I was initially interested in the blurb at the back cover of the book, but from the instant I picked the book from the library, I have pretty much been dumping other books on top of it. What put me off? The cover! I guess the illustrator could have done a better job on that, I'm not sure. Or it could just be me. Somehow that magenta-pinkish-red color was repelling me. The book was screaming "fantasy" at me, fantasy of the school-kid type, though I knew it wasn't, both from the size of the book, and the small-type print.

Anyways, I finally picked this book to read 2 days back, and I have pretty much been reading non-stop for the past few hours, except when I went to sleep and had to attend to the basic necessities of life. Now that I finished it, I would tell anyone who was as repelled by the cover as me to Please Hang on!!!. It is totally worth it.

Sure, it was fantasy, a fantasy composed from all sorts of bookish characters. And sure, it was a sort of HEA. But it was much much more than that. For one thing, it was hardly predictable. For an instant, I expected the characters to do something, and they end up doing the total opposite. For the other, it was a very novel concept, very radical, but very identifiable. If you read the blurb, you probably wondered about the "evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room" part. That's just the beginning. Much as I initially scoffed the idea, I found I was drawn into it the more I read it, and then it made ME WANT to do that, what Meggie's father did.

Another thing I enjoyed a lot is Cornelia's writing. It is really beautiful, and much as I don't enjoy too many descriptive passages and usually just skim them over, this is one time I thoroughly enjoyed that. It was almost poetic.

There is a lot of book worshiping here, and that is another aspect a book-lover will enjoy. The reverence and intense love that some of the characters display, while probably being overkill in today's world, was something I could respect in Inkheart. Heck, the 12 year old kid has even read and liked The Odyssey! I've stayed away from that book for ages now.

I loved most of the characters in the book. Meggie was a sweet and normal girl, not someone shown off as some heroine at 12! Elinor, for all her adamant nature and lack of affection for fellow humans, was quite a darling. I loved her the most. Her frequent complaints and indignant response to being captured and humiliated was very endearing. Next to her, I loved Dustfinger, and for my own selfish reasons, I wanted him to "stay on" (those who read the book will understand what I mean here), though he definitely didn't want that. I thought he was really well-etched out. A coward and a hero rolled into one.

I can't wait to pick the next book in the series! And I recommend this book to all. To be frank, this book really is not the kind I usually read, but I loved it all the same. And I also suggest that you disregard the book cover if you tend to forgo books with unappealing covers!.(less)

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Aug 29, 2009

Darcy rated it

Shelves: ya-fantasy, unowned

This book I couldn't finish the second time around. I read this one before. But now I can't. The book to me was very boring. The plot moves to slow. The book makes me sick. It's very confusing to read. I want to see the movie though because it goes faster than the book. This book contains too much trivia for me. This book doesn't make sense. Perhaps the reason why is because it is a translation. The book was written originally in German than translated to English. Maggie is visited by Dustfinger...more

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Rae I agree it did tend to move a bit slowish. I loved the reading references but it does clock in at about 500 pages (and it kinda feels it). Ack.

...more
Aug 09, 2009 08:20pm

Irina Samuels I agree with you, it kind of went slow, but I also feel that you are missing a few key points of the story. You kindo of have to study the book caref...more
Oct 06, 2009 01:23pm

David You guys are absolutly crazy it was great although it did take a bit to get you hooked but i've read it 3 times and i'm still not tired of it. Plot wa...more
Oct 12, 2009 05:56pm

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did anyone else find this book hard to get through?	45	54	6 hours, 22 min ago
Dustfinger or Farid?	24	96	21 hours, 31 min ago
Favourite Description	8	29	Feb 08, 2012 04:01pm
Does anyone else find this disappointing?	20	115	Jan 02, 2012 09:02pm
No question Just talk .	10	50	Dec 31, 2011 11:32am
I love "Inkheart" and "Harry Potter" -- where do I go now?	83	309	Dec 22, 2011 09:42pm
Harry Potter Alli...: Inkheart Series	1	5	Nov 24, 2011 06:41pm

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About Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Caroline Funke is a multiple award-winning German author of children's and YA fiction. She is best known for her Inkheart trilogy. The Inkheart books have gained a variety of attention, and critics have praised Funke as the "German J. K. Rowling". Her books are very popular in her native country, and many have now been translated into English. Her work fits mainly into the fanta...more

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“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” — 2,646 people liked it

“Books have to be heavy because the whole world's inside them.” — 1,138 people liked it

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