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Momo

4.25 of 5 stars 4.25 · rating details · 12,023 ratings · 591 reviews

Momo lebt am Rande einer Großstadt in den Ruinen eines Amphitheaters. Sie besitzt nichts als das, was sie findet oder was man ihr schenkt, und eine außergewöhnliche Gabe: Sie hat immer Zeit und ist eine wunderbare Zuhörerin. Eines Tages treten die grauen Herren auf den Plan. Sie haben es auf die kostbare Lebenszeit der Menschen abgesehen und Momo ist die Einzige, die ihnen...more

Paperback, 304 pages

Published December 31st 1999 by Thienemann (first published 1973)

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Best German Authors

4th out of 247 books — 223 voters

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

Best German Children Literature

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Aug 25, 2010 Harun Harahap rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: punya, anak-hingga-remaja, fiksi, terjemahan

Pertama kali mendengar kata “Momo” adalah ketika saya berusia dibawah sepuluh tahun. Kata itu disebutkan oleh tante saya yang baru pulang dari Ambon. “Momo” yang Ia katakan berarti sebutan untuk sejenis hantu atau setan di Ambon. Sejak saat itu mengendaplah kata “Momo” di otak saya dan terasosiasikan dengan hantu. Hingga akhirnya saya mendengar “Momo’ digunakan untuk panggilan adik kecilku.

“Momo” adalah tokoh utama dari sebuah buku yang berjudul sama dengan namanya. Kelebihan dari “Momo” adalah...more Pertama kali mendengar kata “Momo” adalah ketika saya berusia dibawah sepuluh tahun. Kata itu disebutkan oleh tante saya yang baru pulang dari Ambon. “Momo” yang Ia katakan berarti sebutan untuk sejenis hantu atau setan di Ambon. Sejak saat itu mengendaplah kata “Momo” di otak saya dan terasosiasikan dengan hantu. Hingga akhirnya saya mendengar “Momo’ digunakan untuk panggilan adik kecilku.

“Momo” adalah tokoh utama dari sebuah buku yang berjudul sama dengan namanya. Kelebihan dari “Momo” adalah mendengarkan. Tidak istimewa? Menurut saya sangat istimewa. Kita selalu membutuhkan orang lain untuk mendengarkan kebahagiaan apalagi keluh kesah. Senang rasanya jika seseorang bisa mendengarkan kita dengan sepenuh hati.

“Momo” dengan mata hitamnya yang besar menatap dengan sungguh wajah kita saat mendengarkan. Ia memberikan waktunya untuk benar-benar mendengarkan ocehan kita yang selalu ia anggap penting. Sering rasanya kita mendengarkan orang lain tidak dengan sungguh-sungguh, terkadang kita mendengarkan orang lain sambil mengerjakan suatu hal lain. HIngga tercetuslah sebuah ungkapan “masuk kuping kanan keluar kuping kiri’ yang berarti asal lewat saja tanpa mengendap.

Dengan didengarkan, kita merasa diri kita diakui dan dihargai. Terkadang bukan nasihat atau tanggapan yang kita perlukan saat berkeluh kesah kepada orang lain. Kita hanya butuh didengarkan, melepaskan apa yang memberatkan hati.

Petualangan “Momo” di buku ini diceritakan begitu seru dan mengandung pesan yang baik. Pesannya adalah bagaimana kita menghargai waktu dengan sebaik-baiknya. Bukan dengan cara mengartikan waktu sebagai uang tapi waktu sebagai milik kita sendiri. Ungkapan “waktu adalah uang” tersebut membuat banyak manusia berkutat dengan kehidupan yang menjemukan. Karena hanya uang, uang, dan uang yang diutamakan dalam hidupnya.

Kesibukan mencari uang melupakan diri kita kepada keluarga dan teman-teman. Kegiatan mengunjungi orang tua atau berkumpul dengan teman dianggap sebuah kesia-siaan. Bersenang-senang menjadi hal yang sulit untuk dilakukan dan canda tawa menjadi suatu hal yang jarang ditemukan. Semua hidup sendiri-sendiri tanpa tegur sapa dan ramah tamah.

“Momo” berusaha untuk merubah itu semua. Berhasilkah ia? Yuk kit abaca buku ini, sebelumnya saya berikan teka-teki yah seperti yanga da di dalam buku ini:

”DI suatu rumah tinggal tiga bersaudara, namun tampang mereka tiada serupa, ketika mau membedakan mereka bertiga, maka yang satu menjadi mirip yang dua. SI Sulung sedang tidak ada, dia baru mau pulang ke rumah. SI tengah sedang tidak ada, rupanya dia pergi sudah. Di rumah hanya si Bungsu yang ada, sebab takkan ada yang dua tanpa dia. Tetapi si Bungsu yang dimaksud oleh kita, ada hanya karena si Sulung jadi si nomor dua. Dan setiap kali kita memandangnya, yang tampak selalu salah satu kakak. Sekarang katakanlah apakah yang tiga itu hanya satu? Atau hanya dua? Atau malah sama sekali tidaka da? Jika kau sanggup menyebut nama mereka, kau akan mengenali tiga raja yang sangat berkuasa. Kerajaan besar mereka perintah bersama-yangs ekaligus merupakan jati diri mereka.”

“Apa yang dimaksud dengan kerajaan besar yang diperintah oleh mereka bertiga, yang sekaligus merupakan jati diri mereka?”
(less)

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Jan 24, 2013 Simona Bartolotta rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-and-co, classici

«Quando sei nata?»
Momo ci pensò un po' su e infine disse: «Se mi ricordo bene, ci sono sempre stata».

Riguardo un'introduzione: Se c'è una cosa che io ho amato sempre, sin da bambina, sono le storie. I miei giocattoli preferiti erano le bambole, perché le loro vite le inventavo io; mi piacevano anche i cartoni animati che davano in televisione, mini racconti di dieci minuti da divorare tra una pappetta e l'altra. Quello che amavo di più, però, erano i film d'animazione, in primis quelli della Di...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Anastasia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporanei, biblioteca-civica, germania

4.5/5

Questa è una storia che bisognerà raccontare ai propri figli. Primo esperimento con Michael Endel ben riuscito, La storia infinita entra ufficialmente nella lunga lista dei libri da leggere.
Il messaggio che racchiude Momo non è una scoperta per me, anzi, è un concetto ormai ben radicato nella testolina, però è stata un'avventura piacevolissima comunque. Ed è comunque un messaggio importante da trasmettere ai bambini, che sicuramente adorerebbero questa storia. Ende sicuramente è perfetto p...more

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Aug 08, 2007 Kara Maia Spencer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA & Adults

Momo is a classic story that is known as a children's book, yet I believe that adults may even glean more from its reading than younger folk. Momo is written by Michael Ende, the author who is most known in the US for having written The Neverending Story. When I was younger, and my mother ran an independent children's bookstore, she ordered a case of this book, and gave a copy to all of her friends and colleagues.

This is a modern day fairytale, about a little girl named Momo, who moves into a ru...more Momo is a classic story that is known as a children's book, yet I believe that adults may even glean more from its reading than younger folk. Momo is written by Michael Ende, the author who is most known in the US for having written The Neverending Story. When I was younger, and my mother ran an independent children's bookstore, she ordered a case of this book, and gave a copy to all of her friends and colleagues.

This is a modern day fairytale, about a little girl named Momo, who moves into a ruined amphitheater on the edge of a Italian-style town. She is a remarkable individual, who lives in poverty, yet her life is rich with friendship and love. Momo has a unique skill of deep listening. Soon all the villagers learn that when they are not getting along they should "go and see Momo". Through Momo's friendship, her friends find peace, community, and creativity. Her gift of listening to them until the truth unveils itself brings her to be surrounded by many friends who bring her food, tell her stories, and help care for her in her adopted home.

Life changes quickly in the village, when the Men in Gray infiltrate their life, hypnotizing people to save time. In their Time Saving Banks, they steal people's time, and smoke it in gray cigars that they are never seen without. Yet, no one remembers ever seeing the Men in Gray, except Momo, who cannot be hypnotized by the lures of timesaving because she is content with being who she is and loves to spend time with her friends. Eventually, everyone is entrapped by the Men in Gray, and only Momo can save them.

Even Momo's two best friends, Guido the Guide and Bebbo Roadsweeper, have been seduced by the Men in Gray. Luckily, she has help from two new friends Cassiopeia, a tortoise who can see precisely half-an-hour into the future and can spell words across her shell to communicate, and Professor Secundus Minutus Hora, who is the steward of the universal source of time.

This is an incredibly magical story which I dare not tell you more of lest I ruin the story for you. You must read Momo for yourself. (less)

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Apr 20, 2007 Dane rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of lighthearted literature

Shelves: fiction-read

You cannot, repeat: cannot, go into this book with the expectations of "hard," realist fiction. Then again, if you know anything about Michael Ende (the author of the Never Ending Story), you won't.

Momo is one of those rare books that would do well in a fourth-grade classes, but is also strangely releveant to adults. The story centers around a girl named Momo who took residence in an ancient, abandoned amphitheater in an unnamed town, which is populated by a series of people who do small-town jo...more

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Feb 04, 2011 anca dc rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

O poveste simpla, spusa pe limbajul copiiilor, despre valuarea timpului si hotii de timp.

La început nu prea bagi de seama. Într-o buna zi nu mai ai chef sa faci nimic. Nimic nu te mai intereseaza, esti plictisit. Iar indispozitia nu dispare, se statorniceste si creste mereu. Se înrautateste de la o zi la alta, de la o saptamîna la alta. Te simti tot mai prost dispus, tot mai gol pe dinauntru, tot mai nemultumit cu sine si cu lumea întreaga. Pe urma treptat dispare chiar si acest sentiment si nu...more

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May 05, 2007 fanny golvano rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: a todo el mundo

Este libro te demuestra la complejidad de la vida a traves de las de la aparente simplicidad de un cuento de niños, es sin duda uno de mis libros favoritos, mi padre me lo leia todos los dias cuando era pequeña.

Su importancia radica en la naturalidad del la historia y la metafora que imprime , es totalmente extrapolable a la realidad actual.

Los hombres grises existen sin duda, nos absorben nuestro tiempo y nadie es consciente de esto solo los niños que todavia utilizan su imaginacion, son capace...more

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Oct 09, 2008 Bunny rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People of any age who never have time for anything

Recommended to Bunny by: Meltha

Shelves: read-in-08

Recommended to me by Meltha, one of the smartest people I know, who has a great love for most of the things I love. How could I resist?

10/9 - Why? Why isn't this required reading in schools all over the damn place? Why haven't I heard of this? Why hasn't it been made into a movie like NES?

WHY?????

::ahem::

This book is WONDERFUL! And for the first time since I started keeping my nose in a book 14 hours a day (a girl's gotta sleep), people asked what I was reading, and I had so much fun telling th...more

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Aug 09, 2007 winda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fave

this book, is one of those stuff where they featured kid as the main character but the idea and story itself bullseye the heart of the adult. If you know what i mean ;)

children will probably understand and later on implement the idea of 'not losing time' when they grow up, if they still remember the story. But that is 'when' and 'if'. But the adult, when they read this, they've passed the 'when' and 'if' already. It implies to them so much, heavily.

value the time you're having.
value the time yo...more

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May 19, 2013 Tonari rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Michael Ende denuncia in questa favola moderna la frenesia del mondo di oggi, nel quale si insegue sempre non si sa che a scapito del tempo da dedicare a s�� stessi e ai propri cari.
La storia �� scritta bene e offre un affascinante vista del cuore degli uomini secondo Ende, ma non sono completamente d'accordo con la morale che presenta.

In primo luogo l'autore sembra quasi volerci dire che "si stava meglio quando si stava peggio" e questo �� un modo di pensare di cui diffido sempre, in secondo lu

...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Franco Vite rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: libri-per-ragazzi, fantasy

Con Ende si entra in quella situazione per cui un grandissimo scrittore - ripeto, un grandissimo scrittore - rimane ai margini della "critica" (sempre che questo sia un male...), per il banalissimo e cretinissimo motivo che scrive romanzi e racconti per ragazzi. O almeno, perché i suoi romanzi e racconti sono etichettati in quel modo.

Ende - a mio avviso - scrive romanzi e racconti bellissimi - tragici, tremendi, crudeli, illuminanti, toccanti, intelligenti, deliziosi, sensibili, divertenti - che

...more

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Jan 10, 2009 Jervine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Buku yang alurnya lambaaaattttt sekali. Bayangkan!! Q membutuhkan waktu berminggu2 untuk menyelesaikannya (gara2 alur lambat, jadi kerasa membosankan).

Sebagai bandingan aja, q nyelesein Looking for Alibrandi hanya ± 4 jam. Padahal ukuran buku sama, ukuran font sama, halamannya lebih tebel beberapa halaman (agak g ngaruh jg sih), full text (Momo ada beberapa halaman yang isinya gambar), n yang signifikan kualitas kertas lebih jelek (Alibrandi buram, Momo putih) dan ini biasanya sangat mempengaruh...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Chantal Hintze rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was first introduced to Momo as a child through watching the movie: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091537/?... . Unfortunately, the memory of it as gloomy and dominated by the scary Men in Grey lingered with me and did not encourage me to pick up the book. Luckily, I came across it on a friend’s bookshelf recently and decided to give it another shot. And boy, am I happy that I did!

Although classified as a children’s book, I think it is much more relevant to an adult readership. First published...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Mel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century-fiction, childrens, german, translation

For Valentine's day Bill bought me an English translation of Momo by Michael Ende (Who is famous for The Never Ending Story). We bought a German copy while we were in Berlin on our honeymoon and Bill read the German and thought that I'd really like it. For some reason the chapter titles were shortened for the English translation, which was not as good and it also didn't have the nice illustrations, but the actual text seemed to be translated okay. It really encourage me to practice my German so...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Lucia rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I was 10 I was shown a movie entitled 'Momo'. I remember there was this little orphan with an 'unruly mop of jet-black hair' and everything was kind of grey. I also remember that the film was about time.

Three good reasons to embrace the adventure of reading this book, written by the author of 'The Neverending Story', Michael Ende, and published for the first time in 1973 in Germany.

No-one knows Momo's age. She lives by herself in an little room under the ancient amphitheater at the edge of...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Loaned to me by a friend. I was interested to find out that this author also wrote the Neverending Story, and is German.

This book, like another reviewer said, is readable by fourth graders and adults alike. I would have liked this book if I'd read it as a child, and as an adult, I feel like the author sends a still very relevant message about how time comes from the human heart, and time spent with friends, thinking about life, love, and taking things slow, do not have to mean time wasted. This...more

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Jul 02, 2012 D.M. Dutcher rated it 3 of 5 stars

One day, in a ruined amphitheatre on the edge of a quiet town, a girl named Momo arrives. She's a wild little girl, wearing a man's jacket and a dress made up almost entirely of patches. She makes a home there, and soon becomes the soul of the town. People listen to her, and in listening discover answers and stories that were always there, hidden deep inside themselves.

But then the gray men appeared. They preach a gospel of saving time, and soon everyone in the town becomes hard, rushed, and los...more One day, in a ruined amphitheatre on the edge of a quiet town, a girl named Momo arrives. She's a wild little girl, wearing a man's jacket and a dress made up almost entirely of patches. She makes a home there, and soon becomes the soul of the town. People listen to her, and in listening discover answers and stories that were always there, hidden deep inside themselves.

But then the gray men appeared. They preach a gospel of saving time, and soon everyone in the town becomes hard, rushed, and loses the simple happiness in life they once have. Only Momo remains to stop them. Can a little girl whose only power is to listen stop a cosmic threat?

If you love vivid imagery in writing, you will love this book. I don't understand why no one has filmed it, because there are too many beautiful images and situations that a filmmaker like Miyazaki could translate. Reading it, I could see Momo in the ruins of an ancient theatre, or the sadness of Guido. You could feel the cold, chilling frost of the gray men's presence.

At heart, Momo is a fable about how the rush to embrace timesaving can kill people inside. The reason why I can't rate the book higher is that the analogy itself is both too old for kids, and too sparse for adults, though adults will get the most out of it. It also breaks down a bit at the end of the book. I'm not sure who Momo represents, for one. Is she a mirror that people look into to see themselves, a manifestation of their souls, or wisdom personified? The grey men come into being, but Ende isn't too clear on how or why, and the ending is rushed, as another reviewer has said. It's still a good fable, but for adults there's some minor inconsistency in the analogy that reduces its power.

It will still hammer adult readers, though. The book hits home too much for comfort. Child Depots, where children are warehoused because the adults are too busy saving time are scarily close to modern day care centers. The sad fate of one of the characters who gets exactly what he thought he wanted only to despair of it tears at you, and the whole atmosphere of the grey men's world is sometimes eerily similar to modern life. However, I'm not sure what a child would get out of it, or if it would strike them with the same impact. The awareness of time in many ways is not a childlike attribute; as a child, I remember a drive that seemed to take forever which now takes five minutes. The idea of wasted time is an adult thing, as Ende shows in the book, and an adult creation. The children succumb only at the end. I'm not sure how much of the analogy of the book would come through.

Still, it's a lovely book to read and think on. The inconsistency of the analogy made me choose thre stars over four, but definitely read the book once. (less)

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Apr 30, 2012 J.S. Kitololo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another book I loved! An amazing, whimsy tale about a little girl, it can only classify as a fantasy, and a parable.
An amazing Michael Ende literary achievement, Momo tells the story of a little girl by the same name, in an undefined European country at an undefined time in recent history. Starting with her arrival in a cosy town, it details the unraveling of the town's social threads after the arrival and subsequent popularity of the 'Time Bank' an organisation where you can save time!
While it...more

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Apr 06, 2012 Anna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fairy-tastic-tales, favourites, philosophical-thinking

A fairy tale of a novel, 'Momo' is the kind of book you can read as a child and live in another universe of childishness, or you can read it as a teenager and find it deeper than you had thought possible, or you can read it as an adult - which I will do and then see what I'll gain from it then. It is one of my all-time-favourites, not only because you can read it at whatever your age, but also because the story contains so much understanding of human beings in a

'Momo' is a story about time (and...more A fairy tale of a novel, 'Momo' is the kind of book you can read as a child and live in another universe of childishness, or you can read it as a teenager and find it deeper than you had thought possible, or you can read it as an adult - which I will do and then see what I'll gain from it then. It is one of my all-time-favourites, not only because you can read it at whatever your age, but also because the story contains so much understanding of human beings in a

'Momo' is a story about time (and literally, time): Time taken, time stolen, time spend and time left. It is set in a peaceful little town, probably like most other towns, with a population of caring parents, workers, imaginative children, siblings and everyday life. One day the little girl Momo arrives to town, dressed in a man's coat that is way too big for her, and she has this incredible gift - the ability to listen to the people around her. Soon she becomes everybody's friend, and the citizens end up "adopting" her.
However, some time later the "grey men", who steal time and burn it in their little grey cigars, arrive in town and everything changes; suddenly all adults in the city have no time for their children, no time for peace, the town turns grey and industrious and the children are left alone. Unlike most others, Momo refuses to give up her own time and follows an unusual turtle, Cassiopeia, to a place where time is born, to save the town and its people.

The heroine, Momo, possesses many of the qualities a traditional heroine should be capable of: Determination, bravery and individuality. On the other hand, she is but a child left alone and taken care of by people have offered their hearts, and a child who wants to give back the love she has received.

In my opinion, the most incredible thing about this story is the sharpness in the message - it calls on us to stop (yes, take some TIME and STOP) and think about what is really important in our world and in our hearts. And decide who's in charge of it.(less)

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Dec 13, 2011 Annisa Anggiana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children, favorites, terjemahan

“Those who still think that listening isn’t an art should see if they can do it half as well.”

Tadi pagi kebangunan jam 2 dan tiba-tiba pengen baca ulang salah satu my best book of all time, Momo by Michael Ende. Udah lama banget punya buku ini dan sampai sekarang ceritanya masih berkesan. Kenapa saya pengen baca ulang buku ini? Mungkin karena memang akhir-akhir ini susah sekali mencari orang yang mau mendengar, betul-betul mendengar apa yang kita ceritakan. Everyone is to bussy with their own li...more “Those who still think that listening isn’t an art should see if they can do it half as well.”

Tadi pagi kebangunan jam 2 dan tiba-tiba pengen baca ulang salah satu my best book of all time, Momo by Michael Ende. Udah lama banget punya buku ini dan sampai sekarang ceritanya masih berkesan. Kenapa saya pengen baca ulang buku ini? Mungkin karena memang akhir-akhir ini susah sekali mencari orang yang mau mendengar, betul-betul mendengar apa yang kita ceritakan. Everyone is to bussy with their own life they seldom notice that their friend/relatives need to be listened to.

Momo adalah seorang anak perempuan kecil misterius yang tiba-tiba saja muncul di amphiteater kota. Tidak butuh waktu lama bagi Momo untuk menjadi kesayangan seluruh penduduk kota. Mengapa bisa demikian? Karena Momo adalah seorang pendengar yang baik. Momo betul-betul mendengarkan dengan sabar dan penuh perhatian cerita setiap orang. Setelah bercerita pada Momo, setiap orang selalu merasa lebih baik dan seringkali menemukan sendiri solusi atas permasalahannya. Sekarang, setiap kali ada penduduk kota yang sedang merasa bermasalah, ungkapan “Ayo coba cari Momo!” menjadi sesuatu yang biasa di kota tesebut.

Sampai suatu ketika keadaan mulai berubah ketika para laki-laki berstelan abu-abu mulai berkeliaran di seluruh penjuru kota. Mereka menawarkan kepada para penduduk untuk menyimpan waktu di bank. As absurd as it may sound, banyak penduduk kota yang termakan oleh bujukan para tuan abu-abu. Setelah itu suasana kota yang hangat mulai berubah karena setiap orang jadi tidak memiliki waktu untuk orang lain dan sibuk dengan dirinya sendiri. Alih-alih mendengarkan cerita anak-anak mereka, para orang tua membelikan mereka mainan-mainan mahal agar bisa menghemat waktu mereka.

Momo memperhatikan perubahan tersebut dan merasa sedih karenanya. Orang-orang kota mulai bertindak seperti robot dan tidak lagi menikmati hidup. Ketika pengaruh para tuan abu-abu sudah mengenai sahabat-sahabat terdekat Momo, ia mamutuskan untuk menghentikan upaya para tuan abu-abu dengan bantuan seekor kura-kura bernama Cassiopeia. Berdua mereka mencoba menemui seorang Profesor Waktu yang bernama Hora. Berhasilkah Momo? What do you think?

Uniknya, cerita ini ditulis Michael Ende pada tahun 1973. Dan di ujung tahun 2011 ini saya merasa dunia sudah dipenuhi para tuan abu-abu dengan konsep hemat waktu nya. Waktu terasa cepat banget berlalu dan seperti yang digambarkan dalam cerita, setiap orang sibuk dengan kehidupan dan kegiatan nya masing-masing. Kapan terakhir kali kita meluangkan waktu untuk betul-betul mendengarkan cerita seorang sahabat ?? (bukan lewat text messages, bbm atau chat media lainnya)

Seringkali saya melihat sekumpulan orang di tempat umum/restoran/cafe yang ceritanya sedang berkumpul tapi setiap orang sibuk dengan HP masing-masing. Agak geli sebenarnya. Apakah interaksi lewat social media bisa menggantikan tatap muka langsung? Sebegitu sibuknya kah kita?

Banyak hal yang tidak bisa tergambarkan lewat kata-kata. Words can lie tapi tatapan mata, gesture atau nada suara tidak. Hati tidak bisa hanya bicara lewat kata-kata, tapi juga dengan keberadaan. I don’t want to be one of those people corrupted by The Men In Gray. I want to able to cherish the beauty of the event and all the little things that pass in time and that include “being there” for people i care about. People i go a thousand miles for.

“Life holds one great but quite commonplace mystery. Though shared by each of us and known to all, seldom rates a second thought. That mystery, which most of us take for granted and never think twice about, is time.

Calendars and clocks exist to measure time, but that signifies little because we all know that an hour can seem as eternity or pass in a flash, according to how we spend it.

Time is life itself, and life resides in the human heart.”(less)

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May 23, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone!

Shelves: and-smart-too, couldn-t-put-it-down, enriching-symbolism, fantasy, weird-is-cool

THIS is how to write a novel-length fairy tale. The characters are whole and human, the fantasy pure, and all else perfect. I must have more of Michael Ende's work.
Some stories that deal with magic don't explain anything, not even the rules by which their magic operates. Others make too many rules, turning it into a confusing science. Not so here. Like fairy tales, we are introduced to a magical object, told the rules which constrain it, but now HOW it works, and move on. The reader is not lef...more THIS is how to write a novel-length fairy tale. The characters are whole and human, the fantasy pure, and all else perfect. I must have more of Michael Ende's work.
Some stories that deal with magic don't explain anything, not even the rules by which their magic operates. Others make too many rules, turning it into a confusing science. Not so here. Like fairy tales, we are introduced to a magical object, told the rules which constrain it, but now HOW it works, and move on. The reader is not left in the dust, but the mystery and wonder are whole.
Symbolism in fairy tales is often very obvious, but the very structure of the genre permits this. I'm not talking about the idiotic good people=beautiful and evil people=ugly that none of the characters--except maybe the Author's Pet--can see through, but how good and evil take off their masks in Fantasy Land. Good can be a withered old man or a ragged and dirty child as well as a fairy princess, and evil is just as recognizable in a bowler hat as in a horned helmet. And yet, everyone has a personality, and even the villains are treated as people by the author.
Fairy tales are more true than reality. This is how to convey a clear message that actually enhances the story. The men in grey may not be real, but we all know time-savers, Beppos and Guidos. If we're lucky, we may even know a Momo. In some urban fantasies, authors will sometimes mock popular culture, despite it not adding anything to the story. Modern toys that do everything for the child, leaving nothing to the imagination, are stripped of their glamor and shown for what they are, adding to the depth of the book instead of allowing the author to snicker at how unbelievably STUPID so-and-so is.
If you intend to write fantasy, read this book. If you just enjoy reading fantasy, read this book. If you like a good story, read this book. If people tell you to read more, start here. It is brilliant, but not difficult, and the more you read it, the more you will gain.(less)

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Sep 01, 2010 Luqman Hakim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

BUKU GILA...

GILA karena buku ini sanggup membuat saya hanyut ke dalam dunia imajinasi yang belum pernah saya temukan sebelumnya.

Menurut anda, apa sih kebahagiaan itu?

ntar dulu deh, lanjut ke buku momo dulu,

Seorang gadis cilik, tidak jelas usianya karena terlihat antara 8-12 tahun menemukan sebuah persahabatan di reruntuhan amfiteater. Matanya hitam lebar, kakinya sewarna dengan matanya karena tidak memakai alas kaki,ia selalu mengenakan jas pria dewasa yang karena kebesaran harus digulung pa...more

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Jul 27, 2010 Dan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I bought this book several months ago at a used book store, but I put off reading it because I was afraid it wouldn't live up to Michael Ende's other famous book, which also happens to be my favorite book, The Neverending Story. While Momo isn't as complex and more bluntly allegorical, it is charming and emotionally stunning. Perhaps I am more naive than most readers, but I felt myself swept up into this book's persuasive world in which children are forgetting how to play and adults only care ab...more

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May 05, 2010 Ecko Manalu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Buku ini mengingatkan kembali mengenai keasikan membaca setelah beberapa tahun sebelumnya alpa membaca (read novel).

Keasikan petualangan dalam dunia fiksi, abstrak, manis, indah, flowery, itu adalah kesan yang didapatkan ketika membaca buku ini.
nilai kebajikan, sangat mendalam.

ketika kita tahu bahwa waktu itu adalah uang, maka kita perlu mendefinisikan apakah uang ? apakah itu sesuatu yang berguna ?
apakah uang adalah alat satu2nya yang dipakai untuk mengukur waktu ?

Michael Ende menurut Saya puny...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Ary Nilandari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ada teka-teki bagus dari buku ini (h.138) untuk membuka review-ku:

All dwelling in one house are strange brothers three,
as unlike as any three brothers could be,
yet try as you may to tell brother from brother,
you'll find that the trio resemble each other.
The first isn't there, though he'll come beyond doubt.
The second's departed, so he's not about.
The third and the smallest is right on the spot,
And manage without him the others could not.
Yet the third factor with which to be reckoned
Because the f...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Steve rated it 5 of 5 stars

I owe a debt of gratitude to a good friend for persuading me to read this novel. It is one that I would not have otherwise read, given the general premise and genre. A magical fable. I have one main point of information for you concerning this work that I will pass along right away so that you need not read the remainder of this review to have it. This is an extended fable of extraordinary charm that will captivate a reader of any age level. I can imagine an adult reading this book to a child an...more I owe a debt of gratitude to a good friend for persuading me to read this novel. It is one that I would not have otherwise read, given the general premise and genre. A magical fable. I have one main point of information for you concerning this work that I will pass along right away so that you need not read the remainder of this review to have it. This is an extended fable of extraordinary charm that will captivate a reader of any age level. I can imagine an adult reading this book to a child and both of them deriving so much from it simultaneously. It is a German Wizard of Oz.

A bit past the halfway point of the novel, we encounter this riddle:

All dwelling in one house are strange brothers three,
as unlike as any three brothers could be,
yet try as you may to tell brother from brother,
you'll find that the trio resemble each other.
The first isn't there, though he'll come beyond doubt.
The second's departed, so he's not about.
The third and the smallest is right on the spot,
and manage without him the others could not.
Yet the third is a factor with which to be reckoned
because the first brother turns into the second.
You cannot stand back and observe number three,
for one of the others is all you will see.
So tell me, my child, are the three of them one?
Or are there but two? Or could there be none?
Just name them, and you will at once realize
that each rules a kingdom of infinite size.
They rule it together and are it as well.
In that, they're alike, so where do they dwell?

The brothers described are the past, the present, and the future. Both the subject and theme of the novel is Time. Time is being surreptitiously stolen from the inhabitants of this indeterminate place by humorless men dressed in gray. As the general supply of time dwindles, the citizenry become more rushed and work harder for longer hours, slowly losing the capacity to enjoy any of the intangible pleasures of life let alone their material accumulations.

The heroine is a child, Momo. When even her two trusty sidekicks, Guido and Beppo, succumb to the theft of time, all appears hopeless. The central image of this novel, which is rife with imagery, is the hour-lily, the source of time itself. They are cultivated by a Professor Hora. The tour we take of Professor Hora's headquarters and garden at the midpoint of this novel is a tour de force of imagination and imagery on the part of the author, Michael Ende. A magical delight.

My translation is by J. Maxwell Brownjohn. My usual word concerning translations. I spend nary a bit of time anymore worrying about whether my translation is a faithful one. If a translated novel works in English, I accept it without question and care not a whit whether it bears any relationship whatsoever to the original. This is a beautiful novel in English.

In any event and in the end, it is incumbent upon little Momo under the instruction of Professor Horo to do battle alone against the men in gray, the thieves of time. The novel is paced well, and the denouement is exciting.

Perhaps you should attempt to get around any preconceptions or biases concerning books of this sort and give it a try. (less)

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Nov 16, 2007 Uci rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What can I say about this book? It is a fantasy in a land far far away, but the story is somewhat depressing rather than soothing. Momo, a little girl, has to fight against a group of horrible "gray men", whose job is stealing people's time as much as they can because if they failed, they will vanished. As a result, people don't want to waste their time for 'unimportant' matters such as playing with their kids because if they do, they will run out of time and die. What a fantastic story!

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May 09, 2013 Berke rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Momo was a fast and good read. What I liked particularly about the book was that it took a well known issue and transformed it into captivating narrative.

It focuses on time prodigality. People today always are in a hurry to go to someplace. They try to save time for work and in order to do this they sometimes ruin their lives by stripping it of everything that makes life worth living. People forget to talk and interact with each other and thus they become no different than robots. This book emph...more

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Apr 18, 2012 dyas rated it 5 of 5 stars

para tuan kelabu tiba-tiba menyerang masyarakat. perhitungan-perhitungan rumit diberikan. tentang waktu yang telah mereka buang hingga usia ini. membuat semua orang sibuk menghemat waktu untuk pekerjaan mereka.

jika sebelumnya seorang tukang cukur menghabiskan setengah jam untuk memotong rambut seseorang, kini dia hanya melakukannya dalam 12 - 20 menit. tak ada lagi percakapan dan sapaan ramah antar penduduk. karena hal ini dianggap usaha membuang waktu dan tak perlu dilakukan.

yang paling merasak...more

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Apr 18, 2009 Jillian rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, dystopian, own

Momo wasn't nearly as good as The Neverending Story, Michael Ende's most famous work, but it was still quite smart and charming. In this children's-book-for-all-ages, free-spirited Momo must combat a company of sinister time thieves who convince her fellow citizens that the best thing to do with their time is to save it in their time bank, thus reducing their lives to a hasty and joyless existence. The concepts and characters were simple but well done, though I must admit the protagonist is too...more

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About Michael Ende

Michael Andreas Helmuth Ende was a German writer of fantasy and children's literature. He was the son of the surrealist painter Edgar Ende. He died in Stuttgart (Germany) of stomach cancer.

Ende was one of the most popular and famous German authors of the 20th century, mostly due to the enormous success of his children's books. However, Ende was not strictly a children’s author, as he also wrote bo...more

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Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13 (Jim Knopf, #2)

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Trivia About Momo

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Quotes from Momo

“...it's like this. Sometimes, when you've a very long street ahead of you, you think how terribly long it is and feel sure you'll never get it swept. And then you start to hurry. You work faster and faster and every time you look up there seems to be just as much left to sweep as before, and you try even harder, and you panic, and in the end you're out of breath and have to stop--and still the street stretches away in front of you. That's not the way to do it.

You must never think of the whole street at once, understand? You must only concentrate on the next step, the next breath, the next stroke of the broom, and the next, and the next. Nothing else.

That way you enjoy your work, which is important, because then you make a good job of it. And that's how it ought to be.

And all at once, before you know it, you find you've swept the whole street clean, bit by bit. what's more, you aren't out of breath. That's important, too... (28-29)” — 109 people liked it

“People never seemed to notice that, by saving time, they were losing something else. No one cared to admit that life was becoming ever poorer, bleaker and more monotonous. The ones who felt this most keenly were the children, because no one had time for them any more. But time is life itself, and life resides in the human heart. And the more people saved, the less they had.” — 65 people liked it

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