From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Neverending Story

Michael Ende

Start date: November 1, 2016

Finish date: November 30, 2016

Discussion: Book Discussions

Discussion leader: Andrea

Why we're reading this: Group Classic discussion topic November 2016
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Jul 07, 2020 seak rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020, audio

"This is another one of your weird [books], man." Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords)

Okay so that's a bit out of context, but The Neverending Story is definitely an odd one. Which also means that it's pretty well-represented in the movies, which I absolutely loved as a kid.

The first half of the book is really well-told, really interesting, definitely weird, but mostly the movie follows it to a T (I googled it, that's how you write that idiom). All very good things. I loved it, it was fun, ex "This is another one of your weird [books], man." Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords)

Okay so that's a bit out of context, but The Neverending Story is definitely an odd one. Which also means that it's pretty well-represented in the movies, which I absolutely loved as a kid.

The first half of the book is really well-told, really interesting, definitely weird, but mostly the movie follows it to a T (I googled it, that's how you write that idiom). All very good things. I loved it, it was fun, exciting, just enough rememberances of the movie I haven't watched in at least 20 years. Great stuff.

Bastian Balthazar Bux is a pudgy kid who loves reading, making up stories, and not really being around people. Just my kind of kid. He finds a magical book that goes even further than choose your own adventure books, as if you don't know how things go.

The land of Fantastica is dying and the child-like empress chooses a hero in Atreyu (Best name ever and I don't even follow the band). He does heroic things, has adventures, meets Falcor (what!) it's all kind of random and almost episodic. Then we find out why he's doing that and I won't spoil that here. I will say that BBB doesn't enter the book nearly as soon as I remembered...

Then you get to the second half of the book and it gets a bit crazy. BBB goes kind of power-crazy, starts losing memories (remind you of the second movie?), and it's a completely different book.

Here's where the movie and book deviate quite a bit. The movie uses the same "bad guy", Xayide, and BBB loses memories for making wishes (this is getting a little hazy with my memory of the movie), there is an invisibility belt and ultimate betrayal by Atreyu and Falcor, but otherwise BBB meets some even weirder creatures, one of which is a melody, and the whole pacing kind of takes you out of it. (view spoiler)

In the end, I think this would have done better as two different books, similar to the way the movies split things up, because the second half really detracts from the first. It's definitely a classic and a fun read, but it's its own thing too.

3.5 out of 5 stars (Recommended) ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Nov 02, 2012 Alex rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, children-s-lit

The problem with this book is that it's essentially Dunsany or Eddison for children. The problem with children's books, for me, is that too often everything is written to be on the surface. If something happens then it happens for a reason and the child has to be told what that reason is, lest they get the wrong moral message. The joy of a surrealist fantasist like Dunsany is that nothing happens for a given reason, everything is out there in order to be what we make of it.

And yet I applaud the The problem with this book is that it's essentially Dunsany or Eddison for children. The problem with children's books, for me, is that too often everything is written to be on the surface. If something happens then it happens for a reason and the child has to be told what that reason is, lest they get the wrong moral message. The joy of a surrealist fantasist like Dunsany is that nothing happens for a given reason, everything is out there in order to be what we make of it.

And yet I applaud the endeavour. This is a work of fantasy for children with unique ideas, surreal dreamscapes, heroes, anti-heroes and surprisingly no damsels. Unusual monsters, dragons and creatures that have the power to do things which affect the very nature of the universe around them. (Heroes that can do that too) There's no struggle for power or quest for domination here, everything is a quest for the understanding of the nature of being. Sadly, the answers when they come tend to come across as a little neat and tidy, the existential dilemma that the main character Balthazar faces feels a little worn and tired out.

Harsh criticisms perhaps - this book is vivid and beautiful and entertaining but a little shy of perfect. It inspired a wonderful movie which itself is not perfect, but that's a review to be written for another time. This is a work of children's literature that deserves to be better known because it's fun, imaginative, thoughtful and quite a curiosity. It takes fantasy seriously, it takes reading seriously and, whilst I have gripes about its answers and explanations, it doesn't talk down to anyone - it's a book about stories and how we use stories in life, but despite the story within a story structure it's surprisingly non-meta and non-winking. I'm a very "meta" kind of guy and confess my favourite moment was when the Empress demanded that the story be read back and trapped the universe in an infinite storytelling loop.

If you like the idea of Eddison and Dunsany in a children's book, this one is for you. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review