The Neverending Story
byMichael Ende
5 out of 5 stars
Bastian is pursued by bullies, and he runs into a bookstore to get away. There he discovers a very special book, The Neverending Story, and when he begins to read, he is transported into a world of magic and fantasy. Bastian is mesmerized by the adventures of the warrior child Atreyu, who is searching for a cure for the mysterious illness of the Childlike Empress. Gradually, Bastian realizes that the world of Fantastica is in grave danger, and only a human from the real world can save them. Bastian must cross the boundary between reality and fantasy, and join Atreyu in his adventures.
This beautiful book is endlessly fascinating! The world-building is so imaginative, populated with weird creatures and bizarre characters and peculiar places. Every chapter is filled with more and more imaginative things that are so unique and strange, some of them beautiful, some grotesque and haunting, but all of them bewitching!
I felt like Bastian, reading for hours, totally immersed in the story, forgetting about the real world. The layers of stories and different realities that fold in on themselves is so meta, because, just as the Childlike Empress is calling out to Bastian who is reading about her in a book, later on Bastian reaches out to the readers of his own story, and leaves a sign for them to follow into Fantastica. It’s kind of trippy! It becomes a mirror within a mirror, reflecting the reader into the story and then back out into reality.
The writing itself is enchanting! Each sentence casts a spell over the reader, inviting you in with rich delectable words and deep philosophical themes. Sometimes I just had to stop in awe, and reread certain paragraphs two or three times to savor them.
I really loved the philosophical explorations in this book. It reminded me of German Romanticism as Bastian wrestles with questions and goes on a quest to find himself. What is virtue? What does beauty really mean? What is it in your character and personality that makes you, YOU? What is a wish? How can you know the difference between what you think you want and what you actually need? One of the characters tells Bastian that nothing is more difficult and dangerous than trying to discover what you really truly want, because you have to confront yourself with honesty.
When Bastian enters the world of Fantastica, all his wishes come true, and he becomes a different person (just as all readers do when they enter a fantasy). Visiting Fantastica opens human eyes to the wonders of reality, so that they bring the virtue and beauty and courage that they found in the fantasy world back with them into the real world.
One of the most famous scenes in the movie is when the horse Atrax dies in the Swamps of Sadness. This was even worse in the book, because Atrax is a sentient horse and can talk! It was devastating to hear him begging Atreyu to leave him in the swamp and let him drown in the sadness. He says, ‘I can’t stand the sadness anymore. I want to die!” In one way, this is even more tragic and terrible than the movie, because Atrax understands what is happening to him and why, and he has given up. In another way the movie is worse, because Atreyu shows a great deal of grief and emotion. However, in the book, Atreyu has a stoicism common to his warrior tribe upbringing. He grieves in a more restrained way. There’s a line that says that Atreyu “pressed his lips together. He couldn’t speak.” He holds in all the fierce emotion and somehow that is even more powerful than all the crying in the movie. This scene happens on page 61 (out of 444 pages), so it really sets the tone for serious adventures and hardships later in the book. But those hardships are so meaningful because they build character and fuel the philosophical explorations.
The movie only covers the first two hundred pages of the book. The rest of the book is about Bastian’s adventures in Fantastica once he crosses the portal between reality and fantasy. He meets Moon Child and Atreyu and Falkor the Luck Dragon, and goes on a wishing quest to discover what he truly wants. The movie is just the set up for all the adventures that come later!
Near the end of his adventures, Bastian visits the House of Change, where he undergoes a change of heart, but the book says that his change, like all change, was slow and gentle, like a plant growing and blossoming.
There is also a lovely scene where Bastian is led into a deep underground mine, and he is told that the foundation of Fantastica, all the rock and metals and stone under the earth, is made from the forgotten dreams of humans in reality. Little details like this, that fit together so beautifully in the world-building, are what make this book so special. Bastian feels like an unborn child down in the darkness of the mines, in the womb of Fantastica, and when he reemerges into the sunlight again, it’s like his wishes have been stripped away, so that he can be reborn as a new person. The imagery is so powerful and exquisite!
The beautiful ending when Bastian is reunited with his father made me cry! It’s really heartwarming and glorious! What an utterly divine book!
