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About the Book:
The Neverending Story is a book within a book: it begins with the story of Bastian, a lonely school-age boy who picks up “The Neverending Story” in an old bookstore. As Bastian begins to read, the story shifts back and forth between a fantasy novel about a hero’s quest to save the dying world of Fantastica, and Bastian’s own somewhat parallel feelings. The film follows the first half of the book fairly closely – but it ends when Bastian enters Fantastica, while the second half of the novel is just beginning. The rest of the story features even more extraordinary magical beings and locations, as Bastian struggles to balance the best and worst aspects of power and to find his true self.
Book Review:
Usually when I go to the library, or the book store, I go with a specific target in mind. I will make a list, like most people going to the grocery story, and I know exactly what I am looking for when I walk through the doors. I do this in the hopes of minimizing the damage — particularly in the book stores. And even with this, I can never get out the door with under $80, or 10 books, depending on if I am visiting the book store, or library. (Needless to say the list doesn’t work.) So when I went in the library last weekend, this book is the one that wasn’t on the list — (OK one of several) — that jumped out at me. It just seemed to fit my mood at the time.
I have taken quite a bit of harassment since starting this book. A children’s movie, and even that was pretty much “OK.” When you work in the courthouse, and most of the people around you are men, carrying guns, trust me there is plenty of good natured harassment that can come from having this type of book sitting on your desk. That said, I’m not sure where to begin, except to say that the makers of the movie did a real disservice to this story, when they changed it over from book format.
The power and the magnitude of this story can only be appreciated in the book — and I came away feeling that even now I am seriously disappointed in the movie, because it failed to stay true to the story. The story’s message has to be taken as a whole, and the biggest mistake in the movie is that it was broken into multiple movies. Unfortunately the themes of the story don’t come through near enough, and the entire message is lost in the glamorization that is Hollywood.
Let me start by using a quote from the book that I have on my literary quotes page on this blog as well. “If you stop to think about it, you’ll have to admit that all the stories in the world consist essentially of twenty-six letters. The letters are always the same, only the arrangement varies. From letters words are formed, from words sentences, from sentences chapters, and from chapters stories.” This idea is an amazing part of the book, and the quote is found deep in the story — so it takes a while for the reader to catch on to this profound idea. The entire story is built around the alphabet — A to Z. Each chapter is a saga in the story, and starts with each letter of the alphabet. This reinforces the idea of where stories come from, and the power that is carried in the simple letters of the alphabet. Further, each chapter can be a stand alone story, or it can be part of the greater whole. Also, there are myriad stories that are started, and then the reader is advised that this is another story, and is to be completed at another time. This I found particularly weird, at first. But then I came to realize that the author’s entire point is that stories spin off other stories, and that our reality is just that, a small part of the greater whole of “The Neverending Story.” This may sound corny — but this is a profound truth that can be found in every book, story, and history that has ever existed. And it is the idea that makes this story such a powerful one.
It is also interesting how the author has juxtaposed the “real” and the “fictional” until the two worlds merge. This further reinforces the understanding that reality is found in fiction, and fiction is reality. This is a great story for presenting the idea that stories are not static. Each reader brings to a story something of themselves, and takes something away that leads to other stories. They may not be written, they may not be shared, but their influence is kept within the person. It shapes their thinking, their beliefs and ideals, and expands their horizons. Until, ultimately fiction becomes a reality.
Along with these great ideas there are the other themes of the book such as friendship, loyalty, courage, good and evil, right and wrong, and ultimately the understanding that “power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” This is a wonderful book — and I would strongly encourage people to rediscover it, and enjoy the story again — from the beginning.
For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:
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Originally posted 2010-12-12 07:00:25. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
