5 stars
I’ll be honest; I put off reading this book for so long mainly because I hated the movie growing up. To be fair, I don’t think I ever got past the infamous Artax scene, but still. I recently re-watched the movie as an adult (possible for the first time in its entirety) and still wasn’t a huge fan, but my husband loved the book as a kid so I finally decided to read it.
I am blown away by this book. It was beautiful, magnificent, phenomenal. Even when the story got weird, I was so caught up in the scenery and the world building. Ende fantastically creates an entire world and makes the reader feel they are really in Fantastica.
The film does a descent job covering roughly the first third of the book, but I did find that I enjoyed the book much more than the film. The Artax scene was significantly less traumatic and the entire thing was so wonderfully written.
After that, it was a whole new adventure and I had no idea where Ende would take me next. It was such a pleasure to experience. Through creating Perilin and riding Grograman to meeting the Acharis and visiting the Star Cloiseter and so much more, it was such an unbelievably magical journey. Despite the huge size of this book, I was so enthralled and wanted to savor every page.
On top of that, the book itself is gorgeous. Printed in two different colors to represent what’s happening in Fantastica and what’s happening in Bastian’s world, the reader gets to experience the true Neverending Story. Each chapter includes a gorgeous full-page illustration to start, with the first letter of the chapter incorporated into the artwork (impressively in alphabetical order, one chapter for each letter). The whole thing was so creative and intricate. It is a whole experience.
I wasn’t expecting it, but I absolutely loved this book. It was a real treat and I am so glad I got to go along with Bastian on his adventures. It was interesting to watch him grow and learn throughout his journeys and come out an entirely different person in the end.
Ende takes the reader on an unforgettable journey, allowing them to tap into why so many of us read in the first place. The magical world of Fantastica is a dream come true. It’s the story we’ve been search for.