Have you ever read The Neverending Story?

Question

It's one of the greatest books i've read. Good thing I read it before I realized there was a movie for it. It seems to me that no one I know have read it! Have any of you people?

Answer 1

Yes, indeed. I consider it one of the great fantasies of the 20th century, perhaps the greatest of the past fifty years.

I divide children's fantasies into four historic periods: (1) the Golden Age, esp. George MacDonald and Lewis Carroll; (2) the Silver Age, esp. E. Nesbit, Kenneth Grahame, and J. M. Barrie; (3) the Copper Age, esp. The Hobbit of J.R.R. Tolkein, Sword and the Stone and Mistress Masham's Repose of T. H. White, and the Narnia books of C.S. Lewis, and (4) the Chromium Age, of which the two best examples are Michael Ende's Neverending Story and Russell Hoban's Mouse and His Child.

The Chromium Age, as you might guess, returns to the themes of the previous ages, but places them clearly in the problematic modern times. Modern children no matter what the setting of the fantasy, are often cheeky and smart-mouth; comic and satiric elements,are often written on two levels (one for children, one for their adults); children characters may be more sophisticated than some adults; genuine evil is manifest with sometimes surprising/shocking setbacks, suffering and death; the style is more cinematic, with quick cuts and unstated links, therefore it is more complex in a simplistic kind of way; dark underground and outlandish worlds are in but not of the real world; humor, toughness, good will, idealism are mingled with a certain tinge of underlying cynicism.

If you liked Ende's book, be sure to find Russell Hoban's Mouse and His Child. Both books are delightful fantasies for thoughtful children but thoughtful fantasies for adults, existential translations of the modern age.

Other authors more or less representative of the Chromium Age are Roald Dahl, Dianna Wynn Jones, Philip Pullman, Eva Ibbotson, Brian Jacques, Robin Jarvis, the outlander Eoin Colfer, and perhaps the YA fantasist/realist David Almond, and of course J. K. Rowling.

Oh, and by the way, the first movie of Neverending Story covers only the first half of the book, and that not very well. The second movie relates only loosely to the second half of the book (in Fantastica). The third movie uses only the characters of the book; otherwise, it is unrelated. As is often the case, the movies in no sense capture the magic of the book.

Answer 2

YES! I have the book and movie, ha ha...I hope that doesn`t make me sound obsessive, but it is really good...the book more than the movie. I like how Bastian`s fat for some reason rather than a skinny runt...
I guess not many people have read it because Michael Ende (the author) wrote and published it in Germany first, and than it was published into English a few years later. Weird, huh? When I watched the movie I didn`t even think about if it was American or not, but the book on the other hand...seemed foreign in a way...I`m so surprised someones actually read it other than me!

Answer 3

I've never read the book, but I saw the movie as a young child, and to a young child with ADHD it seemed like the Neverending Movie. But now I don't mind it as much with my preschoolers (who love it). LOVE the music, lol. That probably dates me a bit then.

Answer 4

Yes, I've read it, several times. Since you liked it so much, you might also like reading "The Princess Bride," another book that has a movie made from it where the book was better, which is usually the case.

Answer 5

Yes, read the book (I may still have it somewhere) and saw the movie. Not completely sure now in which order, but enjoyed both...as usual though, the book was better.

Answer 6

I have, and I've also seen the movie. I have got to say that I like the book a lot better than the movie. Who writes it again? I just CANNOT remember!!! If I don't remember soon, then it's going to drive me CRAZZY!!! oh, too bad I'm already halfway there...

Answer 7

Yes, I read it when it first came out. The copy we got from our library had red text for Fantastica and black text for Bastien's world; that really added to the story somehow. It's a wonderful story and I just bought a copy for my kids. :)

Answer 8

no, i haven't but i will now...THE NEVERENDING STORY is a great movie for the grandkids...they love it. (the movie) the dragon looks just like a dog i used to have...it is a wonderful story. (maybe grandpa loves it too)

Answer 9

I haven't read it, but I loved the movie and I would love to read the book. Would you mind telling me who it's by? I really want to read it now, so thanks for the information!!!

Answer 10

Nope. But I watched the movie.