Because when Atreyu takes Basian all the way to the Childlike Empress, after many adventures, traveling on Fuchur the Luck Dragon, losing his horse Artax in the Swamps of Sadness and seeing the end of Gmork, Bastian’s story is only beginning. I won’t go into too much plot detail here because most everyone has seen the movie anyway, but I’ll talk a little bit about the second half of the book which is unfamiliar to those who have only seen the movie.

Of course, not every story lends itself to something like this – the only other example I can think of is House of Leaves – but especially for books aimed at younger people, it’s such an easy trick to make a book that much more magical. No matter how much time passes, I still get a surge of excitement and I wonder why publishers don’t do this more often. The text is written in red ink, that is until you reach the parts that take place in Phantásien, which are printed in green. I clearly remember the first moment I opened this book and was struck by the colored print. Readers, too, can travel to the wondrous, unforgettable world of Fantastica if they will just turn the page… As he is drawn deeper into Fantastica, he must find the courage to face unspeakable foes and the mysteries of his own heart. But the journey to her tower leads through lands of dragons, giants, monsters, and magic and once Bastian begins his quest, he may never return. Only a human can save this enchanted place by giving its ruler, the Childlike Empress, a new name. The story begins with a lonely boy named Bastian and the strange book that draws him into the beautiful but doomed world of Fantastica.

And now this modern classic and bibliophile’s dream is available in hardcover again. Its special story within a story is an irresistible invitation for readers to become part of the book itself. This epic work of the imagination has captured the hearts of millions of readers worldwide since it was first published more than a decade ago. Opening line: This inscription could be seen on the glass door of a small shop, but naturally this was only the way it looked if you were inside the dimly lit shop, looking out at the street through the plate glass door. I thought the end of 2020, that very strange and unsettling year, was a perfect time to revisit the old favorite and see if it holds up to the test of time. But – as anyone who has read the book knows – it only tells half the story. I still have immense amounts of love for that movie, its music and imagery, and the way it shows how books can transport you to a different world. Even though I grew up in Austria where Michael Ende’s books are put into most young readers’ hands early on, my first contact with The Neverending Story was through the movie (that Michael Ende hated, btw).

The neverending story novel