Reviews

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

cheesecakelova's review against another edition

3.0

Hat sich ganz schön gezogen.

sukhmel's review against another edition

5.0

The story is great and deep, but there are some troubles with interpretation and translation. I read a version that is said to be an unabridged translation with vocabulary that is not simplified for kids, but have no way of checking that claim as I don't know German.

Besides, my edition had commentary of the translator, NeStor, which seems to be more like a personal opinion, unsupported claims, and even mocking on characters sometimes. It seems to me, that this book has more than just a single way of being interpreted as a Christian Myth, although it definitely seems to draw a lot of inspiration from religion.

chuu_nyaz's review against another edition

4.0

let me reread sometime not in a span of five years on and off and make a proper review lmfaoo.

angie_dutton's review against another edition

3.0

Really finding it difficult to rate this one, as not sure if I enjoyed it as much as I'd like to but the meta-intent behind it is so different and refreshing, actually brings a new perspective to the films too, which I loved as a kid (even the sequels I have a funny sort of affection towards, though I've not seen either of them since, so not planning to watch them again in case they get ruined, like the Ewok films, which I remember as being amazing but on more recent rewatching was very disappointed), anyway in terms of this actual book, the first half is weird to read as I hate reading massive sections in italics, and actually felt that it was unneccessary and a little pandering and patronising that the writer thought I wouldn't be able to figure out which bits were in modern day earth and which bits were inside The Neverending Story, though it makes a lot more sense to have taken that approach as the two narratives begin to blend together, the 2nd half gets a lot more interesting, and a lot more dark than anything Hollywood would have likely produced, with the reader (of the story) becoming an active player in the realm of Fantasia, in quite unexpected ways too. Something about the flow and readability of it though, like weirdly despite the subject matter the whole thing is much more boring that it should be, maybe that's no fault of the writer themselves because about 50 percent of it is scene-by-scene things I've already seen. Anyway I'm glad I've read it, almost just as a curiousity piece it's nice to know the background of the strange bits of cinema (and straight to TV movie) material that I loved so much growing up... though for whatever reason it took me so long to get through this.

jujudepamplemousse's review against another edition

3.0

I have not been in a mood for fantasy in a while. The Neverending story started to reconciled me with the genre. I loved the first half of the book. I could easily have given it 5 stars if the story had kept up the momentum. Unfortunately, I was a lot less convinced by the second half. The main character was unsympathetic and I didn't always understand where the author wanted to take the reader. The ending did not convinced me much more.

squirrel66's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Es ist so eine tolle Geschichte, und definitiv nicht auf Kinder beschränkt. Ich kannte bisher nur die Filmplakate, sonst nichts. Das erste Mal habe ich mir die Geschichte jetzt als ungekürztes Hörbuch erzählen lassen. Den Sprecher fand ich super.
Die Handlung fand ich für den größten Teil auch sehr schön. Ab irgendeinem Punkt dachte ich, das Hörbuch müsste jetzt eigentlich zu Ende sein, doch es ging noch ein paar Stunden. Da hat mich das Buch leider verloren - es zog sich einfach. Da es ja auch ein Klassiker ist und mir die Grundidee so gefallen hat, werde ich das ganze bestimmt mal auffrischen, und dann vllt. mit einer gekürzten Hörbuch Version.

tacobs's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bornbybeans's review against another edition

3.0

The first half of this book had me hooked. I was interested in Bastian's setup and Atreyu's quest, and I loved all the interesting creatures (especially Falcor, Uyulala, and Ygramul). Some of the creatures and settings were genuinely cryptic and/or unsettling; I started to feel like I was reading some Dark Souls or Bloodborne-adjacent tale rather than a childrens' story. I confirmed that this wasn't a typical childrens' story when the protagonist's horse DIED OF DEPRESSION IN THE "SWAMP OF SADNESS". Hello???

The second half or so of the book lost me. I enjoyed learning about how Fantastica is a potential wellspring of joy and creativity in the real world. I also felt satisfied and happy with the ending. However...the book lived up to its name, to say the least. Once Bastian entered Fantastica, I lost interest and just held on until the end. The story lingered on for far too long.

midnightsong22's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

3.5

sammysl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0