The Neverending Story

Alright, I’m guilty, I was really slacking off when it came to this one. It had nothing to do with the story quality, I was just enjoying having a computer that can actually, you know, play games again. Between the Half-Life series and Team Fortress 2, I admit I spent many nights playing through that playable movie or firing rockets at people wearing blue or red. I’m still enjoying gaming, but I’ve settled a bit to the point I’ve settled back in to reading, which was obvious when I wiped up the second half of this book in just a few nights.

After settling back in to my reading groove, so to speak, finishing the book was pretty easy. It’s about 400 pages, but with pretty sizable print and a number of full page illustrations bordering the chapters, it goes by pretty quick. My interest in this book was obviously inspired by the classic film that’s based off of it. After hearing about how different the film was from the book, I decided that I wanted to get the real story as the author meant it to be. In fact, the Hollywood version is incredibly different that the author actually tried to sue the studio to halt production because they were taking too many liberties. When I heard that, I was actually quite saddened since I used to love that film, and still do, but there’s no denying it failed miserably as an adaptation.

Story

This book is interesting in that it takes in two very different worlds at one time. This has happened before, but in this case the protagonist in one world is reading the same thing that we, the readers, are reading. The distinction is made between the two through the use of different colored text. The green text represents the events taking place in Fantastica, and the red (more like magenta really) represents the events taking place in the real world. Bastian is reading the green text as well for much of the book, and the red text often represents his own reactions to its contents, or to serve as a time reference. There really isn’t a whole lot of red text after the very beginning, and the second half of the book really has none until the end. It never really gets confusing, it just adds an interesting element to the story.

I do have to say that this book takes the concept of the fantasy genre to new heights. Without really relying on the standard elements of fantasy, the book presents such a diverse range of settings and races and such that the land of Fantastica really lives up to its name. The concepts of the settings and characters used in the book are really so diverse and fantastic that there’s certainly no denying the quality of the imagination of its author. It really does sound like a dream world, and not just the world of one persons dreams, but rather a world made up of the dreams of the entire real world.

The story itself is well told and fairly well paced, though it really slowed up in the final chapters, and was a bit slow to get going as well. Along with the diversity of the world and the characters is also the diversity of the challenges as well. The first half of the book really reads like an adventure story as we follow Atreyu on his quest to save the Childlike Empress and the challenges that the quest leads him through. The second half really changed themes though; it really moved towards a kind of psychological or philosophical drama, with plenty of the fantastic and adventure thrown in as well. The theme really centered around the Bastian character from the beginning. The weaknesses of his character were always detailed from the start, but it wasn’t until he really came in to the story that this portion was explored.

Bastians appearance in the story itself really changed it, from an adventure story with a twist to a drama that really examined our own hearts and souls. This exploration in to our hearts, particularly the dark side of our hearts that can  even arise from good intentions and power, really gave the book some new life and a new feel. Not to say that the adventure story alone would have been weak or mediocre, because it was quiet interesting, but I think the second half that introduced those deeper and philosophical elements is what really kicked the book up a notch. What this portion of the book also added was content for a larger demographic, particularly since the adventure story still continues even as the philosophical part kicks in. This gives content that makes the book accessible for very young audiences, but also prevents quite a bit to think about for older readers as well, from young adults and even to adults.

The book is not without its faults though, one of which would be the lack of depth and detail experienced in some parts. The world of Fantastica is a diverse and fantastic place, but in spite of that it often felt like portions weren’t given enough page space and were rushed past. This is particularly saddening considering how fantastic everything was, but yet so much of it seemed to get only a short mention and on we went. One part that felt particularly rushed was the portion near the beginning in the swamp with Atreyu and Artax. It felt much too early for such an event to occur, and then the event was rushed through like the writer just wanted to move on. While the pacing overall was good, there were certainly portions like that where it felt too rushed for the good of the story. There were also a number of portions where all kinds of events and stories were hinted at, but it was simply stated to be ‘a story for another time’, which makes me kind of wish the author had actually written these stories. These portions kind of felt like a tease considering that, to my knowledge, these additional side stories have never been put to paper.

On the other side of the spectrum was the final few chapters. These chapters were important and were quite good, but considering the pacing of the story up to that point, it just felt so abrupt to hit these chapters where the stories pace slowed tremendously. The content made the chapters great, but there’s no denying that it was the literary equivalent of hopping out of an oven in to a half frozen lake. I really don’t see how he could have told the chapters differently and kept their value though, so I’m sure it was a tough call. Due to the importance of these chapters for the Bastian character and the conclusion though, it was easy to forgive the awkward pacing that resulted from them.

Overall, it was a terrific story that presents so much to readers of all ages and types. Some of the pacing and depth issues may be the result of the translation as well, it’s hard to say. I’m not going to say the blame for the faults lie with the author or the translator because, frankly, I have no idea, but it’s really irrelevant because the book is quite good in spite of the small faults.

Film

The film adaptation of this book is often considered a classic, and I know that I watched it a dozen times or more when I was growing up. It’s a great and heartwarming adventure, though the 80s synth music makes it feel really dated now. I swear, if it weren’t for that awful music, this film would still stand the test of time. It’s funny how the 80s and early 90s films often feel more dated due to the awful synth music that filled everything in those days. Anyways, I’m getting off track. The film itself, as much as I love it, is an awful adaptation of this book. It only touches on the first half of the book, the whole adventurous part, and completely skips the depth and meaning of the second half, which is really what the book is about. I don’t blame Michael Ende for attempting to sue to stop production, because they really failed to bring his story to the screen, instead twisting it in to their story based loosely on his ideas. I find it funny that film snobs are whining about the remake that is being planned that is supposed to follow the book more closely, considering the version their defending is as poor an adaptation as it is.

The second film borrowed lightly from the second half, but all the meaning is really lost and the story of the second film doesn’t even resemble the story of the second half of the book. The third film is, well, an abomination that no one should subject themselves too, so I won’t even bother mentioning it further. Needless to say, this is definitely a book that deserves a second chance on the big screen, and the film snobs who don’t want a remake to ‘ruin’ the first movie for them can bite me, because the first movie ‘ruined’ the book far more than a more faithful adaptation will ruin that film. Besides, plans have only been announced, there’s no guarantee this remake and new adaptation will even even see the light of day. If it does, it’s unfortunate that the author didn’t live to see his masterpiece brought to life properly.

In some ways I can forgive the first films poor attempt at adapting the book because of the technological limitations of that time. As I’ve mentioned, the book has some truly spectacular and amazing settings and characters, and there’s no way they could have done a lot of it justice back then. Even if they could, with the puppetry and animatronics that would have been required, it would have cost them a fortune. Still, there’s a lot they could have done that they didn’t do, and there’s a lot they changed that didn’t need to change either. I still enjoy the movie, maybe just due to nostalgia, but I really would love to see the story, as the author intended it, brought to the big screen. With todays technology, I have no doubt in my mind that it could be done, and done well, with the right people attached to the project.

Characters

The story centers around two main characters, Bastian and Atreyu. It opens with Bastian, but Atreyu is really the star of the first half, with Bastian taking the spotlight in the second half. Atreyu is really a fairly typical heroic character, a brave and courageous soul who is willing to risk everything to fulfill his quest. He has a streak of pride, but is otherwise a very thoughtful and well meaning individual. If he has any faults, I would say that he was maybe a bit too ideal of a character, but in that regard he served as a fantastic contrast to the Bastian character.

Bastian is a character that I actually grew to dislike pretty much from the very first chapter. The Bastian in the film is a good natured kid, but the Bastian in the book is kind of irritating to be honest. This trait might be necessary though, as he plays the interesting role of being both the protagonist and the antagonist, and these traits of his kind of play a central role in that. Still, it creates a main character that is kind of a drag on the story, and I have to admit there were times that the nature of his character had a minor negative effect on my enjoyment of the book. His growth as a character does play a central theme, though I will admit to a certain lack of satisfaction with the end of the book as I do have some doubts about just how much he truly grew as a person from his experiences. All in all though, his character was necessary, as I can’t deny that rest of the cast were quite polarized in regards to who was good and who was evil, the Bastian character blurred the line where no one else on the cast could.

Another character that could be considered a primary is Falkor, the Luck Dragon. He primarily serves as a voice of reason and another opinion. He’s Atryu’s companion and mode of transportation, and his presence certainly comes in handy in many portions of the book. He definitely fits the Atreyu character though, since he’s also a fairly flawless individual when all is said and done. Then there’s the sorceress Xayide, who sort of plays the role of Bastians dark conscience, playing him and helping to drive the dark side of his character that takes over in the second half. Her role is pretty limited though, and her sudden appearance pretty much coincides with her sudden and unexpected exit. More or less, she’s a character that seems put in place to serve a purpose, and nothing more. In that respect, her character felt a bit too fabricated for the sake of the stories progression. I suppose the story did need a catalyst of sorts to drive the events, and there’s no denying that she performed that role well. She could have stood to benefit from a bit more depth though.

Writing

It’s hard for me to talk about Michael Ende’s writing since this book is a translation of the original, which was written in German. It’s hard to say how much of what I read was Michael Ende’s, and how much of what I read was Ralph Manheims. I mean, we know Michael Ende wrote the story, but the pacing and how it’s read can easily change from the original to the translation. I think anyone who has read the two major US releases of “Les Misérables” can attest to just how much of a difference a translation can make. There’s most read and ancient Charles Wilbour translation that is what most who have read the book only once have likely read. Then there is the more recent(2007) and natural sounding Julie Rose translation that has made its way to major releases since. Most purists go with the Wilbour translation, but I find that translation to be a bit too literal, while the Rose translation seems to flow much better. The point here though is that they both tell the same story and are based on the exact same original text, but the way they both read is quite different. How it’s translated plays a big role in how it’s read, and I’m not comfortable judging Michael Ende’s writing style based on a translation.

I will say this about Mr.Ende though, as I said earlier, the man has one heck of an imagination to come up with half the things he put to paper in this book. You read fantasy books without different races, or those with dragons, or elves, or dwarves and so on, but Michael Ende created a world of such amazing diversity without really latching on to the conventional fantasy ideas. There were times where the world he created started to actually feel a little too fantastic, but I certainly have to give the man credit for painting a world with text as rich and diverse as this.

Illustrations

The cover art for this book is another sort of collage piece, consisting of a few elements from various portions of the book. Oddly though, it doesn’t seem to depict Atreyu, in spite of his importance in the story. Yet it depicts the Will-o-Wisp and another messenger from the very beginning, even though their roles in the story were quite short. It’s a decent enough cover though, although I wouldn’t claim it to be anything particularly amazing. To be honest, I’d have preferred that, at least for the hardcover copy, the book had retained the appearance that was described in the book itself. It would have been neat if the book actually appeared in my hands as it was described to appear in its pages.

Finally though, I have something to talk about in regards to internal illustrations, after a long run of illustration free books. Every chapter of the book starts with an illustration that consists primarily with a letter of the alphabet, in order, with images from the chapters content drawn around it. There are 26 chapters, so every letter is used, and the letters also serve as the first letter of the chapters text as well. The illustrations consist of two tone art that is done in the style of older etchings, as often seen in old books. The colors used are red(magenta) and green, which actually kind of makes them seem lower in quality than they otherwise would, even if they were just black and white. Of course, I’ve seen the paperback version, which is all in black and white, and they look a heck of a lot worse in paperback than they do in the hardcover. Honestly, if you can get the hardcover version then do so, the use of color for the text and art is much nicer than the monochrome and italics in the paperback.

Closing Comments

Anyone who was a fan of the film should read this book, at least in my opinion. The book presents far more than the film could have hope too. It’s not a perfect book by any means, but the contents more than make up for the few shortcomings. The story itself has so much more depth to it than the film, and provides a lot of material that can be enjoyed by just about every age group. Even those that read as it kid might enjoy rereading it, since a lot of the depth and drama of the second half might have gone over their head when they were young, and could be more thoroughly enjoyed now.

If you’re worried about the book ruining the film for you, I wouldn’t worry about that at all. I like the film, and I still like the film, reading the book doesn’t change that. Like “The City of Ember”, the film is still quite enjoyable, it just fails as an adaptation of the book, but its able to stand well on its own in spite of that. The film only gives you a tiny fraction of the story though, and the book provides so much more in a story with a lot more depth to it. The classic film is nice and all, but really, if you want the full story, I’d say pick up the book.

© 2009, Keonyn. All rights reserved.

Tags: Dutton Books, Fantasy, Michael Ende, Penguin Group, Ralph Manheim