The Neverending Story

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This article is about the novel. For the 1984 motion picture article, see The NeverEnding Story (film).
Title The Neverending Story
1997 Puffin Books paperback edition
1997 Puffin Books paperback edition
Author Michael Ende
Original title Die Unendliche Geschichte
Translator Ralph Manheim
Illustrator Roswitha Quadflieg
Country Germany
Language German
Genre(s) Fantasy Novel
Publisher Thienemann Verlag
Released 1979
Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages 448
ISBN ISBN 3522128001

The Neverending Story (original German: Die Unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by Michael Ende, first published in Germany in 1979. The standard English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was first published in 1983 as The Neverending Story. The novel was later adapted into several films.

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The book centres on a boy, Bastian Balthazar Bux, who meets a mysterious man who owns a book shop, and steals a book called The Neverending Story from the man's small antique bookstore. Bastian is initially presented as part of a frame tale in which he is merely the enthralled reader of the book — an adventure story about the land of Fantastica[1], the realm in which all human fantasies and stories are played out. As the book progresses, however, it becomes clear that some of the inhabitants of Fantastica are aware of Bastian, and that he is the key to the success of the quest about which he is reading. Halfway through the book, he enters Fantastica himself, and begins to take an active role in events there. Thus, the work dramatizes the experience of being "caught up" in a story. The second half of the book introduces a number of psychologically rich themes, as Bastian comes to terms with his selfhood, faces his dark side, and moves toward maturity in a world shaped by his wishes.

The overall theme of the book is the healing power of imagination, as represented by the way in which the world of Fantastica and the real world are presented as each vital to the other's survival. Each half of the book can also be viewed as an example of the Hero's Journey story outline.

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Characters in "The Neverending Story"

Many of the plot elements and characters are inspired by fantasy works of the world literature.


[edit] Related Novels

In the autumn of 2003, AVAinternational GmbH began publishing "The legends of Phantasia". Originally planned as a 12 part series of novels, only 6 have been published as of 2004.

The Legends of Fantastica have been published in Germany, Japan, Spain, and Cyprus. Currently there are no plans to publish these books in English. AVAinternational are in negotiations with publishing houses worldwide, but claim they "haven't got a concrete offer of an English-language country".

  1. Tanja Kinkel: "Der König der Narren" (The King of Fools) -published September 1 2003
  2. Ulrike Schweikert: "Die Seele der Nacht" (The Soul of the Night) - published September 1 2003
  3. Ralf Isau: "Die geheime Bibliothek des Thaddäus Tillmann Trutz" (The Secret Library of Thaddaeus Tillman Trutz) -published September 1 2003
  4. Wolfram Fleischhauer: "Die Verschwörung der Engel" (The Angels' Plot) -published March 18 2004
  5. Peter Freund: "Die Stadt der vergessenen Träume" (The City of Forgotten Dreams) -published March 18 2004
  6. Peter Dempf: "Die Herrin der Wörter" (Empress of the Words) -published September 23 2004

[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

Main article: The Neverending Story (film)

The NeverEnding Story was the first film adaptation of the novel. It was released in 1984, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Barret Oliver (as Bastian), Noah Hathaway (as Atreyu), and Tami Stronach (as the Childlike Empress). The music was composed by Klaus Doldinger. It covered only the first half of the book, ending at the point where Bastian enters Fantasia. Ende himself said he was sorely disappointed by the film.[citation needed]

Atreyu rides Falkor the Luckdragon over Fantasia in the first film adaptation
Atreyu rides Falkor the Luckdragon over Fantasia in the first film adaptation

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter, directed by George T. Miller and starring Jonathan Brandis, was released in 1990. It used a number of plot elements from the second half of Ende's novel, but told an essentially new tale.

The NeverEnding Story III, starring Jason James Richter, Melody Kay and Jack Black, was released in 1994. This film was based only upon the characters from the Ende book, with a completely new story.

The Neverending Story has also inspired two television series. The 1996 animated series was focused on Bastian's further adventures in Fantasia (not the same as his further adventures in the book), while the live-action Tales from the Neverending Story re-told the whole story as an ongoing series lasting 13 episodes.

The Neverending Story has also been adapted to the dramatic play, ballet, and operatic mediums in Germany. The scores to both the opera and the ballet versions were composed by Siegfried Matthus.

[edit] Trivia

  • The original German novel, along with early English publications, utilized three font colors: red indicates scenes that take place in the real world, and green is for scenes in Fantastica. At the end of the book where it was left unsure as to what world the scene was in, the text was written in blue.
  • Each of the twenty-six chapters begins with a different letter of the alphabet in order, in other words the first chapter begins with the letter A, the second with B, and so on. The German subtitle of the book is Die unendliche Geschichte: Von A bis Z, literally "The Neverending Story: From A to Z." The introduction does not follow this format, instead starting with the mirror image of the bookstore window.
  • The first letter of each chapter is featured in an image drawn in red and green ink by Roswitha Quadflieg. These images also depict characters and events that are featured in the chapter they introduce.
  • Partway through the book, it breaks the fourth wall when The Childlike Empress orders the book to be read 'from the beginning'. A jumbled sentence is read - skooB dlO rednaeroC darnoC lraC, which makes no sense to Bastian at all. However, if the reader looks at the first page and notices what is being read, they will see that the characters are reading the mirrored text on the first page of the reader's book, but forgetting to reverse it. When reversed, it reads - "Carl Conrad Coreander Old Books".

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The English translation of the book calls the magic land "Fantastica," although "Fantasia" is a closer translation of the original German name (Phantásien). The film and television adaptations all use "Fantasia."

[edit] External links

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende and its adaptations
v • d • e
Book: The Neverending Story
Films: The NeverEnding Story | The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter | The NeverEnding Story III
Television: Animated series | Tales from the Neverending Story
Characters: Atreyu | Bastian Balthazar Bux | Carl Conrad Coreander | Childlike Empress | Gmork | Luckdragon | Southern Oracle | Ygramul
Other: Auryn | Fantastica
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