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Denver Science Fiction & Fantasy Book Club |
THE NEVERENDING STORY
by
MICHAEL ENDE
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The Neverending Story (1983 US) |
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From the back cover of the Puffin Books paperback:
Bastian Balthazar Bux is shy, awkward, and certainly not heroic. His only escape is reading books. When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica -- so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that this mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he has been the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian overcome the barrier between reality and his imagination in order to save Fantastica?
Read for group discussion on October 13, 2004
RATINGS:
How we each rated this book
| Dan | - | Amy | - |
 |
10 Wow! Don't miss it 8-9 Highly recommended 7 Recommended 5-6 Mild recommendation 3-4 Take your chances 1-2 Below average; skip it 0 Get out the flamethrower! U Unfinishable or unreadable - Skipped or no rating given |
| Cheri | - | Barb | - | ||
| Aaron | - | Cynthia | 3 | ||
| Jackie | 6 | Ron | 6 | ||
| Christine | - | Deb | - | ||
| Mike | - | Stephanie | 7 | ||
| Gary | 8 | Monte | - |
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The NeverEnding Story - movies and TV The NeverEnding Story (1984) US/German movie. 94 minutes. Screenplay by Wolfgang Petersen, Herman Weigal. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Starring: Barret Oliver (Bastian), Noah Hathaway (Atreyu), Tami Stronach (The Childlike Empress). Movie only covers the first half of the book. The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990) US/German movie. Screenplay by Karin Howard. Directed by George Miller. Starring: Jonathan Brandis (Bastian), Kenny Morrison (Atreyu). Features some plot elements from the second half of the book. The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia (1994) (Germany/USA) Screenplay by Jeff Lieberman. Directed by Peter Macdonald. Starring: Jason James Richter (Bastian). Takes only characters from the book. Tales from the Neverending Story (2001) a Canadian TV series with 13 episodes. Starring: Mark Rendall (Bastian). A retelling of the book. |
Bibliography:
Michael Ende (1929-1995) was a German theatrical director and a fantasy writer.
The Neverending Story (1984) is his best known work. It was filmed in 1984, and has several lesser known sequels plus a recent TV remake.
He also wrote the Jim Knopf children's books Jim Knopf und Lukas Lokomotivführer (1960) which was translated as Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (1963 and 1990); and Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13 (1962) (Jim Knopf and the Wild 13). These have been made into TV series several times.
Momo (1973), which is a fantasy quest involving time, was translated to English in the UK as The Grey Gentleman (1974) and in the US as Momo (1985). There's a movie of Momo (1986) from West Germany/Italy, and an animated version Momo alla conquista del tempo (2001) from Italy/Germany.
Other books are the YA book Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch (1989) translated as The Night of Wishes (1992), and Der Spiegel im Spiegel: Ein Labyrinth (1984, linked stories) translated as Mirror in the Mirror (1986).
Links:
The Neverending Story Web Page
Door to Fantasia, and Michael Ende's The Neverending Story
Rambles Review - The Neverending Story movie
Rambles review: Michael Ende, Momo
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This page was last updated October 03, 2008