The Neverending Story Leatherbound Replica Book - Bound Leather Book Leather Bound – January 1, 1997

If you’re choosing to read this book because you grew up watching the movie like I did, you’re in for a treat. I loved how this book uses different font colors to portray the story you’re reading vs the story that Bastian is reading. I also loved the whole second half of the book that is omitted from the movie and the beautiful ending. After reading this book, my son and I went on a literary journey through some of Michael Ende’s other work and loved Momo and Jim Button. We were disappointed that we couldn’t find the sequel to the latter book in English.My son loved seeing the characters come to life when we watched the movie after reading the book, but was disappointed by the many omissions. He does however, “ask Alexa” to play The Neverending Story song by Limahl at least once/day.

First of all, please don’t judge this book on its movies. The book is split into two movies. While I liked the first movie (which was close to the book), I thought the second movie (which wasn’t close at all) was a bit of a joke. I also felt like Bastian in the movie was almost useless, and I wanted a better conclusion.The book is a completely different matter. Never before have I cared so much about a character in a book. Bastian is a self-conscious, unpopular kid who makes up stories all the time and wants nothing more than to escape the humdrum of life to live in fantasy. I was exactly the same as a kid, and I read every fantasy book I could get my hands on. When I couldn’t find the story I wanted, I made it up. Sometimes, I wanted to hug Bastian, and sometimes I wanted to smack his stupid face, because he could be such an idiot, but he just wanted to help everyone.My favorite part, and the one that made me care about him, was when Bastian said that he didn’t like books that tried to convince him that it was real; he wanted pure fantasy. Life was full of humdrum. Nobody understood why I never read anything but fantasy, and the less believable, the more I wanted to get lost in it. And that is exactly what this book gave me. It is absolutely, utter fantasy. It’s a journey.I liked Atreyu as well, as he is consistently brave and heroic, yet mortal, throughout. There wasn’t a single character or creature that I thought was unnecessary or underplayed. I disliked a number of them, but they made the story better. The writing was excellent, especially for a book translated from German. The scenes were well-done.The narrator did this book justice. Except for Atreyu and Bastian, I could always tell everyone apart. Again, there were voices I didn’t like, but that was because of the characters/creatures themselves. He even did the rhyming, poetry, and singing better than I’ve ever heard from an audiobook. Fortunately, there was no music in the background. There were some times when the characters were whispering when I had to sit there with my thumb on the volume rocker, turning it up and down, but the story was just too good to let that bother me.Overall, in the top ten books I’ve ever read in my entire life. It doesn’t matter if this book is meant for children, because it reminds me of the utter freedom I felt when I was a child and discovered a masterpiece of fantasy.

I loved this book the first time and I wanted to have it for my collection. Beautiful text colors enhance the story.

Good movie as is the book

I am a twenty-three-year-old American guy who likes to read at least three or four books a month (I do have other things in my life other than reading, and I write a lot; I'm not the type of person who can read a book in two days because I don't have the time and I read slow for picking up on literary techniques for my own writing) and I just happened to have "The Neverending Story" next on my reading list. I had just read Stephen King's (or should I say, Richard Bachman's) "Roadwork" (which is surprisingly a lot like AMC's Breaking Bad), and then, quite the opposite comes up on my reading list: this book.I bought the book because at the time it had a 5/5 stars on Amazon. That usually means it's a good book (especially if it has more than two hundred votes), read Robert McCammon's "Boy's Life" to see what I mean. Currently someone has given this book a 1/5 because, and I quote, it "ends." But, at the same time, I cannot--in good conscience--give this book a perfect score, because it isn't a perfect story, nor is the writing style as charming as Rowling or Tolkien, or as imaginative and morally rich as Lewis, nor as dark as King or Barker or Martin, but I digress from the main point that this is not adult--nor is it serious--fantasy. Therefore I can't possibly compare it with a the realistic fantasy that George R.R. Martin has in his "Game of Throne" series, and neither can I compare it to the mind-bending concepts depicted in Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series. The point of which is, considering my age, gender and nationality, this book doesn't quite hit the spot with my tastes; I can't hold that little fact against this book at gunpoint though.Anyway, in terms of reader audiences, I can only compare it to Rowling and Lewis. But, like I said, this novel doesn't have the charm or smarts of the previously mentioned . . . so, it sort of is in between a hard and a soft spot, so to speak. Also, something to mention, the "Harry Potter" series is something an adult can enjoy because it deals with themes--personal, political, religious--that any adult from any part of the world can relate to."The Neverending Story" is sort of like Christopher Nolan's "Inception," except it's not a dream within a dream, but a story within a story (within a story) and at some points the realms merge. Part of me feels a very "Dark Tower" undertone, in which there are hidden worlds all around us, and another part of me feels like this entire story is a cop out--like, "It was all a dream." Now that's not to say it was; but quite literally, it might have been.Bastian, the protogonist, falls asleep while reading the book and then he goes into the world of Fantastica. Then he wakes up. It sort of reminds me of the end of Guillermo del Toro's "The Labyrinth" because it's possible that when the protagonist in that film gets shot at the very end, that the place she goes to is actually Heaven or a type of purgatory or just her brain imagining the magical kingdom awaiting her just before her spirit leaves her corpse; I compare "The Neverending Story" to that movie because it leaves the audience not sure if it really happened or not. That's okay, sometimes. In this book it doesn't really work for the mid-twenties American male. And trust me, I had an open mind, and I am still giving this book a pretty good score.I did find the biggest flaw--other than the fact that it takes the reader out of the story by making them completely aware that everything that is happening is actually a story that the main character is reading; in other words, breaking the fourth wall--was that the story was overly bloated. The person who had given this a 1/5 did so because the book ended too soon (well, if they read the entire book in two days, they must have enjoyed it enough to not stop reading), and I envy that person because I wish I had read this book in two days. It's LONG for a young adult book. But what makes it appear even longer is the fact that the pacing is a little strange and the character progression really has no rhyme or reason. You meet characters once and never see them again. Why? Well, I suppose that's another story and shall be told another time. Right? Ha-ha. Aside from the odd placement of characters and strange beats in the pacing, the story becomes a different animal altogether at the halfway point. In fact, it feels like a different story altogether. That's odd. It's jarring. I didn't like it because I was beginning to like Atreyu and Falkor and I could care less for the whimpy, would-be hero that was reading the book in the attic of his school.What the book does best is its inventiveness. Bastian reads a book that's the same title as this book and the characters in the story need a hero from some unnamed outside world (Earth) to give the Childlike Empress a new name. But of course it can't be Bastian that they're talking about, right? It is. And it's innovative storytelling, but it's a hollow innovation, because Bastian is having all the fun. Not us. If the author had found a way for US (those who read the book) to have a role in the story, NOW THAT WOULD BE SMART! And genuinely innovative. I know that Clive Barker attempted such a book with "Mr. B Gone," but it didn't really turn out so good. Although the concept was there.Something else to note. Translations. In the English version of this novel, the style and the voice all lies with the translator, as opposed to the original author, Michael Ende. Seriously, consider the Holy Bible--there are many translations, and translations make a big difference in the reader's experience. I'm not saying that the translator got this book wrong (because I can't read this book in its original form, so I can't compare), but I am saying that a translator can't translate greatness. Consider this: read Stephen King's "It" and imagine somebody else wrote an adaptation based off the movie. They're going to be two different animals. Style--style is something that a translator can't translate perfectly, and I think that may be what happened here. That might explain why this novel feels like someone is telling a story told by someone else, rather than telling it themselves. And it gets a little chaotic with that way of thinking considering the subject matter of this novel . . . ugh!I give this a 3.5/5 because it's not terrible, but I didn't get anything from this book. As a reader, I didn't particularly enjoy it; as a writer, I didn't pick up on any new writing tools. It was just . . . bland. Maybe at one point in time it was revolutionary (perhaps around the time that it was adapted into a film, directed by Wolfgang Peterson--and I was NOT taking that into account when reading this book; I've never seen the movie), but now it feels really dated. Some things age well, like "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" and some things don't. Either I'm too mature for this book (but I loved "Harry Potter") or this book just hasn't aged well.Although, fans of young adult fantasy will likely gobble this book up--and that's probably the target audience. I just couldn't get into this book. So, if you're twenty-ish, American and guy, I'd suggust that you try Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and even Clive Barker's Abarat series . . . sure, it's young adult, but Clive is disturbing.

It’s been 40-some years since I held and read the real book. It still is a great story with funny parts and sections that make you think about your own story. Definitely a great read!

I only recently discovered that the author hated the movie and was excited to get a copy of the actual book. The only disappointment is that the dust jacket came quite wrinkled due to be shipped in too big of a box.

I've meant to add this book to my collection for years now, and when I spotted this hardcover edition, I knew I had to grab it. This story will always hold a special place in my heart!

One of my favourite books of all time!

Comprei este livro por ter visto 3 filmes da História sem fim quando criança. Eles marcaram a minha infância feliz e saudosa. E que maravilha finalmente colocar as mãos no livro de Michael Ende que deu origem aos dois primeiros filmes. Além da nostalgia reconfortante (até busquei os filmes para assistir outra vez), encontrei uma história tão bem escrita, análoga à magia e às lições de vida trabalhadas como pinturas que vemos n'O Pequeno Príncipe. Que deleite. Este livro pode até ter virado meu livro de cabeceira, tão simbólico e belo ele é. Mas Ende não se contentou com isso. Ele conseguiu, por meio de sua escrita fantástica e condução inteligente da trama, criar, de fato, uma história sem fim, uma em que nós, leitores, verdadeiramente nos sentimos DENTRO da história, como Bastian. Ende criou um livro verdadeiramente mágico.

Lei el libro de niño, lo estoy disfrutando igual ahora. Genial.

Bastian Balthazar Bux is having a hard time at school, his Mum has passed away and his Dad seems to be too lost in his own grief to be of much help to Bastian. When he enters Mr Coreander’s store and takes the copy of “The Neverending Story” he could never have dreamed of the adventure he was about to go on.I loved the film of “The Neverending Story” as a kid but somehow never knew there was a book until fairly recently. This is translated from the original German.The part of the book that is covered by the film is basically the first half, which was quite a close adaption. The second half was then completely new to me. It was so lovely to read about the characters I feel I know so well, such a comforting feeling.I really wish I had read this as a child because I feel it would have been a totally different experience. I have always been very firmly in the camp of the book is better. In this case, however, it’s definitely the film for me, but I don’t know if that’s partly due to the childhood nostalgia associated with it. I could tell the difference once I moved into the second half and I could no longer recognise the film I loved.I’m obviously not the target audience but I did enjoy it. It was a nice easy read and I’m glad I’ve finally read it.

I thought the first half of the book (the part that was made into the movie) was great, but the second half was boring, unnecessary and pointless. It felt like the writer had to meet a minimum page number requirement or something. I know that Michael Ende is a renowned writer, I really tried to like that second half but couldn't. Sorry, don't hate me pls!Also the most memorable line from the book for me will forever be "he walked erect and wore a Prince Albert", oh Michael, you're a naughty one!The paperback edition is good, the book holds itself open (no need to break the spine) and the paper and printing are of good quality. The real-world parts are in cursive, the Fantastica parts are in normal font.