Inkheart

Customer Reviews

• Complex and Enthralling Tale  Nov 3, 2003 (66 of 76 found this helpful)

  From the very first pages of this wonderfully well constructed tale, to the very last page, I was hooked. The words of the author evoke wonderfully clear pictures in the reader's mind and the air of suspense is maintained without terrifying younger readers. I would reccommend this book to any reader from fifth grade to adult. The characters were believable and, as a reader, I cared what happened to them. The reverence for books made it doubly rewarding. ...

• Thrilling; Even better than "Thief Lord"  Jan 26, 2004 (115 of 137 found this helpful)

  We liked this one even better than Funke's most recent work, "The Thief Lord." Inkheart's premise is even more engaging: Meggie's dad, a bookbinder, is so marvelous at reading out loud that many years ago he "read" the villain Capricorn from a book called "Inkheart" into reality. The villain then kidnapped Meggie's mom. Meggie and her dad must find them and trick them back into the book.

  Although Inkheart is a long book (500+ pages), Funke establishes the thrills and the threat in the book's premise almost immediately, on a dark and stormy night and the day following when Meggie and her dad first try to make their escape. The narrative continues to an isolated village in Italy where Meggie encounters a menagerie of minor evil characters who have also escaped from the book.

  Meggie is an engaging and spunky heroine that will appeal to both boy and girl readers.

  A nice feature of the book is its general love for books - dad Mo is a bookbinder, aunt Elinor is a book collector with a huge library. Clearly Funke is not a lightweight trying to cash in on the Harry Potter fantasy kick; she conveys her love of books and language in a way that will enthuse any reader from 8 to 80.

• Inkheart- the Book Lover's Book- WONDERFUL!  Apr 9, 2004 (20 of 22 found this helpful)

  Although I haven't read the author's previous work, The Thief Lord, I eagerly delved into Inkheart. The book's size, a staggering 534 pages, didn't faze me because the pacing was so expertly achieved. The book felt like it was made of only around 200 pages. Cornelia Funke constructs her sentences beautifully, transporting readers instantly to Elinor's Italian house, Capricorn's abandoned Italian village, and even somewhat Meggie and Mo's house. The characters seem as though they were real, and I enjoyed the charming references to some of Meggie's favorite books, several of which I have also read. One of these amusing references is to Lord of the Rings, referred to as the "hairy-footed people's quest" in Inkheart. This is truly the book lover's book, because unless you've read the book or seen the movie or are extremely clever, you couldn't guess it. This novel keeps you guessing until the very end of the book when the stunning conclusion grabs you and won't let go. I look forward to more stunning works from Cornelia Funke in the future!

• Read in, read out  Mar 15, 2004 (17 of 19 found this helpful)

  German author Cornelia Funke rocketed into international bestseller status with the Venetian fantasy book "Thief Lord." Here she produces a different kind of fantasy in "Inkheart," a slower but pleasant fantasy that bumps into some pacing problems.

  Meggie lives with her father Mo, a bookbinder who repairs old books with crumbling spines, broken covers and bindings. Though she loves her father, Meggie is puzzled by all the unanswered questions she has, like where her mother is and why Mo suddenly makes them move without warning, as if he's trying to escape something. One night a strange man -- Dustfinger -- arrives at Meggie's house, speaks with her father, and vanishes again.

  The next morning, Mo and Meggie leave again suddenly to stay with eccentric Elinor, a tough woman with an obsessive love of books. Dustfinger comes along with them -- along with a mysterious green book that is, for some reason, very valuable. Meggie finds out just how valuable when her father is kidnapped by the thugs of the evil, sadistic Capricorn -- Mo is able to bring book characters out of their books and into the real world. And Capricorn is willing to use Meggie to make Mo do exactly what he wants.

  "Inkheart" lacks some of the sparkle and memorable characters of "Thief Lord." Despite this, it's a solid fantasy story that manages to transcend what sounds like a very silly storyline. Okay, reading people in (Meg's mother) and out (Capricorn and his deformed thugs) sounds absurd even in a fantasy book, but Funke manages to pull it off in believable fashion.

  Funke's writing (very well translated) has a nice breadth of detail, and she gets across the personalities of the characters quite well ("Capricorn would feed the bird to the cat on purpose, just to watch it being torn apart..."). What it lacks is suspense and pacing. Funke is good at evoking mystery but not a building sense of suspense. And the book drags quite a bit near the beginning, although it picks up near the middle.

  Meggie and Mo are nice but unassuming lead characters. There's really nothing that makes them stand out. Not so for Dustfinger and Elinor. Dustfinger is a tormented sometime-traitor who can't cope with living in our world, giving him a more pitiful personality. And Elinor is a take-charge, reclusive, tough book-lover whose odd behavior makes her more endearing.

  "Inkheart" is a bit clumsier and draggier than Funke's first novel. But it stands as a pleasant little fantasy, especially for those who, like Meggie, adore books.

• PEOPLE DON'T PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY'RE READING!  Sep 7, 2005 (39 of 49 found this helpful)

  If you're going to complain about this book then don't even write a review until you can appretiate great literature. I'm only 9 and I've probably read more then 500 books in my life. Now only 1 out of each twenty to thirty books I read are worth reading, and let me tell you, this was one of them. I personally, don't like good books to end so I was glad this was 544 pages long. If you disagree with me you just don't like reading.You would rather boot up your computer or switch on the T.V. you might not take me seriously since I'm only nine, but that would be one of the biggest mistakes you'll ever make. I DO NOT read books on my age level! I read books my sister who's 15 years old reads! Inkheart is my favorate book, and that's saying a lot, because I don't know about you, but I'm a very very picky reader. Cornelia Funke is THE BEST childrens writer I've ever known.(I've read hundreds of different books and rated hundereds of authors) I want to become an author someday and I can only dream of being as good as Cornelia Funke.
  A young THOROUGH reader.