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Summary: A Love Letter to the Printed Word
Review: Many things lie in wait between the pages of Funke's latest work. A metafictional tale of magic and danger, Inkheart takes the wonder we all feel when engrossed in a novel, short story or fairy tale to a completely different level by literally bringing to life characters from other stories within the larger narrative. While on one level it is a father daughter tale of a bookbinder's magical ability to bring to life characters from any book he reads out loud, it is, on another level, so much more. Funke's characters are rich in humanity, every ideosynchracy a literary treasure, poignant without being cheesy, and oftentimes (as in the case of the title character) classically evil without being classically two dimentional. There is a kind of subconscious satisfaction we as readers get when following a story's arc. While we are innately familiar with the formula of certain narratives we are still, nonetheless, satisfied when we see their outcomes. Inkheart breaks every literary rule in the book (no pun intended) by cleverly sacrificing more traditional story choices for the more subtle. By doing so, Funke masterfully allows the characaters within her own book to themselves come to life, leaving the reader both wildly guessing at what might transpire next and completely astounded when what transpires is revealed. (In a tongue in cheek coup de grace, the author even subtlely refrences herself!) All bets are off, all tools of conventional storytelling just that: conventional and she'll have none of it! Not unlike the story's protagonists, Funke calls on (and often times quotes) characters from stories in the lexicon of world literature that we as readers are already familiar with, and by casting them in the light of Inkheart's context, enables us to see them with fresh understanding. This marriage of the familiar with the unfamiliar evokes a touching resonance that no reader could prepare for. Her characters love the same stories we do as much as we do and therefore are themselves loved as much by us. Any lover of classic literature will love this book. Opening its pages is like visiting with old friends, and getting to its magnificent end is, (like the last hour of that visit), as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. Brava Ms. Funke, and many thanks.
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Summary: dont buy it.
Review: im not gonna write the story again coz u'll all hav heard it a thousand times!
personally i did not think this book was worth all the hype it got. i think it was too young for me (15) and the characters did not stand out. i felt really distant from them, i didnt even like them that much (apart from basta, who's evil unfortunately) and this made me uninterested in their fate. i think pantomine badies are much more frightening than capircorn! the story line was an interesting idea, the writing was quite pretty and i think i was too harsh with the characters, some stood out. overall, i think this would be a good read for someone around 10 maybe, but it's not one i intend to read alot and i do reget buying it (especially in hard back!).
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Summary: Inkheart
Review: This is a great book. It kept me spellbound to the very last page, and has a cool shiny cover. The whole plot is great, and there are a ton of surprises. I reccomend to everyone!
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Summary: Book centric adventure
Review: Wow, Funke can write and spin a yarn with the best. I'm a forty-three year old father of two girls 10 and 8. my eldest suggested I read Thief Lord after I bought it for her and I loved it. Then she and I tussled over who got to read inkheart first. We both think it's awesome. There is a strong young female, an exciting story some magic and lots of lush details with neat little drawings. Truly a great book for kids and the young at heart.
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Summary: Not as good as the hype
Review: Ok, I'm giving this book 2 stars because I haven't finished it yet, and I keep hoping that it will get better towards the end. It amazes me that anyone was able to publish this, with all the similarities to other work. Read McCaffrey, Rawn, or Rowling before this.
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Summary: One of the Best
Review: O.k., when I first started this book I thought it lacked good scenes. But when I got more into it, it was hard for anything to distract me.
It has magical, inspiring words and ideas to keep you interested. After all, when you have a man who can read things alive, a fire-eater, and a fancy book-collector together, what can lack interest???
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Summary: "One Book Fits All"
Review: There are many kind of books in this world. And I must admit I have read only a minority of them. And that minority consists of mostly YA (young adult) and ages 9-12 books. Now, I wonder why they put these ages on these books. On the spine, they should just say, "Ageless" or "All Ages" or "One Book Fits All" or something to that accord. Because, this book especially, and a few choice others, should be read by all ages. And the age group is annoying and misleading. One would not want to be reading an ages 9-12 book, if they were more than 20 or 30 or even 40 years older, would they not? Only a choice few disagree with that. This book is chock-full of characters, fantasy, mystery, and suspense. When people talk about a "predictable book" that is not what this is! In Inkheart, a man reads a book, and the characters come alive. He reads his wife into the book, and reads the book's villain, along with some of his crones and a desperate fire-eater, out of the book. After frantically trying to read his wife back out, he finds that reading it will only make others possibly dissapear (including an unknowing mailman). He never reads from the book again...at least that's how it would be, if he had his way. But the villain he read out of the book has other plans... Not only that, but the main character is his daughter. And perhaps it will be her that surprises everyone. So, whatever your age, read this book, and don't deprive yourself the privilege any longer.
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Summary: Book Review of Inkheart
Review: Inkheart Chicken House, 2003, 544 pp., $19.95
Cornelia Funke ISBN: 0-689-82699-0 I wonder have you ever imagined a book's character to be real? I mean, real. So real like your friends that you hang around with. So real like an ordinary human.
This is what this book is exactly about. One night, a man reads the book out loud. He unleashed characters in the book. Which is just fine, I might say. However, what if they are evil? Believe it or not, or most unfortunately, I might add, he has unleashed unspeakably evil characters.
Now is the time. The man and his daughter must find a way to terminate the characters that the man has summoned. How are they going to stop them, now that the man has accidentally called the horror?
This book is fun to read. Frankly, I might have exaggerated the summary. So excuse me! Please do not get scared. This book contains an exciting adventure. You can never take your eyes off of that book and it is a fine book to read. Very truly, I tell you, I definitely can recommend this book to others who like to read fantasy. - Philip Kong
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Summary: Inkheart
Review: Inkheart The Chicken House, 2003, 534 pp.,$11.97
Cornelia Funke ISBN 0-439-53164-0 "What's dangerous?" she cried. "I'm not getting in until you tell me."
Meggie's father has a secret. The same secret they'd been running from all of Meggie's life. Her life had been normal, albeit the moving around and the absence of a mother, until the night Dustfinger, a mysterious stranger who plays with fire, stepped into it. Suddenly she's pulled into a whirlpool struggle against a villain called Capricorn and his servants, the Black Jackets, who are deadly arsonists and trained killers. With the Black Jackets, and their leader Basta, the worst of the lot, on her tail, Meggie is forced to make unlikely friends and desperate enemies. Meggie can trust no one, and suddenly her life and the life of friends and family she never even knew she had depends on the printed pages of a book and the ability to control them...
When I discovered the short, boxy book, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful cover. At first I was reluctant to read it, because I had read The Thief Lord, also by Funke, and had found it rather childish. Inkheart is a bit childish, but has a thrilling plot and well-rounded characters. The simple writing style makes it a rather easy read, but very interesting and realistic. I would recommend it to anyone who likes classic fantasy with a twist, and book collectors and lovers everywhere. - Lizzie M.
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Summary: Best book I have read all year
Review: This book is the best book I have read all year! First Meggie(main character)flees to her aunt Elinor's house, then they (Dustfinger, Meggie, and Elinor) go rescue Mo(Meggie's dad who can literally read stuff out of books)from Capricorn and Basta[bad guys (the bad guys were read out of Inkheart by Mo]. They get captured. They escape, (after Mo reads out gold for Capricorn) The book goes on like that (capture, escape) until the climax(Meggie finds she can literaly read stuff out of books too) when Meggie has to defeat Capricorn from taking over the world. The get help from the author of Inkheart and a boy Mo reads out of Tales from 1001 Nights. This book is very interesting. It has a great plot line and great characters. The base of the story is original and ancient at the same time (people can read stuff out of books, literally) I love this book, it will make a great holiday present for your young adult reader.
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