I was an early reader. I was taught to read pretty early in life, and having a father who was still a student when he had me, made me a very early student too. My father did not have time to be a full time father, but he tried nevertheless, because I was a very clingy child. I followed him to the library more than I could count for his study sessions.
He couldn’t talk to me in the library, but a child’s mind is a simple thing. Every children wants to be close to their parents… that gives them the sense of security, and back then, even when my father couldn’t play with me or talk to me loudly, I still wanted to tag along to the library with him.
I could still remember that I will sit at one of the old, rickety sofa, in which a librarian would kindly provide me a pillow to prop myself with each time I visit, and read some books while waiting for my father to finish his assignments.
I was a child who was easily fascinated. I think every little children are easily fascinated and dreamed of an adventure in a fantasy land where they’re the hero and whatever they do could determine the fate of the world.
There was a book in particular that I could read over and over again during my visit to the library.
It’s called… The Neverending Story. Written by Michael Ende. (Yes… the book was adapted into a movie. I am talking about THAT Neverending Story). In truth, it was a German tale. The original title for The Neverending Story is ‘Die Unendliche Geschichte’. But the book spin a tale that is so great, that it was translated into many languages for the enjoyment of every single little person who crave for escapism and adventure.
The majority of the story takes place in the parallel world of Fantastica a world being destroyed by the Nothing, which represents and constitutes people’s lack of imagination in the real world.
The first protagonist is a young warrior, who is asked by the Steward of The Empress of Fantastica, to set off and find a way to stop The Nothing. The other protagonist is a boy from the real world, a reader of the novel with the same title, for whom the story gradually becomes more and more realistic.
The story starts off with Bastian who is sorely neglected by his father and is bullied by his schoolmates. While running from some of them, Bastian bursts into the antique book store.
He picked up the book and examined it from all sides. It was bound in copper-colored silk that shimmered when he moved it about. Leafing through the pages, he saw the book was printed in two colors. There seemed to be no pictures, but there were large, beautiful capital letters at the beginning of the chapters. Examining the binding more closely, he discovered two snakes on it, one light and one dark. They were biting each other’s tail, so forming an oval. And inside the oval, in strangely intricate letters, he saw the title:
The Neverending Story
He can’t buy it, and so he steals the book, hides himself away in the attic of his own school, and settles down to read the same story that we are reading: The Neverending Story.
We’re then transported into the realm of Fantastica, where things are going badly wrong. The realm is being swallowed up, slowly but surely, by advancing puddles of nothingness. The diverse inhabitants of Fantastica send out messengers to their Childlike Empress who lives in the Ivory Tower to see if she can help or advise. Alas, she cannot, it seems, because she is also dying from a mysterious illness. She can only be cured if a human will visit Fantastica and endow her with a new name.
The stage is set. The Childlike Empress sends her hero, a boy named Atreyu, out on a mission to search for just such a human. Atreyu’s task is a difficult one. In fact, he must launch himself off on such a wild and demanding and absorbing adventure that he succeeds in drawing the reader, Bastian Balthazar Bux, back into the realm of Fantastica! But Atreyu does succeed, and Bastian is delighted to find himself suddenly transported into Fantastica.
You might think that that is the end of the story, but in fact it is just the beginning. Because, once there, Bastian Balthazar Bux has such a marvelous time that he does not want to leave. And in the end, he finds that he very nearly can’t leave. He needs all the help he can get from his friends in Fantastica.
Absolutely good read. A book that every child should have the privilege to read. i find it hard to obtain a cheap version of this book, and therefore, I opt for a pdf. copy of this book instead.
Now, if you crave for escapism and a book worthy of your attention this coming weekend, kindly email me for a .pdf copy of this book at cleffairy@gmail.com. If you want to hold the book in your hand, however, kindly head over to your nearest book store, and see if they have this precious book on their shelf.
Cleffairy: If you stop to think about it, you’ll have to admit that all the stories in the world consist essentially of twenty-six letters. The letters are always the same, only the arrangement varies. From letters words are formed, from words sentences, from sentences chapters, and from chapters stories.
