Has Anyone Read The Neverending Story?

[Majesty]

I was thinking about getting this book on amazon or maybe check to see if the used bookstore down the street has it.  I grew up on the movie, just like pretty much everyone else who read the book.  I liked the first one and can stand the second one mostly.  I didn't like the third one.

Anyway, I see lots of mixed reviews on amazon.  80% of the people who bought the book liked it, but the other people who bought it said they liked the movie better, some say it's too repetitive in the second half of the book, which I guess is basically The Neverending Story 2 movie, not sure.

I know it was originally in German and the English version is a translated version of the German version (obviously) but some people said in reviews the translation was off which causes the writing to be off and some say that the author doesn't provide any detailed descriptions and seems to randomly pull events out of a hat.

When I first heard it was an actual book, after having known the movie for some time I thought it might look like the one Bastian has (with the oren on the cover, not sure if that's spelled right).  LOL guess not.

[dashesndots]

I *LOVE* this book.  I re-read it every few years.  Some of my favorite parts are actually in the second half of the book, the part that takes place after what coincides with the movie.  And even in the first half, there's SO much that the movie just doesn't give you. 

I think it's beautifully written, even if it is a translation. 

Definitely, definitely recommend reading at least once!

[moevelvet]

I've read it, but it was a few years ago.  It was a lovely, magical book.  I can't say how it compares to the movie as I've never seen it.

[LadyMoondancer]

I have!  It's a great book.  I couldn't put it down.  (Just like the kid in the movie, ha ha.)

[Pokeyonekenobie]

It's been a while since I read it but I know I loved that each chapter started with a different letter of the alphabet.  Chapter 1 started with A
Chapter 2 started with B
Chapter 3 started with C
and so on.  It was fun. 

If you're not sure you want to buy it, see if you can borrow it from your library first.  If they don't have it they might be able to do something called Interlibrary Loan, which is where your library borrows it from another library for you.  Your library might charge a small fee for the service, but it depends on your library's policy.

[Beldarna]

I am one of the few who didn't like the book. I remembering it as confusing and weird. I never even finnished it either, I stopped somewhere in the second half of the book and don't miss it. The first movie was a favorite when I grew up and I still watch it on occassion so not being able to finnish the book was sad, but on the other hand, they were not that alike.

[Honeycomb]

I read the book when I was 9, and I loved it! I should read it again one day. I loved that Bastian's story and the storyline of Fantasia are printed in green and red respectively. And my book had a printed version of Auryn on the cover, although I was deeply disappointed that it didn't come with the real amulet.

[kaoskat]

I read it. It was interesting. Kinda strange and, as usual, different from the movie, but it was good.

[melodys_angel]

I havent read it, but typically books are better then movies

[TwistedRiver]

Its been a while, but I have read it, the first part basically covers the first move, and the second part is the second movie. I think the first movie is better than the book, but the book is leaps and bounds ahead of the second movie imo.
I haven't read it in years now though but I do need to pick it up sometime for my collection.

[Skeen]

I read it (or, most of it) several years ago.  I read enough to cover the first movie and I liked it, and then the second half/second movie stuff was either too confusing or too boring to finish, can't remember. 

Actually, I have the book in hardback.  If you'd like it for just the cost of postage PM me.   

[SnorkMaiden]

I've read the German and the English version. The English translation is not perfect, but it's not horrible, either. I think it's one of those cases in which you only realise something's off if you know the original. If you can get your hands on the book, I'd definitely recommend giving it a go. It's a good read. Michael Ende is one of my favourite German authors, and this is one of the few books of his in English that are easy to come by.

[Galactica]

I wanted to but surprisingly- it isn't available on Kindle!  I will have to finally figure out how to get a book out from the library

[invaderhorizongreen]

I loved it and should read it again.

[kellyponyfeathers]

I think the movie was better (the first movie, that is).  The second movie (which is terrible) loosely coincides with the second half of the book, though the book is much darker and yes, kind of confusing.  The second movie is very kid-friendly - and not in a good way.