Product Description

Meggie loves books. So does her father, Mo, a bookbinder, although he has never read aloud to her since her mother mysteriously disappeared. They live quietly until the night a stranger knocks at their door. He has come with a warning that forces Mo to reveal an extraordinary secret - a storytelling secret that will change their lives for ever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #925 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Some books are destined to be lifelong treasured possessions. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, the bestselling German author of The Thief Lord, could easily lay claim to being such a book. It is a meaty, magical adventure that oozes a passion for books and the awesome power of words on a page, written by an author who clearly adores stories. Every chapter is introduced by tempting quotations from classic novels that whet your appetite for more and help underline the terrific heritage of children's literature that Inkheart is added to.

Meggie is the daughter of a revered bookbinder called Mo whose peaceful existence is one night shattered by the arrival of Dustfinger--a shadowy man with a mysterious link to Mo's past. Mo and Meggie are soon on the move, running from something that threatens everything they hold dear. But the past inevitably catches up with them and Mo is forced to reveal to his daughter for the first time his terrible secret. He has the ability, or curse, to breathe life into any story he reads and make the characters come alive. Just such a character, the sinister Capricorn, is after Mo to ensure that he stays alive and is never returned to the pages from which he was sprung. And, of course, he'll stop at nothing to guarantee success.

Inkheart is a treat and echoes of its many colourful characters, nail-biting drama and unrelenting invention will stay with the reader for a long time. It's also a novel for people who really love books. (Recommended for ages 10 and over.) --John McLay

Customer Reviews

An enjoyable read.

This novel reminded me of when I was a child, and I once said to my father that I'd really love to spend the night alone in a Library, being fascinated by books. When asked why, I'd replied by telling him that I believed that all the characters from all the stories came alive during the night and I wanted to see and to meet some of them. I was delighted at the prospect, until that is, my father quite sensibly pointed out by replying there would be many bad and evil characters amongst the good too - and of course he was right!

This is a long book, (over 500 pages!) and I'd be surprised at many very young people reaching the end of it. The story starts off very interesting, but as one or two other Reviewers have said; it does get a bit 'slow' in parts. However, all the characters are vivid, and I was particularly drawn to the character 'Ellinor' - perhaps because she wasn't too 'sugary sweet' and overly sentimental - at least not until much later on in the story where along with a couple of the other characters, she gets a bit of a personality 'make-over'.

I was rather surprised in reading in the cover that this is to be a major film - I personally did not feel that this was movie material - but then I'm not into the Harry Potter movies and that kind of stuff.

This is the first part of a trilogy I believe, and although I did enjoy the book, I'm not sure I would read the next instalment.

InkHeart - Great!
I borrowed this book from my school libary, and I adored it, I read it and re-read it, and re-read it again. But un-like the rest of reviews on here, I didn't find the begining slow at all.
Inkheart isn't the usual kind of book I read, but after reading this I decided to read ThiefLord too - another excellent book.
I would defenitley recommend this book to anyone, who's looking for a good read. (I read this book when I was 14)

Slow starter but pretty good, eventually!
It took me about a hundred and fifty pages to get into this and enjoy it. I was going to give it back to my friend, but one long car journey later with only this book and my mind was changed. It doesn't get good until Mo is kidnapped and you may be plodding slowly though it until then, but don't give up on it.