Customer Reviews

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (Hardcover)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I orginally bought this book for my daughter to read, but I ended up devouring the book in a day. The imagery that the author uses is vivid. The idea that someone could actually read characters out of a book grabbed me right away- truly a Pandora's box.
The plot has a great layout first making you wonder 'just what is this book really about?' The hook is set and the couriosity activated with the musings of Meggie as to her Father's unusual actions and the appearence of an odd stranger that seems to know her father quite well. As more was revealed I was enveloped by the ethical or moral dilema of Mo, Meggie and the other characters on the good team that are in fact responsible for tossing the snowball down the hill in the first place.
I was excited to see the next book in the series and devoured it just as quickly. I anxiously await the next book as well as the movie I have heard is in the making.
If you like a fanasty book set in modern day Earth, like the Harry Potter books (among others) then I highly recomend this book.

I am 40yrs old and I don't read. NOT AT ALL!! There was a book fair at my job and as I was looking through the books, I came across a couple of Cornelia Funke's books. The first book I bought was "The Thief Lord" (which is a good book.) After I finished reading it I enjoyed it so much that I bought "Dragon Rider" then "Inkheart" which was recommended by one of the vendors for the book fair. When I started reading Inkheart I couldn't put it down. Since I'm a slow reader, I could grasp all of the details and it takes you on a magical ride. I know kids love it but I will also recommend it for adults as well. If you want to step away from reality sometime, this book is the way to go. The characters are alive and vivid and they really catch your attention. I'm not going to give what happens away, but I think you should buy this book. Definitely a treasure. I recently bought "Inkspell" (the sequel to "Inkheart") and can't wait to get into it.

This is an amazing story! I never wanted to put it down! I felt like I personally knew all the characters. It was disappointing when I finished it. I wanted it to keep going; to never stop. It is the kind of book that surprises you, relaxes you, and even gives you a knot in the pit of your stomach. I will definitely read it again. I am currently reading the sequel, Inkspell. This book is equally as good as Inkheart, and Inkdeath is on the way!

I bought this book to read aloud with my children and we all liked it very much. The story features a pre-teen Meggie, whose mother mysteriously vanished one evening as her husband read a story to his family. It turns out Mo has a unique talent, one which has led him to refuse to ever read to his daughter again, and one which has guaranteed a remarkable adventure for him and his daughter. Meggie knows none of this, however; she just knows that Mo is her world and her mother left them -- until a mysterious stranger appears to confront her father and change their lives forever. Soon the three are running from the villain who came out of the book that Meggie's mother entered, and they must try to find the book's author to help them set things right.

Built around the conceit that books are alive and that Mo can bring characters out from their pages, it is clear that the author loves words, books and literature. The characters are complex and graphic and the plot is beyond imaginative. That said, the book is over 500 pages long (its sequel over 600 and the final volume of the trilogy over 700), and it would have been benefited from being shortened and honed a bit. The writing is dry and somewhat repetitive. This is easily forgiven, but the book could have been improved. Still, highly recommended.

This is the best book I have ever read! It is about a girl named Meggie (Meggie, not Maggie,) whose father is a bookbinder. One night, a mysterious man named Dustfinger arrives at their house with his horned martin, Gwin. Meggie and her father, who she calls Mo, then embark on a magical, fairytale journey. Meggie doesn't realize that the reason her father never reads aloud to her, is that he can read characters out of the books he reads, and he read Dustfinger and two villains--Capricorn and Basta--out of the book called Inkheart that he never lets Meggie touch, and Meggie's mother, Theresa, went into the book in their places. This is a magical story; one for almost all ages. Although there is some bad language spoken by the villains and Meggie's great-aunt, Elinor, a bookworm who feels most at home surrounded by books, not people. I would recommend this for anyone ages nine to anything! Oh, and if you like Inkheart, read its sequel, Inkspell. The third book, Inkdawn, will be out in 2008, and so will the Inkheart movie.
-Horse-crazy, doll-crazy, book-crazy, 11-year-old girl.

I just finished listening to this on tape during my commute to see if it would be good for my nine year old daughter, who loves to read and has read Harry Potter through #4 and would read further if I let her. She just finished Roald Dahl's Witches and loved it. But I am not recommending Inkheart, would never give it as a birthday present, and in fact, found it painful to finish. I am a book lover, consider the Harry Potter books probably the best children's books ever, and am in the midst of reading the Naria series to my kids,so I should be the right audience but...it is so negative! Funke's idea of bringing a book character to life is wonderfully creative and fascinating (why has no one done this before?). Unfortunately her story line, mood and imagry are overwhelmingly dark and scarey. Bad thing after bad thing happens, the good thing that happens in the end is achieved through a calling up of a spine-chilling monster, 2 of the terrifying villians get away and in case you didn't think of it Funke makes sure to leave you in unease by having a character say "Now I will never sleep well again worrying about______slitting my throat some night."
This might be a good read for an older child, but I'm sure my 9-year old bookworm would not like it and if I read it aloud my 7 year old son would be unable to fall asleep .

Inkheart is a book worth reading, even if you just read the quotes at the beginning of every chapter. Each one of those quotes is like an old love tugging on your heart. Inkheart was clearly written by a book lover for book lovers. Everyone else may enjoy the excellent tale of adventure, magic and fantasy. However, if books are one of the true joys in your life, I sense Cornelia Funke crafted this story just for you.

In case you missed the movie previews, etc., the story is an adventure about a girl named Meggie and her book repairman father who must overcome an evil character who accidentally comes to life out of a book. It is a long book (500+ pages). While the writing is excellent, it does ask the reader to stay focused for a very long time while the `adventure' is not always fast paced. It also has some extremely evil characters, and deals with death, blackmail and betrayal. The youngest I would recommend this book to is an advanced 10 year old.

In addition to being a great story, this book also examines a complex idea: the concept of something we create taking on a life of its own. I was reminded of when my daughter went to pre-school and for the first time outside influences were starting to shape her mind. The author character in Inkheart was faced with a similar revelation when his `perfect' characters actually come to life and turn on him. Ultimately the author is still in control...well, sort of. It is a good thing as parents that we don't get to control our children's whole story. It is just a little jolting sometimes when you realize that they are reading books with complex concepts that may help shape their whole lives.

I do recommend this book, but not for everyone. Inkheart is great for a more advanced reader who loves books.

A New World
Can you imagine being able to read things out of books? Well this is what the main character Meggie and her father can do in the book Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. The main character goes on an adventure and meets lots of friends and foes along the way. Inkheart is 533 pages, a long but exciting book.
Inkheart is about a girl named Meggie whose father can read things out of stories when he reads out loud. Meggie lives in an old house with her father Mo. Her mom disappeared when she was little. The story starts out when Meggie is in bed and sees a mysterious man out her window but when she tells Mo he says he knows him. They call each other weird names like Dustfinger and Silvertounge. The next morning the man is gone and Mo is taking her to see her aunt Elinor in England but at the gate out of their house the man is there and insists on going. A few days later she is reading in Elinor's library and she sees a man with a limp out the window. Then she hears more men break into the house. They take her, Elinor and Mo away with them. They arrive at a deserted village and the men lock them up in a dark room. Meggie doesn't know what is going on or what to do.
My favorite part of the book is when Meggie finds out that she can read things out of stories to. I like this part because it's exciting and Meggie doesn't know what happened or how Tinkerbell is in her room.
The most important thing I learned from this book is to be brave no matter what situation you are in.
Other books by the author are Inkspell which is the sequel to Inkheart and Inkdeath which is the third book.
If you like books about fantasy I highly recommend this book for you.

This book is great because there is lots of adventure and action the whole way through. I'm looking forward to reading the other books like Inkspell and Inkdeath. Even though it's long it's a great book. Try it.

Finally a great kids book! You can read all about what Inkheart is about in other reviews. I just wanted to whole-heartedly agree with them.

If I had to nitpick out one thing that I would improve, it would be this: Funke can get a bit long with descriptions and a few of the tangents that she goes off on. That said, she has such a wonderful way with words that they are still nice to read.