Customer Reviews

The Night of Wishes

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love this story both for its uniqueness and darkness. Everything about it is infinitely creative and original, from the thumb-striking clock that marks the passage of time with an "ouch" instead of the same old "cuckoo," to the fantastically twisted characters. However, this is not really a book for children. I think it is best read by teens and adults, (or mature younger readers!) The story involves two wicked individuals working for the Devil Himself to destroy the world. There is still hope though, in two raggedy animals who have just one night to foil their masters' plans! For an extra fun experience, I suggest you read this book in real time. It takes place in the course of that single evening, and there is even a clock every few pages to let you know how much time remains! If you crave dark stuff, or just enjoy really original stories, you'll fall in love with THE NIGHT OF WISHES!

This is my favorite book since I've read it 5 years ago. The cat (a little dumb) und the always so pessimistic raven are well worked-out caracters and I really love them. Sometimes I wonder how Mr. Ende managed to invent all those words to describe the ingredients of the notion potion. Beeing German I know both versions - the German original and the English translation, which sometimes does not manage to give all the brilliant word-inventions an equal English meaning. So if you understand some German - buy both versions and you'll enjoy Michael Endes magic.

The heart knows more than the mind can ever know alone. Michael Ende takes many turns and twists by bringing the wisdom of many animals together to stop the destruction of the nature of evolution. Notice that the animals always meet by the church but never in it. Notice, in the end when the day has been saved, that the animals each go back to their natural world. There are many subtleties in this book about how when evil tries to control nature and the unlikely forces that must take on the messy job of making things right. It is not inside the church where common sense tells you that things are made right, but outside.

This book is thoroughly enchanting. I remember seeing the play on stage on New Year's Eve (my birthday and the day on which the story takes place) when I was a kid in Germany. Later, I read my sister's copy.

I just bought the English translation and read it with my husband, and I was very impressed with it. There is a good deal of rhyming going on in this book and the translators took great care to capture the feeling of them as well as preserve the rhyming structures.

What a great book!

This book has many detailed descriptions to the potion ingredient and to the description of the night sky. It opened up many new vocabulary words and gave me a whole new demension of imagination. This book is simply outstanding and a "Must Read" for everyone. Ende has given us great description in this book. This shows his great literature work with this book and The Neverending Story. In conclusion, no one should back off from this book.

This is a clever parable written by an engaging author. Ende's mischevous sense of humour shines through even in translation and the antics of the cat and the raven ironically reflect many of the attitudes of society.

It's a pity that this book is not in print anymore, it certainly is one of the best I ever read. Yes, it's meant for children, but also for folks who didn't forget about their inner child. This book was as much fun for me to read when I was a child then it is now as a mature adult.

The story has a good meaning and is told in a way that you will remember it for a loooooong time. And when you remember, it fills you up with good feelings. How many books can do that?

Michael Ende, the author, is more known for his book "The Neverending Story", which has, by the way, not too much in common with the movie. "The Night of Wishes" never got the same attention, but it definitely is worth reading again and again.

I had just read this book recently. Michael Ende with no doubt is my favorite author of all times. All of the books i read by Ende, this probably would be the 2nd best (The Neverending Story being the 1st). This book is well written at a point that it is addicting. I dont know if it has to do with the conflict,humor, or just because its amazing; but i couldnt put it down until i was done. Im ashamed this book is out of print, its just so good that it should be put back and stay back in print. If you read this book, you will not regret it.

I fall into the same category of people who went searching for this book after reading the Neverending Story. It was on my Amazon wish list for months and months, but it was always too expensive to buy. Finally I saw it available for 16 bucks, so I got it. Was it worth the wait? You know, I'm not sure.

On one hand, the plot's clever and easy to understand, all the way from beginning to end. And I'm sure it's no small task to construct a plot that meets both criteria. But the characters seem so uninspired. You can read hundreds and hundreds of books about talking animals who save the day. The raven in this story has a bunch of wives and the cat wants to be a singer, but these character traits have nothing to do with the plot whatsoever. The raven could have been an aspiring juggler and the cat a gambling casino player, and it wouldn't have changed the plot a bit. And Father New Year is pretty much the most worthless literary character I've ever seen. Sure, he helps the heroes out, but GOSH he's got less inspiration behind him than an extra on a made for TV movie set.

Also there's an awful lot of witchery, and a bit of drunkness in the pages that (although quite amusing) makes me uncomfortable with its suitability for children, because it's definitely more of a children's book than a young adult book.

Other than the uninspired heros and the heavy emphasis on witchery, I can't say anything bad about the book. The translation is magnificent. The rhyming is wonderful. The bad guys ruining themselves in the end is hilarious. And the cold fire bowl is neat.

All in all, this book is a steady mixture of cleverness and blandness. So if you're like me, and you're looking for greatness, you're not going to find it in such a mixture. A Night of Wishes is a nice book to have because it's fairly obscure, but I wouldn't feel bad about telling anybody to pass it up.

It seemed like it was a shallower version of a Dr. Seuss book. I thought it was going to be more imaginative than it was. ...and I don't think it holds that high a place, especially compared to all the other books that Ende has written. It seemed that he pushed this book out too fast and didn't take enough time with it. Or it is totally just a children's book, only for children.