I remember picking up this book several times. The first time, I saw the cover, then put it back. The second time, I read the first chapter, then put it back. The third time, I read all the way until the fifth chapter, then put it back again. It was not until the thirst for adventure possessed me that I finally felt compelled to read it, and once I read it, I wondered why I had put down such an intriguing book.
The book I am writing about is Inkheart, by German children's book writer Cornelian Funke. It tells the tale of twelve-year-old Meggie, who unearths more and more of her family's secrets as the book progresses.
What I am going to write next might contain some spoilers, so if you wish to enjoy the book as I had, please turn off whatever device you are reading this on right now.
Okay? Okay. Let's get started.
Meggie Folchart, a strong-willed book lover, lives with her father Mortimer Folchart, a man who binds books for a living, in their little house in the middle of nowhere. One rainy night, a stranger named "Dustfinger" appears out of nowhere, and urges Mortimer to leave his house because someone is trying to hunt him down. Reluctantly, the trio flees to Meggie's Aunt Elinor's house in northern Italy.
Curious as to why she had to leave so suddenly, Meggie becomes suspicious and decides to eavesdrop on her father's conversations. She finds out that her father is in possession of Inkheart, a rare and extremely valuable book wanted by his pursuers. Apparently, her father has one of the few copies of Inkheart left in the world.
Late at night, Meggie sneaks out to watch Dustfinger perform his astounding fire-eating act, only to return, horrified, to find out that her father had been kidnapped by Basta, a servant of Capricorn, the very person he was trying to escape from. Overcome by grief, Meggie makes a reckless decision to rescue her father.
With Dustfinger as her guide, she finds the place where Capricorn is keeping her father. In an unfortunate turn of events, she is kidnapped herself and soon reunites with her father in the dungeon chambers.
Knowing he can no longer hide the truth from her, Mortimer confesses about why he never read aloud to her before. It turns out, when reading aloud, her father is able to bring characters in the story to life, but someone from the real world must take the fictional character's place in the story. Many years ago, he was reading Inkheart to Meggie's mother aloud. She sat on the bed, playing with two cats, as he read on. Out of nowhere, Basta, Capricorn and Dustfinger appeared, and Theresa Folchart was nowhere to be found.
Capricorn forces Mortimer to read out gold and riches. Unbeknownst to them, Capricorn is secretly planning for Mortimer to bring to life the Shadow, a murderer and Capricorn's partner in crime.
After escaping with the help of Dustfinger, they seek help from Fenoglio, in hopes that he is able to provide them with information about Capricorn's weakness. While Mortimer is still out buying groceries, Meggie and Fenoglio are once again captured by Basta, who is using them as bait to lure out Mortimer.
In the dungeons, Meggie finds out that she had inherited her father's extraordinary ability. Basta finds out about this, and plans for her to read out the Shadow in a few days' time. Together, she and Fenoglio try to change the story's ending before it is too late.
Capricorn is betrayed by the Shadow, and fades away into nothing as he dies. Surprisingly, Meggie's mother had been a maid serving under Capricorn, unable to talk due to becoming mute. The family is reunited once again.
The book ends there, but as told by many characters in the next book of the series, the story does not end.
The writing style in Inkheart is flowery and descriptive, reminiscent of the earlier works of J.K. Rowling. It uses a lot of similes and personifications, and sometimes it is described in such a way that you can almost feel it. The author has such a way of weaving bizarre words into the same sentence, but it still works in her favour.
Each chapter starts with an excerpt from a novel or poem, which I am grateful for, because I would not have found such exquisite literary world otherwise.
All in all, Inkheart was an enjoyable story for book lovers of all ages. I highly recommend it if you love books, seek adventure, or just want a story to keep you entertained.
Cheerio!
- Chan Yi Ying, Year 7 student and self-proclaimed fairytaler.
What I am going to write next might contain some spoilers, so if you wish to enjoy the book as I had, please turn off whatever device you are reading this on right now.
Okay? Okay. Let's get started.
Meggie Folchart, a strong-willed book lover, lives with her father Mortimer Folchart, a man who binds books for a living, in their little house in the middle of nowhere. One rainy night, a stranger named "Dustfinger" appears out of nowhere, and urges Mortimer to leave his house because someone is trying to hunt him down. Reluctantly, the trio flees to Meggie's Aunt Elinor's house in northern Italy.
Curious as to why she had to leave so suddenly, Meggie becomes suspicious and decides to eavesdrop on her father's conversations. She finds out that her father is in possession of Inkheart, a rare and extremely valuable book wanted by his pursuers. Apparently, her father has one of the few copies of Inkheart left in the world.
Late at night, Meggie sneaks out to watch Dustfinger perform his astounding fire-eating act, only to return, horrified, to find out that her father had been kidnapped by Basta, a servant of Capricorn, the very person he was trying to escape from. Overcome by grief, Meggie makes a reckless decision to rescue her father.
With Dustfinger as her guide, she finds the place where Capricorn is keeping her father. In an unfortunate turn of events, she is kidnapped herself and soon reunites with her father in the dungeon chambers.
Knowing he can no longer hide the truth from her, Mortimer confesses about why he never read aloud to her before. It turns out, when reading aloud, her father is able to bring characters in the story to life, but someone from the real world must take the fictional character's place in the story. Many years ago, he was reading Inkheart to Meggie's mother aloud. She sat on the bed, playing with two cats, as he read on. Out of nowhere, Basta, Capricorn and Dustfinger appeared, and Theresa Folchart was nowhere to be found.
Capricorn forces Mortimer to read out gold and riches. Unbeknownst to them, Capricorn is secretly planning for Mortimer to bring to life the Shadow, a murderer and Capricorn's partner in crime.
After escaping with the help of Dustfinger, they seek help from Fenoglio, in hopes that he is able to provide them with information about Capricorn's weakness. While Mortimer is still out buying groceries, Meggie and Fenoglio are once again captured by Basta, who is using them as bait to lure out Mortimer.
In the dungeons, Meggie finds out that she had inherited her father's extraordinary ability. Basta finds out about this, and plans for her to read out the Shadow in a few days' time. Together, she and Fenoglio try to change the story's ending before it is too late.
Capricorn is betrayed by the Shadow, and fades away into nothing as he dies. Surprisingly, Meggie's mother had been a maid serving under Capricorn, unable to talk due to becoming mute. The family is reunited once again.
The book ends there, but as told by many characters in the next book of the series, the story does not end.
The writing style in Inkheart is flowery and descriptive, reminiscent of the earlier works of J.K. Rowling. It uses a lot of similes and personifications, and sometimes it is described in such a way that you can almost feel it. The author has such a way of weaving bizarre words into the same sentence, but it still works in her favour.
Each chapter starts with an excerpt from a novel or poem, which I am grateful for, because I would not have found such exquisite literary world otherwise.
All in all, Inkheart was an enjoyable story for book lovers of all ages. I highly recommend it if you love books, seek adventure, or just want a story to keep you entertained.
Cheerio!
- Chan Yi Ying, Year 7 student and self-proclaimed fairytaler.
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