"Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Wednesday, 1 February ✨ #16
Title: Inkheart
Author: Cornelia Funke
Genre/Theme: Children’s | Middle Grade | Fantasy | Fiction | Adventure | Magic
Plot:
12-year-old, book-obsessed Meggie lives with her father Mortimer (more affectionately known as"Mo"), who works as a bookbinder - a specialist who repairs books. On the night the story of Inkheart takes place, a mysterious man with a scarred face named Dustfinger visits Mo. Meggie overhears Dustfinger giving Mo some strange and foreboding news; a seemingly cruel and dangerous man named Capricorn is looking for him. The following day, Mo unexpectedly announces that he and Meggie have to leave - they hurriedly pack their things (specifically Meggie’s favourite books and Mo’s tools to fix them) and travel far to Meggie's Great Aunt Elinor's estate, another avid-book lover. Unfortunately, the mysterious Dustfinger, to both Meggie and Elinor’s disdain, has come along to stay too.
Unbeknownst to Mo and Meggie, Dustfinger has betrayed them to the man he came to warn them about. As a result, Mo is captured and taken by Capricorn’s men, with no promise as to when/or if he’ll return. So Elinor, Meggie, and a deceptive Dustfinger set out to find Mo and bring him home. But, of course, it’s not that easy, and as the plot begins to catch pace, the twists in the story are revealed.
Capricorn desires an object that Mo has kept secret, even from Meggie … and wants to use another of Mo’s unique talents.
Mo’s voice is magic; he can bring storybook characters to life simply by reading aloud. Capricorn, his evil henchmen, and the illusive Dustfinger are characters from a novel. Several years later, Mo accidentally plucked them from their world when he read their story aloud.
Without much time to comprehend the cost of Mo’s ability on her and her family, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in her box of books. Faced with dangers and people that usually only exist in a world between pages, Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare into real life.
Review:
Internationally acclaimed storyteller Cornelia Funke needs minimal introductions, and the incredibly colourful world she creates in Inkheart is enough to explain why. With her many books translated into several languages and millions sold worldwide (over 20 million as of 2012 … so I imagine a heck of a lot more now), Funke has been hailed as the German J.K. Rowling … and I tend to agree. Funke’s writing in Inkheart contains much in the way of rhythmic prose, vibrant imagery, and sensory descriptions. Slow to start but never lacking in imagination, I can only fault Inkheart when I really think about what I didn’t like! Nevertheless, I was hooked from the get-go and sad to see it end. Thankfully, it’s the first in a trilogy - with a fourth book pending in 2023!
Pros:
Beautifully written, Funke’s voice is clear and engaging, and for a child of the Harry Potter era, I’ve finally found another author’s style that hooks me in as much as Rowling’s did.
The story is so creative, literally bursting with colour, it was as though a movie was playing in my head - a truly fantastic and vivid concept and an exciting play on author-character-reader relationships.
The main characters are brilliant, bold, and extremely real. Their relationships with each other often define and set this book apart. The adult characters are particularly complex - which a child reader might not necessarily pick up on - and I found myself keen to know more about them, their backstories and their motives.
At the start of each chapter, the little quotes from other books are a great touch.
Cons:
Admittedly, Inkheart is quite long - 500+ pages - and it does take a while to get going in terms of action. As an adult reader, this is fine, but for a child, it might take a little encouragement to ensure they keep going with it.
Undoubtedly, the plot does dip at points due to the length - but Funke is an expert at getting it back on track.
Arguably Meggie is the main character, but others outshine her pretty quickly. Dustfinger, in particular, steals the show, and I was keen to learn more about him. Thankfully Funke delivers this - and more - in Inkspell.
Perhaps getting close to them is hard because the characters are so natural - Funke has obviously done her work in terms of character development, but little of it was shared with the reader. Again, pointing at Meggie here.
Recommend - Yes/No:
Yes, wholeheartedly. Whilst I loved this as the first book in the Inkworld series, I strongly encourage readers to continue to the next instalment, Inkspell, which I have loved even more.
A review for Inkspell is pending …
And just so you leave with a memorable Quote 📜 from the book:
“If you take a book with you on a journey," Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, "an odd thing happens: The book begins collecting your memories. And forever after, you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words: the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice cream you ate while you were reading it... yes, books are like flypaper—memories cling to the printed page better than anything else.”