A comment on: The Neverending Story
“He now realized that not only was Fantastica sick, but the human world as well. The two were connected. He had always felt this, though he could not have explained why it was so. He had never been willing to believe that life had to be as gray and dull as people claimed. He heard them saying: “Life is like that,” but he couldn’t agree. He never stopped believing in mysteries and miracles.”
The story of Bastian Balthazar Bux is the story of all readers. Aren’t we all running from something when we start reading a book? Bastian, the main character of The Neverending Story, hid himself in an attic to read, as a refuge from bullies and other daily hardships. I’ll confess I read this book while I was somewhere I didn’t want to be, and at a certain point in the story, when I was completely immersed in the story, I started wondering if I too, would have been transported into Fantastica if I hadn’t ruined the magic by constantly interrupting my reading.
The Neverending Story is neverending because it’s simultaneously a story about reading, and a coming of age story. It’s written with love for its subject, and honesty. It has layers, many layers, and complex messages. I can say with confidence that it carries meaning for both children and adults. I’m sure I would have loved the characters and the adventures if I had read it as a kid, but there are deeper, darker ideas that I appreciated as an adult.
In case you reached adulthood without reading The Neverending Story, but have flashes of the movie, like I did, my advice is to forget the image of Bastian riding a silly-looking dog dragon and the quirky creatures from Fantastica (this is what I remember, and it’s probably not accurate). In any case, the book itself will quickly help you ditch any prejudice. The story starts off like this: Bastian is a chubby kid with certain family issues and bullied at school. He escapes from reality for a while, by reading a book about Fantastica, the realm of human imagination and fiction, which is populated by the characters from all stories. Its fate is tied to that of its dying Empress, and Fantastica will be destroyed by “the Nothing” if she is not cured by receiving a new name. Unfortunately, only a Human can do this, and so, a Human must go to the world of Fantastica. We can guess what happens.
The book is very well written and thought out. It can be divided in two different parts, as they deal with two different conflicts. The first one is about defeating the Nothing that’s consuming Fantastica, and it’s mainly advanced by the adventures of the hero Atreyu, a character from Fantastica. In this section, I found the first interesting message, concerning human imagination. It’s delivered by a character that is familiar with the corruption of ideas in the human world.
“If humans believe Fantastica doesn’t exist, they won’t get the idea of visiting your country. And as long as they don’t know you creatures of Fantastica as you really are, the Manipulators do what they like with them.”
“What can they do?”
“Whatever they please. When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts. That’s why I sided with the powerful and served them — because I wanted to share their power.”
“I want no part in it!” Atreyu cried out.
“Take it easy, you little fool,” the werewolf growled. “When your turn comes to jump into the Nothing, you too will be a nameless servant of power, with no will of your own. Who knows what use they will make of you? Maybe you’ll help them persuade people to buy things they don’t need, or hate things they know nothing about, or hold beliefs that make them easy to handle, or doubt the truths that might save them. Yes, you little Fantastican, big things will be done in the human world with your help, wars started, empires founded. . .”
Upon reading this passage, I began to feel a clear and distinct voice coming from this book, speaking directly to me and my experiences. These are the best kind of stories, and their pull is irresistible. I felt a certain communion of ideas and feelings. For me Fantasy is a very familiar thing: sometimes a refuge, sometimes a fountain, a quasi-religious framework that can shape worldview, beliefs and personality, if you grow up too close to it. I can’t assure you this was Michael Ende’s opinion as well, but I felt like his idea of Fantasy also came from a very intimate place.
Let’s speak about the main character, Bastian. He isn’t just a vulnerable protagonist, an easy target of sympathy and pity. He is more: he’s a kid that carries some darkness inside, like all humans, because he has been hurt, and he has unresolved frustrations. He desires not only to be loved, but also to be capable of loving: a natural sentiment for someone who feels shunned by others and responds by shunning them too. This sets the conflict for the second part of the book, which is resolved by a process of learning and growing. It ends up being a powerful bildungsroman about growth that isn’t particular to children. It’s about becoming stronger after painful moments in our lives. Its about personal conflicts, self-awareness, and growth. Bastian can be anyone of us. In his adventure, he starts off as a savior. However, impulsive desires and superficial solutions lead him to hurt loved ones and cause destruction. In fact, wishes and decisions are very important concepts in the story.
Bastian pondered a long while. Then he said: “It seems strange that we can’t just wish what we please. Where do our wishes come from? What is a wish anyway?”
Bastian doesn’t get an immediate answer to this question, but he is later told that the journey dictated by his wishes is the most dangerous of all, because:
“It requires the greatest honesty and vigilance, because there’s no other journey on which it’s so easy to lose yourself forever”.
Indeed, later in the story, Bastian loses sight of his true wishes and is led astray by himself, by the vulnerability that comes from fears and worries. The adventure concludes until he has resolved personal conflicts, and has thus grown, throughout his journey in Fantastica. In other words, he heals and grows through his imagination, stories, and dreams. This is the second important message in the story, expanding upon the first one. I think it’s a very mature, jarring message, that may prompt an adult to pause and ponder, and it’s refreshing to find it in a children’s book, even though a child may not notice it.
There are many special episodes in the book that I found witty and amusing. I could fill many more pages, but I’ll just mention them so you can look out for them, or if you remember them from a previous read, maybe you’ll know what I’m talking about: the dialogue between the Childlike Empress and Atreyu after he completes his Quest, Grogaman, the City of Old Emperors, the entire last chapters. I loved this book, and I would recommend it to anyone. The characters were complex and endearing. The themes are naturally emotional and universal.
In short: it’s warm, magical, and never boring. Its message is powerful, and the characters are charming. Bookworms of any age will find that they are already familiar with the journey into Fantastica:
“Every human who has been here has learned something that could be learned only here, and returned to his own world a changed person. Because he had seen you creatures in your true form, he was able to see his own world and his fellow humans with new eyes.
Where he had seen only dull, everyday reality, he now discovered wonders and mysteries. That is why humans were glad to come to Fantastica. And the more these visits enriched our world, the fewer lies there were in theirs, the better it became. Just as our two worlds can injure each other, they can also make each other whole again.”
Why hasn’t Studio Ghibli made an adaptation of this book?
*This review is an entry in an ongoing series of comments/reviews about classic children’s books. The reason why I suddenly decided to read children’s literature again is explained in another article.
