Inkheart

By: Cornelia Funke

Narrated by: Lynn Redgrave

Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Imagine it were possible to bring the characters from a book to life. Not like when you listen to an audiobook with such enchantment that the characters seem to jump off the pages and into your bedroom...but for real. Imagine they could actually climb out of the pages and into our world.

Then imagine if those characters brought their world into ours.

This is the story of young Meggie, who lives a quiet life alone with her father Mo, a bookbinder, until one cruel night when Mo reads aloud from Inkheart, and an evil ruler named Capricorn escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books.

Somehow, Meggie and Mo must learn to harness the magic that conjured up this nightmare. Somehow they must change the course of the story that has changed their lives forever.

This is Inkheart, a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life.

©2003 Cornelia Funke (P)2003 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Heart-stopping language that impels the reader....a true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters." (School Library Journal)

Word Magic

Anyone who enjoys the Jasper Fford books will catch the "Word Magic" in this book. I always enjoyed the concept of literary characters jumping in and out of books... particularly when I am listening to one being read to me by someone like Lyn Redgrave. The irony is perfect. With respect to the story itself, it was such a great page turner, I took a vacation day to finish it! Redgrave's narration is elocution at its best and is as seamless as story.
Enjoy this one Folks - I certainly did!

Painfully detailed

This book just developed too slowly for me. There was too many details that drew the story out, distracted from the plot and honestly bored me. I am a "cut to the chase" girl so describing a flower beyond its name is just unnecessary. But if you like the author to make you taste, smell, and feel every detail, give this one a try.

As injoyable as it get for Me!

I loved it, it is a fun read that can be a little scary but not too much, there are no bad words and the second book gets even better! Keep in mind the 2nd and 3rd books are 2 credits but they are worth 3 credits, yes its that good! the reader for each book is differant though, and I was upset at first because the reader of the first may be the best I have ever heard but the reader of the second is the main actor for the movie, so I can excuse that change, all in all it is as good as I want a book to be but better than I exspected!

great reading of an almost-great book

Another fine book by Cornelia Funke, the best contemporary children's author around (yes, even better than J.K. rowling, another great one--why weren't there such good children's authors around when I was a kid?), in my opinion. My son and I have been reading Ms. Funke's books since we discovered Drag Rider. And we've been listening to them, too. Brendan Fraser's reading of Dragon Rider was a delight (see my review), but Lynn Redgrave's narration of Inkheart is even better. Their styles are so different, it's hard to compare: like comparing a cartoon with straight literature. Or, in the case of Ms. Redgrave, I'd call it classic literature: Ms. Redgrave is a fine actress and has been at this for a long time, and it shows. Her narration is spellbinding, her voice slides effortlessly between convincingly masculine, feminine, good or evil, without jumping registers or losing its quality of being Lynn Redgrave's voice. And that takes more than talent, that takes skill, and Lynn Redgrave has both. So I've written most of these words in praise of Lynn Redgrave--but it's her narration that made this almost-great book into a great audiobook.

Delight to the ear

This audio book is just brilliant. Ms. Redgrave's undeniably great theatrical ability, is put to great use as she effortlessy voices each character. I have to admit I was a little worried about the male characters, but I was soon put to ease.

The story is delightfully dark as the evil Capricorn, read out of the book Inkheart, come to life and takes over. Poor Meggie must overcome many obstacles to find her courage and save her loved ones.

Themes of book burning, imagination and the power of the written word are skillfully interwoven in this excellent book.

A good story

Rather long but worth the time. The idea of characters coming to life out of storeies is just SO wonderful. We loved all the references to other books. My 9 year old daughter especially liked the fact that she had all the books that the character had.

Great story, great reader

A lot of the readers kinda take away from the book, but she only adds too it. It’s a wonderful story.

Lynn Redgrave really brings this story to life!

I love how the whole story inspires you to love books, reading, and being engulfed in, entranced by, and enticed into a good story in general. Cornelia Funke makes it sounds like anyone and everyone should love reading! Her imagery (especially metaphors and similes) allows you to experience the story, rather than just read it. You can almost taste, feel, hear and touch things as you read.

Reader makes a great book fantastic

I can't think of this story without hearing the voices Lynn Redgrave gave to each character. Inkheart is a wonderful tale with a perfectly awful villain (as villains should be), but the reading makes it one of my all time favorites.

Very enchanting...

Cornelia Funke's Inkheart is enthralling. Once you begin listening, you get so caught up that it is like you are right there with the characters. Her descriptions of setting and mood are that good. “AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”