Inkheart

By: Cornelia Funke

Narrated by: Lynn Redgrave

Length: 15 hrs and 27 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)

For ALL ages

Don't be fooled -- this might be a "kids book", but it is a great read for all ages. I was a little hesitant to give this one a try, but it took only a few minutes into the book to know I made the right choice. The reader was truly excellent, bringing a wide range of characters to life (and more importantly, keeping them all separated, no mean task with a big cast!) and the story kept me enraptured from start to end. It has a little bit of everything -- fantasy, a touch of terror, and touch of romance, a great deal of mystery, good guys, bad guys, downright evil villains, anti-heroes, heroes, and a happy ending (but not so happy as to be saccharine). Well worth the credit, thanks to other reviewers who convinced me to give this book a go.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

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!

13 of 14 people found this review helpful

EXCELLENT!!

Excellent book that kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning! Funke takes you into a fantasy world like no other.. not into a world unknown but one brought to present day. When Meggie's father Mo reads out loud, he brings characters into the present giving you an exciting view from the characters in a book. This one you won't regret listening to!! BREATHTAKING!!

19 of 21 people found this review helpful

inkheart

I really enjoyed both the story and the narration. I became interested because my granddaughter was reading the book and I wanted to share it with her. I was pleasantly surprised at the level of what she was reading (10 years old). Subsequently I read the book and was happy to see the congruence. I would recommend this book strongly.The narrator was great!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Fantastic with marvelous characters!

Cornelia Funke has come up with the right formular for giving kids thrills and not nightmares. The European settings are beautiful and give a touch of 'otherness' to make it real, yet special. The characters are unique and intriguing yet with enough 'humanness' to afford kids closeness. This story takes unexpected turns in every chapter with would give a reluctant reader the 'pull' into this book, which is what the story is all about, rather characters being pulled out of books with some pretty nasty consequences. But don't just take my word for it. Read this and try The Lord Thief another great book!

17 of 19 people found this review helpful

A book about books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Oh Yes, without a doubt. This book is wonderful , esp for people who like books about books. This book is not just for children. Any adult will enjoy this just as much or perhaps more.

What did you like best about this story?

I most enjoyed how much the main characters like Meggie, Mo, Elinor adored books sooo very much. They respected books and cared for them to the centre of their souls. Books were as much part of them as an arm or a leg. Their lives were surrounded by books and they got great comfort from books and were happier because of having books in their lives.
Books were there to be cherished and they shared their joy of books with each other.

Which character – as performed by Lynn Redgrave – was your favorite?

I cannot pick one , I have to pick three. Mo, Meggie and Elinor.. It was just wonderful listening to her. I could just picture them in my head.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The book makes me so happy, I have it in multiple formats. I never tire of reading it. If you love books, I do mean love,then this is the book for you. Books are magical and this one is especially magical.

Any additional comments?

This is a story about magic , love of books, family, sharing a love of books with those we most love, good guys, and bad guys . It is so wonderful !!!!!!!!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Great for kids and adults

I downloaded this book for our car travels over the holidays. My kids (ages 8 & 12) and my husband and I enjoyed the book. Finding something that the whole family can listen to and enjoy can be a challenge. With Inkheart, we had an interesting premise, well developed characters, and an excellent narration.

I can see us listening to it again somewhere down the road.

8 of 9 people found this review helpful

children's book

I'm writing this review purely for ADULT LISTENERS who, like me, enjoy listening to a good YA/children's story now and then...the kind of book that takes you away, makes you feel like a kid on an adventure again, erases the pressures of everyday life for a bit.

This book is not one of those. It's just too simple, flat, and predictable. It is not funny and embarrassingly engrossing like Jim Dale's reading of Harry Potter, nor intruiging, exciting, magical, intelligent and stimulating like Phillip Pullsman's Unabridged 'His Dark Materials' Trilogy .
This one really is a kiddies book, and although I think that the narrator is superb I cannot make myself finish listening to this.

I gave it three stars anyway because I'm sure that if you get this for your child, or even if you listen to it with a child, you will get some enjoyment out of it.

52 of 63 people found this review helpful

most wonderful villian

I am an adult who loves chidlrens fiction, and this book rates at the top of some of my favs. I just love the villians in this book. They are scary, but not terrifying. I love her use of description, it's just enough that you know exactly what she's thinking without getting bogged down in the building of the characters in ones mind. I just love the way she writes. She truly brings you into the book as the story develops.

I highly recommend this book for older kids, but not young ones. My children are relatively young and were a little afraid of some of the characters, but I think when they are a little older they will fall in love with this book as much as I have.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

Wonderful Roadtrip Book

I listened to Inkheart with my children ages 6 and 9 on a cross-country trip this summer and we all loved it, a journey within a journey. The characters are wonderful and the story is well written. There are definitely some intense moments which are on the dark side for the younger audience, as well as some slower paced sections that might not entertain the shorter attention spans. The plot is intriguing and terrific for all book lovers, adults and kids alike- although having said this, kids with experience in complex and lengthy stories will like it the best (ones who can listen to or read Harry Potter for example.) Overall an enjoyable listen, Lynn Redgrave's voice is made for reading aloud, and highly recommended!

6 of 7 people found this review helpful