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)

Long but lovely story.

I look forward to reading this to my children when they are ready. well written.

A wonderful adventure

I had actually seen the movie first before I knew this was a book and I enjoy them both very much the narrators voice was lovely to listen too and made it that much more enjoyable .

Nice adventure book

The reader was fantastic in this book. I'm sad the second book is being read by Brendan Fraser it's just not the same, it's always best to keep the same reader for a series..in my mind. The story was fun and exciting.

I Love It!

!!! This is a very good book. I've read it several times, but this was my first time listening to the audiobook, and it's so well done! The person reading it sounds like an older version of the main character, further solidifying the idea that this book is Meggie's written account of what happened. They did a very good job on this and did the book justice! 10/10 would recommend!

Movie to Book

I watched the InkHeart movie on Netflix a few months back and decided to give the book another try. I had attempted to read InkHeart in High School but got bored and put it down fairly quickly. My mother advised that the writing style was such that listening to the book would be more enjoyable; after seeing the movie again, I decided to listen to the book.

I was not disappointed. I was also not overly impressed. This result is common after seeing the movie first. I appreciated the details, the more complete look at the characters, and the resolution. I felt that the book was a bit too long, through. The movie prove that the story could be told in an hour and a half. There was a lot of points that dragged in this book, but, overall, my mom was right--listening to this book was fun. If you are looking for a fun jaunt, I recommend this book.

I am listening to the rest of the series and hoping it is a good series.

Beautifully read

I found Inkheart a pleasure to the ears, an original concept and a story that will strike a chord with book lovers. My 7 year old daughter found the dark characters a bit too dark and I did find myself at times getting frustrated at how little was being done to sort the bad guys out.

A magical story made all the more magical by amazing narration

I read this story when I was younger, now that I’m older, I feel that I’m learning it anew, aided by the tremendous narration. I was transfixed listening to this, perhaps because I mostly limit myself to non-fiction, but I do think this is a wonderful, timeless story, and hearing it read aloud by such a wonderful narrator just made it all the better.

Loved the Way

The characters were brought to life in this reading of Inkheart! So believeable I wanted to slip between the pages myself.

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!

Captivating

An imaginative, suspenseful and delightful story superbly performed. Lynn Redgrave not only does wonderful character voices, she keeps the narration lively as well--a feat pulled off only by the finest actors. This one fell into the "I couldn't put it down" category for me. Truly original and entertaining.