The Neverending Story By Michael Ende

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende follows the story of Bastian Balthazar Bux, a young, awkward, chubby boy. The story starts as Bastian runs into a bookstore in order to run away from his bullies. In the bookstore, he finds a book belong to Coreander, the bookstore owner, called “The Neverending Story.” In the spur of a moment, decided to steal it. He hides in his schoolhouse attic and begins to read the book. The “book within the book” takes place in a magical land called Fantastica. The center of Fantastica is the Ivory Tower, where the Childlike Empress lives. She is the soul of Fantastica itself. However, she is sick, and her condition reflects itself in the land. She calls upon Atreyu, a young hunter, to find a cure and gives him Auryn, a magical necklace that offers Atreyu protection, a symbol of her favor. Atreyu seeks Morla, a wise tortoise, who has gone
It definitely contains all the various aspects that a fantasy novel would contain. There are magical creatures, magic, the journey to find one’s true desires and mystical concepts that give it the air of “fantasy.” Despite it being a rather imaginative book, The Neverending Story also addresses a wide variety of topics, ranging from bullying to questioning one’s existence. However, the main premise of the book lies in the nature of imagination itself. Imagination bolsters the first half of The Neverending Story. Wish fulfillment is a huge theme in the second half. Bastian wishes for things that he desires—good looks, heroic capabilities and etc. However, he eventually learns that doing what you wish isn’t exactly as easy or simple as it seems. Ende also explores the theme of power—the usage of it, the consequences of using it and the ability to corrupt it. It is like the saying “power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Bastian nearly suffered the consequences of “absolute corruption” but survived with the help of