Book Review: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

i had finished reading Inkheart quite a few weeks ago but have put off writing this review. At one point, i even thought i would not review it because it has been reviewed and reviewed. A Google search for “Book Review Inkheart” returned 18,400 results in 0.27 seconds – see what i mean.

Then i thought maybe i will wait till i finish the whole series of 3 books but that may take me a fair while (talking months here) as i don’t like reading the same author consecutively (yes, it’s a quirk). So here it is – my book review of Inkheart.

i had watched the movie quite a few years back and have been waiting to read this book so there was a level expectation already. And i’m happy to say the book does not disappoint. Even though this was marketed as a middle-grade book, i believe any adult who enjoys a good fantasy will enjoy reading it.

The characters of Mo and Meggie captured my heart from the first pages. i kept wanting to know what would happen to them. i kept following their journey, hoping and wishing them well. Dustfinger started out (for me) as a rather mysterious and untrustworthy character. i was screaming in my head for Mo not to trust him and was very curious as to why Mo did and why Mo felt indebted towards him. But as the story moved on, i came to pity Dustfinger, to feel for his situation. And i can say that in the end i was even rooting for him to get his wish.

The antagonist in the book, Capricorn, along with his henchmen, Basta and Flatnose, did not lose in the battle for the reader’s emotions. But they were very different emotions indeed. Through their actions you could tell where their heart laid and i hated them and their dark hearts. Their hearts weren’t all necessarily dark in the sense of evil, some were dark in the sense of lost. The cruelty Capricorn displayed made me pity the men under him even more, made me realise how desperate they must have been to decide to serve under such a horrible (that’s putting it mildly) person.

The supporting characters of Elinor and Fenoglio were not just flat characters either, although they remained pretty much steadfast in their beliefs, their actions showed how their eyes were opened as they were drawn into the story. Elinor moved from a stubborn woman who loved books above all else to a woman who would welcome a family to live with her. Fenoglio was a forgotten writer who got to meet his creations and went on to live in his created world.

The pace of the book was fast, yet not so fast that you are fighting to catch your breath and understand what just happened. i love how somewhere past the middle of the book it all seemed resolved and there was just one more thing Mo had wanted to do and then suddenly they were back in the thick of it.

i also liked how at the beginning of each chapter is a quote from fairly well-known books which Funke had read and liked. i enjoyed trying to guess which book each quote came from. It has also added to my to-read list.

So if you are looking for adventure with passion, along with good action and fantasy thrown in, Inkheart is your book. It is not as heavy going as an adult fantasy book but it certainly does not lack depth and action.

If you have already read Inkheart, let me know what you think.

syc