The Neverending Story

The Boy Who Entered the Book

The Neverending Story (Die unendliche Geschichte) is an acclaimed fantasy novel by German author Michael Ende. Published in 1979, the book became an immediate international success, celebrated for its unique narrative structure, deep philosophical themes, and its powerful defense of human imagination. It is structured in two distinct halves, marked by the famous use of two different colored inks—one for the real world, and one for the fantasy world.

The Two Worlds: The Real and Fantastica

The story begins in the real world, focusing on Bastian Balthazar Bux, a shy, bullied, and overweight boy who seeks refuge in literature. He impulsively steals a strange book titled The Neverending Story from an old bookstore and hides in his school attic to read it.

The book he reads details the dying world of Fantastica (called Fantasia in some translations), a realm ruled by the benevolent but mysteriously ill Childlike Empress. Fantastica is being slowly devoured by a terrible, nihilistic force called "The Nothing," which represents the growing cynicism, apathy, and loss of imagination in the real world.

The Empress tasks Atreyu, a young warrior from the Green Skins, with undertaking the Great Quest to find a cure. Atreyu's journey is a perilous odyssey that eventually leads him to realize that the only way to save Fantastica is to bring a human child from the real world into the story to give the Empress a new name.

Bastian's Transformation and Temptation

In the novel’s revolutionary plot twist, Bastian realizes that the characters in the book are aware of him, and he is the human child they need. When he finally shouts a new name for the Empress, he is transported into Fantastica.

The second half of the novel focuses on Bastian's life in Fantastica. Now equipped with the powerful amulet AURYN (which grants him the ability to wish for anything), Bastian begins to shape the world with his wishes.

• The Seduction of Power: Bastian's wishes—to be handsome, brave, and famous—begin to transform him. However, with every wish, he loses a memory of his real life. The theme explores the danger of unlimited power and the temptation to forget one’s origins and humanity.

• The Loss of Self: When Bastian nearly loses all his memories, he risks becoming a permanent, self-serving fixture of Fantastica, destined to become one of the 'Lost Ones'—humans who forget themselves entirely.

• The Return Home: With the help of his true friends, Atreyu and the luckdragon Falkor, Bastian realizes the importance of returning home and loving his imperfect self. The final wish he must make is the one that allows him to leave.

The Neverending Story is a profound, cyclical narrative about the power of storytelling to heal both the reader and the world.