Inkheart: Cornelia Funke

Even though Cornelia Funke's books have gotten great reviews, I have, until the other day, found them very hard to read. I first read "The Thief Lord" which did not hold any interest for me until the end (though the movie was somewhat enjoyable). I didn't really enjoy Inkheart either, and yet it had a great plot. Perhaps it's something in the translation from German to English. I mean, for a book lover, what could be better than a story about a man and his daughter, who have the mysterious power to read characters out of books or send them back from where they came (which, of course is what causes Meggie's mother to disappear for 10 years and brings into our world a host of nefarious characters who will do anything to make sure they don't ever have to return to Inkworld)? But I found the book terribly slow moving and wordy (and I'm a super fast reader who, on a good day, can read well over a hundred pages in an hour).

But, wanting to find out more about Meggie and her father Mo, I decided to pick up a paperback copy of "Inkspell" the other day, and must admit I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It has a much faster pace and the writing seems cleaner. So while I normally wouldn't recommend a just okay book, I do recommend Inkheart and its sequel Inkspell Cornelia Funke's plots and characters are engaging enough to make up for the shortcomings of the translations.

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