The Neverending Story
core novel 1979 The Neverending Story
Record
| Original title | Die unendliche Geschichte |
|---|---|
| First published | 1979 |
| Original language |  DE |
| First English translation | 1983 |
| Translator | Ralph Manheim |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.18 (227,543 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 396 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780385176224 |
Synopsis
The Neverending Story follows Bastian Balthazar Bux, a boy left adrift after his mother's death and his father's subsequent withdrawal from him. Fleeing bullies, Bastian ducks into an antique bookshop and steals an unusual volume titled The Neverending Story, then hides in his school's attic to read it in secret. The book draws him into the magical realm of Fantastica, ruled by the mysterious and ailing Childlike Empress, where a young warrior named Atreyu is sent on a quest to find a way to save her and the realm from a formless, spreading force known as the Nothing. As Bastian continues reading, he begins to sense that the characters within the story can somehow perceive him, and his own fate grows steadily entangled with the story unfolding on the page.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Neverending Story
- Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
- Author: Michael Ende
Awards (verified)
- Buxtehuder Bulle, 1979: won
- Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis (Sonderpreis), 1980: won
Notes
- A metafictional portal fantasy in which a boy reading a book is drawn into, and must save, the world of Fantastica. Won the Buxtehuder Bulle (1979) and the German Youth Literature Prize (Sonderpreis, 1980) among others, confirmed via the author's own official site (michaelende.de).
- On the translation: First English translation, Doubleday 1983.
Sources
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