A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed Inkheart for my G&C class. I thought some of you might be interested in reading the completed review. Be warned, however: It beith a very long review. =P
SPOILER ALERT: READ AT YOUR OWN RISK
Inkheart
In this critical review we will evaluate Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Inkheart begins during the night, with gentle rain tapping against the window of a young girl’s bedroom. This soft but persistent rain keeps the girl, Meggie, awake, and the desire to read the book under her pillow draws her to the window. And as she sees the stranger through the rain-smeared glass, her life changes forever. Meggie’s father, Mo, knows the stranger as Dustfinger, and both Mo and Dustfinger seem strangely worried about a particular book and another stranger called Capricorn.
Only a few hours after Dustfinger’s appearance, Meggie and Mo set off with Dustfinger on a journey that swiftly turns into a much more dangerous adventure than any of them expected. Along the way, Meggie learns that her father possesses the extraordinary ability to “read things out of books.” As Mo reads aloud, objects and even characters from the story he reads come to life, as if his voice has drawn them from the pages and into his world. This explains Mo’s curious connection with Dustfinger: he read Dustfinger out of a particular book called Inkheart. Dustfinger has come to tell Mo that Capricorn, another character who Mo read out of Inkheart, is trying to get his hands on every copy of the book from which he came—and he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.
Inkheart is both an entertaining and thought-provoking story, and Funke uses the adventures her characters go through to teach valuable lessons, not the least of which are courage and hope. All of the heroes and heroines in Inkheart are courageous to some extent, but a few moments of bravery stand out. Towards the end of the story, for example, as Meggie talks with the evil “Magpie,” she fearlessly states that if the Magpie will not help her, she will bite her own tongue “so hard that it swells up . . . and [she] won’t be able to read aloud.” Darius also gives a fine example of courage when he protects Meggie from the Magpie. Although Darius has always seemed timorous and even cowardly, he does not hesitate as he gallantly “[wraps] his thin arms firmly around the Magpie . . . [and does not] let go.” Meggie’s aunt Elinor exemplifies hope as, in one particularly dire situation, she thinks, “the story must have a happy ending. It wouldn’t be right otherwise!”
Many themes work their way into the pages of Inkheart, but particularly the general theme of man vs. self and the specific theme of hate ruining a life. Dustfinger is torn apart by conflicting emotions: he desperately wants to return to his story and the life he always knew, and he is willing to go to almost any lengths to do so, but his conscience still wars against him. In particular, Dustfinger finds the task of betraying Meggie to be much harder than he expected. However, even as his guilty conscience stirs, he “[pushes] the tiresome feeling away” and convinces himself that “the girl [has] nothing to do with him . . . [and] he [has] no reason to feel like a miserable double-dealing villain.” Despite this reassurance, however, Dustfinger still feels guilty for his actions, and he constantly struggles with himself throughout the story. Additionally, we see the specific theme of hate ruining a life as Funke delves more deeply into the life of Capricorn. We learn that ever since his fifteenth year, Capricorn has toiled to suppress any “weakness” of character he might have—weaknesses like compassion and love. Now that he has achieved his goal, he lives an utterly self-centered life, consumed with hatred, a thirst for power, and cruelty, and without the faintest tinge of love or happiness.
Cornelia Funke’s style of writing in Inkheart is both practical and intriguing, and she uses concise descriptions to pull her reader into the story. In the moment that Meggie first sees Dustfinger, Funke’s brief statement that he “[is] little more than a shadow” and that “he [keeps] on staring at the house” gives a tantalizing glimpse of the mystery this character will bring to the story. As she describes the morning on which the three set off on their adventure, Funke again introduces an almost eerie foreshadowing of what is yet to come: “And so they set off, without saying good-bye to anyone, on a morning that still seemed much too early and smelled of rain.” While Funke uses unique, lengthy words on occasion, she avoids the snare that many other writers slip into; she does not overpower the rest of her writing with these “showy” words. Funke’s well-balanced use of dialogue also entices her reader into the world of Inkheart, as well as her use of different literary styles.
Of all the books in the world, only a select few appeal to a large variety of people. Inkheart falls among those few. Though written mainly from a child’s point of view, InkheartInkheart in Germany alone, Inkheart also appeals to people from many different countries. In addition, readers who love engaging stories and believable characters will appreciate Inkheart simply because of the story itself—a story where the characters in books quite literally come to life. Inkheart deals with issues that are both mature and intriguing, and because of this, the story appeals to both children and adults. This tale of adventure is also one that will draw in boys and girls alike, as it has relatively equal portions of action and character development, appealing to both male and female readers alike. Although German-born Funke has had particular success in her homeland, selling over 3.8 million copies in Germany alone, Inkheart also appeals to people from many different countries. In addition, readers who love engaging stories and believable characters will appreciate Inkheart simply because of the story itself—a story where the characters in books quite literally come to life.
Through the example of Capricorn’s rule over “his village,” Funke demonstrates the downside of both a social and political dictatorship, while also using the story itself to convict her reader. Capricorn seems to implement a somewhat dictatorial atmosphere in the way he relates to the people around him. His followers treat him almost like a god, with profound reverence and the willingness to do almost anything for him, though this humble obedience seems to come not from love for their leader, but from the fear he has inspired in their hearts. Although Inkheart does not contain any other specific economic, political, or spiritual teaching, the story itself causes the reader to consider many serious issues. For example, after reading Inkheart, I realized how much I take my world for granted. I never considered how I would react if my life was suddenly turned upside-down as Meggie’s is in Inkheart. Above all, I felt a heightened appreciation for my family and my friends, and I realized how much I should cherish them—after all, who knows when Silvertongue might come along and read one of my siblings into another story! Inkheart’s tales of love, courage, hope, kindness, and loyalty would also serve to encourage and inspire others. Funke holds up these examples of excellent character traits in such a way that she encourages her readers to imitate her characters.
On the whole, Inkheart is a relatively serious book, and Funke causes her readers to truly empathize with her main characters. Nevertheless, she still makes fun of a few select characters. Basta, for example, has an extremely superstitious nature, which Funke frequently ridicules through her other characters. When Basta orders Flatnose not to kill a cat because doing so “is unlucky,” Flatnose responds in frustration, “ Superstitious garbage! . . . You could drive a man crazy, the way you carry on: . . . Oh, watch out, you put your left boot on first, that’s unlucky; oh my, someone yawned – mercy me, that means I’ll fall down dead tomorrow!” At the same time, however, Funke also shows a genuine caring for her other main characters, detailing their triumphs and struggles so passionately that her reader cannot help but sympathize with them. When I first learned that Dustfinger had betrayed Meggie and Mo to Capricorn, I felt a wave of disappointment and sadness wash over me. In much the same way, I felt dark amusement as Dustfinger taunted Basta in the crypt, eventually outwitting the evil knife-wielder.
Countless characters fill the pages of Inkheart, and Funke has a talent for making even the most stock characters unique. For example, Capricorn seems at first glance to be the ever-present, predictable “bad-guy.” However, as Funke develops him more and more, Capricorn takes on a personality all his own. Fenoglio, the man who wrote Capricorn into existence, calls him “the unapproachable,” and says that his heart “is a stone . . . a black stone with about as much human sympathy as a lump of coal.” This description certainly fits the merciless Capricorn. Mo provides a perfect foil character, his goodness and kindness shining in stark contrast to Capricorn’s heartlessness. He repeatedly risks his life for Meggie, and resolutely searches for a way to send the heartbroken Dustfinger back where he belongs. Even in the face of danger, Mo does not hesitate in doing what is right. As Capricorn says to an imprisoned Meggie, “[Mo will] come here even though he knows I won’t let him go again, any more than I will let his daughter go. He’ll come all the same.” Capricorn and Mo, along with Meggie and Dustfinger, are the characters that carry this story. With polar opposite personalities and morals, the clash of good and evil in these characters keeps Inkheart engaging.
Funke writes Inkheart from a third-person omniscient perspective, occasionally offering little pieces of information that only she, as the narrator, knows about her characters and her story. For example, when describing the night in which Inkheart begins, she explains that “[it was] the night when so much began and so many things changed forever.” Inkheart also quite aptly fits the monomyth of literature, with summer as the first season of the book. Meggie and Mo live happily together during this season, and Meggie has few cares in the world. However, summer swiftly transforms into fall as Meggie and Mo must leave their home. Fall rapidly degrades into winter, with Mo’s capture and Meggie’s subsequent quest to save him that only results in her own capture. However, when things seem at their most hopeless, winter slowly gives way to spring as Meggie and Mo conquer all odds and are reunited.
Perhaps more noticeable than any other aspect of Inkheart is the love of literature that spills from Cornelia Funke’s pen onto every page of her novel. From the carefully-chosen quotes that begin every chapter to the way she turns the books in her story into main characters, it is clear that Funke writes because she loves to do so. Her adoration for the written word pours into the tale she tells; we see an example in Meggie’s loving explanation that “books have to be heavy because the whole world’s inside them.” Funke’s reverence for books also demonstrates itself clearly throughout the book, even in the brief but pithy statement that Mo “[hates] to see dog-eared pages.” Towards the beginning of the book, Funke makes use of the famous quote, “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.” Inkheart, with all of its twists and turns, is certainly a story that falls into the last category.
