Li'l Owl's Reviews > Inkheart

Ah! A book about a magical book!!
How delightful!

Twelve year old Meggie lives in a small farmhouse with her father, Mo, as Meggie calls him, who repairs and restores books. Meggie doesn't think that 'bookbinder' describes the care and love her father takes when he's fixing books and prefers to say that he's a "book doctor." He has a plaque on the bookshop door that reads:
Some books should be tasted
some devoured
but only a few
should be chewed and digested thoroughly.

One dark and rainy night, a stranger arrives at the door. Mo invites him in, saying he's a "friend" and sends Meggie roughly back to bed. Mo has never treated her that way but more than that, Meggie senses fear, like icy fingers around her heart, and a feeling of foreboding surrounding the visitor. And something else, a familiarity deep down that she can't explain. What kind of friend comes knocking in the middle of the night? Not easily dissuaded, Meggie creeps out of bed and listens through the door. She hears Mo call the visitor Dustfinger who then calls her father Silvertongue. Then the voices become only low murmurs, a hushed argument of sorts.

"don't underestimate him" she heard Dustfinger say.
"He'd do anything to get hold of it" .....
"And when I say 'anything,' I can assure you I mean anything."......
"I'll never let him have it." That was Mo. ...
"Oh, yes? And for how much longer, do you think? What about your daughter?....
Meggie wonders what the strange names mean, including the other one Dustfinger said "Capricorn" and what could he want that Mo will never give up?

Very early the next morning Mo tells Meggie to pack quickly, that they're going to visit his aunt Elinor who needs some of her books repaired. Meggie is confused as she still has a week of school left but Mo, not in the mood to argue, has been unusually distressed since Dustfinger's arrival and is clearly in a hurry to leave.
And, as always, he reminds her to pack plenty of books to read. He's always says
"It's a good idea to have your own books with you when you're in a strange place."
They just reach the gate when Dustfinger suddenly appears in the road and says he's coming along. This seems to upset Mo even more and Meggie, still fearful, isn't at all happy, either.
As the journey lags on the discord between Mo and Dustfinger continues and Meggie knows something is being kept secret from her, something to do with a book she saw Mo hide in his suitcase, something that has Mo very anxious and worried.
Elinor's house is enormous with bookshelves full of books, floor to ceiling in every room. In addition, Elinor makes it very apparent that she doesn't care for children. Not at all.
Late that first night Meggie hears Mo and Elinor whispering about hiding the book so it can never be found. Only a little while later, that very night, men come and steal the book, taking Mo with them. The book was indeed kept safe and the men will soon discover that they have the wrong book. What will happen to Mo then?
Elinor dislikes and doesn't trust Dustfinger but he says he knows where Mo has been taken leaving Meggie and Elinor no choice but to trust him to take them to exchange the book for Mo. Elinor finds she was right not to trust Dustfinger as he's deceived them, leading them right into a trap. They've been taken by gun point and reunited with Mo but are now locked up, terrified, and at the complete mercy of Capricorn.
Mo has no choice but to tell Maggie the secret he's been hiding, why he's never read out loud to her, and about what really happened to her mother when Meggie was just three years old.
Mo explains to Meggie that he can literally read characters out of a book.
Mo was reading INKHART aloud to Meggie's mother when suddenly Capricorn appeared in their living room, along with a few of his men.
And her mother was gone. Vanished.
Mo managed to escape with Meggie, and the book and has been hiding from Capricorn ever since.

Now, Meggie and Elinor are beginning to understand why Capricorn won't let them go now that he has the book. He needs Mo to read aloud everything he wants out of the book including gold and treasure. Dustfinger, too, has his own selfish adjenda for getting his hands on the book as he, himself, was read from the pages of INKHEART, and he wants to go back. More than anything in this world.
Mo has refused to do what Capricorn wants thus far. And for good reason.
But now, thanks to Dustfinger, Capricorn finally has everything he needs to make Mo obey. He has his Daughter, Meggie.
And that's just the beginning.


Inkheart by Cornelia Funke is a magical adventure that I found very hard to put down.
It was everything a great story should be. A believable story line with magic for added fun and adventure. Endearing characters in Mo, Meggie, and Elinor who have me looking forward to reading their further adventures in Inkspell. Characters who are merciless and evil, who have no quandary about deceit, ruthlessness, and murder. It all goes flat out which I found surprising as it's a 500+ page book. It's an exciting and original story with lots of uncertainty and anticipation throughout that never loses momentum and keeps you guessing from beginning to end. I was drawn straight in and I found myself captivated within the pages for hours on end, turning the pages as fast as could to see what might happen next. I got goose bumps on countless occasions!

Oh! What a sensational adventure!! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves books. Books to read, collect, and treasure.