"The City of Dreaming Books" by Walter Moers. Moers is to Germany what Pratchett is to the UK; a highly comic author in the fantasy genre, but with lots of fans outside of fantasy literature. His imagination is endless. He also illustrates his own books (he started as a comic book author, and there was a movie made after one of his most popular combic book cgaracters, "Das kleine Arschloch" "The Little Asshole"), and the illustrations are great.
There is even a TV-program based on one of his characters, "Käptn't Blaubär" ("Captain Bluebear").
This book is an ideal start into his crazy world. I am not sure all of Moers' books have been translated into English, but this one has.
Here a review of "The City of Dreaming Books" from Amazon:
After reading the first few pages, I fully intended to give this book a poor rating. The audacity, to write a book about excellent writing, without Moers writing also being of highest caliber. How presumptuous, how arrogant. The writing was merely poorly crafted children's fare, perhaps excusable only because the book is translated. It had an interesting, wonderful idea, of pursuing a world based on reading and books, but it would have been far more interesting and relatable if it had been about humans, rather than this silly dinosaur.
I repent. Most completely. I was wrong in every way. This is one of the finest fantasy novels I've ever read. Moers actually takes a talking dinosaur and makes him interesting and a complete character, to say nothing of the other species and humans in this world. Moers doesn't rely on creatures others have constructed, but in every step forms his own creations.
The character development in this novel is astounding, and so much deeper than what you find in most modern novels. This is a novel for adults with depth (and definitely not for children). It is not only extraordinarily well written throughout, but I now see those first few pages were exactly the right build-up, and the old-fashioned style (Dear Reader) fit exactly the theme and points Moers wanted to convey.
I was supposed to do a lot of other tasks, and read other books. I couldn't stop reading this one. To say the unexpected happened is to say far too little, for Moers grabbed me by the collar and pulled me along his story so that I was continuously out of breath and at wit's end trying to guess what would happen next. Every word in this is honed. I am only sorry that it took me a while to realize that most names were purposeful, and often anagrams of actual writers. It takes true brilliance to create an engaging story that is at the same moment a profound commentary on the modern literature industry.
City of Dreaming Books is a multifaceted universe like nothing else you've ever read. There is no comparison. It is a book created for those of us who love books. It is the book that you have been waiting for. It is the last book you need to read- or the last book you'll read purely for itself, for, in every book you read after this, there will be the memory of the perfection you once found here.
There is even a TV-program based on one of his characters, "Käptn't Blaubär" ("Captain Bluebear").
This book is an ideal start into his crazy world. I am not sure all of Moers' books have been translated into English, but this one has.
Here a review of "The City of Dreaming Books" from Amazon:
After reading the first few pages, I fully intended to give this book a poor rating. The audacity, to write a book about excellent writing, without Moers writing also being of highest caliber. How presumptuous, how arrogant. The writing was merely poorly crafted children's fare, perhaps excusable only because the book is translated. It had an interesting, wonderful idea, of pursuing a world based on reading and books, but it would have been far more interesting and relatable if it had been about humans, rather than this silly dinosaur.
I repent. Most completely. I was wrong in every way. This is one of the finest fantasy novels I've ever read. Moers actually takes a talking dinosaur and makes him interesting and a complete character, to say nothing of the other species and humans in this world. Moers doesn't rely on creatures others have constructed, but in every step forms his own creations.
The character development in this novel is astounding, and so much deeper than what you find in most modern novels. This is a novel for adults with depth (and definitely not for children). It is not only extraordinarily well written throughout, but I now see those first few pages were exactly the right build-up, and the old-fashioned style (Dear Reader) fit exactly the theme and points Moers wanted to convey.
I was supposed to do a lot of other tasks, and read other books. I couldn't stop reading this one. To say the unexpected happened is to say far too little, for Moers grabbed me by the collar and pulled me along his story so that I was continuously out of breath and at wit's end trying to guess what would happen next. Every word in this is honed. I am only sorry that it took me a while to realize that most names were purposeful, and often anagrams of actual writers. It takes true brilliance to create an engaging story that is at the same moment a profound commentary on the modern literature industry.
City of Dreaming Books is a multifaceted universe like nothing else you've ever read. There is no comparison. It is a book created for those of us who love books. It is the book that you have been waiting for. It is the last book you need to read- or the last book you'll read purely for itself, for, in every book you read after this, there will be the memory of the perfection you once found here.
