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Summary: A MUST READ FOR ANYONE OLDER THAN 8 ...
Review: Momo is one of these few books you'll never forget having read. The simplicity of its story and its metaphorical value about what really matters in life make it a timeless classic. What is it, that really matters in life? Well, take your time (hint) and find out ... p.s.: if you liked Momo, read Hermann Hesse's Sidharta.
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Summary: libros infantiles solo para niños.
Review: Momo, un personaje que cada uno lleva dentro, es una lectura recomedable para todas las edades, no dejar pasar la oportunidad de leer un buen cuento.. para despues compararlo con nuestro estilo de vida... Un libro de cabecera que nos ayuda a terminar el día olvidandonos de todo...
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Summary: Read Momo to learn about THE NOTHING (Neverending Story)
Review: Most people are aware of The Neverending Story, written by the same author, that was turned into a famous movie. But most people are unaware that Momo was also turned into a movie. I have it in the German language, but I'm under the impression it was originally made in English. It is an outstanding book with lessons to learn about our values in modern times, with similar themes to the Neverending Story. In the Neverending Story, part II, a rockbiter's baby eats a lot of rocks, but keeps crying because it feels empty inside. In Momo, the heroine of the book has three lunches but feels empty inside. In the Neverending Story, the childlike emporess has a fatal illness, caused by The Nothing. In Momo, the dispensor of people's time, Professor Hora, is afraid the men in gray will poison the time he allots to people, causing a fatal illness. Quote:" A fatal illness, though you scarcely notice it at first. One day, you don't feel like doing anything. NOTHING interests you, everything bores you. Far from wearing off, your boredom persists and gets worse, day by day and week by week. You feel more and more bad tempered, more and more EMPTY inside, more and more dissatisfied with yourself and the world in general... you bustle around with a blank gray face, just like the men in gray themselves - indeed, you've joined their ranks. The disease has a name. It's called deadly tedium." Another quote: "So the men in gray aren't human? No. Their human appearance is only a disguise. What are they then? Strictly speaking, they're NOTHING. So where do they come from? They exist only because people give them the opportunity to do so."
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Summary: The best book ever written!
Review: My father read this to me when I was little. I have read it by myself probably near 100 times. It's captivating, beautifuly written, and teaches you to look at your life. I would recomend this book to anyone. I hope that you will read this incredable master piece, and enjoy it as much as I have. (:
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Summary: Genius. But a cop-out ending. Share with family anyway.
Review: My reasons: I was delighted to find that the author of "The Neverending Story" has written other books too, so I rushed to check out the others. That's because the Neverending Story is one of the best, if not THE best, work of fiction on Earth. Don't judge it by its movie.
Plot: The main character, Momo, is an orphaned girl with a miraculous ability to listen. The story takes place in an Italian(?) city, which is laced about with ancient ruins, and modern-day poverty-stricken homes. Then the gray men infiltrate the city... they are people who "know time like leeches know blood." And by their influence, the quiet old city is transformed into an urban nightmare full of people who miserably hurry everywhere. Momo is the only person of all who is immune to the men in gray, and so it's up to her to stop them.
This book is awestriking, deeply philosophical, and it's more important for grown-ups to read it than children. It's a social commentary about how our negative perception of time is destroying our society, robbing us of our happiness, and skewing our values of what is really important in life. The heroine has to fight back with a positive perception of time in order to repair the damage done. Some parts of the book are very frightening, and this is because that the same time they're very much imaginary, they are also real at the same time... at the same time as being something you never have and never will encounter, they are things that you have encountered many times and know it, just like everybody else in the world; you'd have to read the book to see what I'm getting at there. No, it's not even a magic thing.
By the way, the stuff involving time in this book is not time-travel. It uses time in ways that I have never seen anybody do before.
Translation: The English translation of "The Neverending Story" was so perfect that you could read it from cover to cover, twice, aloud, without realising that its native language had been something else. The only sign was that some of the poetry didn't feel quite right. "Momo," however, is... a poor translation. It's not in Engrish, or Englisch as the case may be; you can always understand what's being said, but there's a lumpiness to it, an awkward flow, that feels so obvious that someone can read only a paragraph and say "Hey, this was in German originally, wasn't it? It looks like it." There are a few phrases of speech retained which, although comprehensible, seem to have been taken literally from the German. Some really ugly split infinitives are retained from the German, too, where such things are more acceptable. Oddly, the poems in "Momo" came across with good flow.
Flaw: The last chapter, I'm afraid, feels like it was written by somebody else. Piers Anthony, perhaps. It's jarringly different from the rest, and completely fails to live up to the expectations built by the climaxing-climaxing-climaxing pattern of the rest of the book. (In "The Neverending Story," the excitement and genius builds up exponentially throughout the book, so that the absolute most world-shaking statements are delivered on the last page, after you'd thought all the fun was over. Gotcha, says Ende.) The last chapter reveals nothing new at all (which is odd, since Ende's style is to shock you with a new addition to the intricate plot every few paragraphs, if not every sentence) and completely ignores the intelligence and special abilities of the characters involved, doesn't tie up some loose ends that have been foreshadowed since the beginning of the book, and is overall a very poor action sequence. The positive perception of time is insufficiently explored. It IS a very happy ending, yes, but it feels like a lot of things are missing... "the guns seen in the first act were never used in the last act," that sort of thing. It doesn't feel like Ende at all! Since it doesn't introduce anything new, only using the things mentioned very recently, it could have been written by anybody.
After discussing the final chapter with a couple friends who I read the book with, we all felt the same way about it, and we all agreed that Ende must have actually been planning a completely different ending, one which used all those beautiful things, but given how crazily alchemical and spiritual Ende wants to get, the editors must have told him they didn't want that metaphysical stuff and made him replace it with a much shorter ending, one which doesn't end up giving answers to those questions at all.
Suggestions: Read it! Preferably aloud, with others, because you need to share this book with your loved ones. No, it isn't corny, but you all need it, and it's really REALLY cool, so it's a hell of a lot better than anything on TV. Throughout, discuss the significance of what's going on in the story and how it relates to you. It's worth the poor final chapter, which is extremely short, and given that all the rest of the book is genius that will make you lie awake at night wondering what will happen next, you won't mind. I strongly suggest that you and your friends try to make up your own final chapter for it.
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Summary: Destined to be a fable for our times
Review: There are many good books out there worth reading. There are many entertaining books which provide a few hours pleasure. Michael Ende's Momo is certainly in both of these collections, but what is truly wonderful about this book is that it gives a story to the pain and challenge of modern life. As a fable/myth, it gives us a narrative to talk about what ails us -- in this case, the malaise of a hurried-up life deprived of time. Where has all our time gone? Momo has given me a language of images to talk about this problem in my life and our society . This is its greatest gift.
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Summary: what happens when the neverending story ends?
Review: this classic tale of good vs. evil is realized in a delightful way - this book encourages children to be accepting of each other, to believe in the magic of stories, and to enjoy every minute of their childhood.
i sat down and read this book from cover to cover. it's hardly a "children's book", but so few books are. i highly recommend it - i love it.
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Summary: The best book I've ever read.
Review: This is a book of pure magic. It is by far my favorite book. I love it so much because it can be read on so many different levels, and it has help me make some sense out of life. I find that Momo grabs you and won't let you go, not only until you've finished the book, but ever!
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Summary: An Amazing Book
Review: This is a fabulous book! in my opinion it's Ende's best one! If you're a fantasy fan, you definetly have to read this book, it's about a girl named Momo, her young friend, her old friend and the time-thieves, who steals time from people by making the people think they are saving time. And of course a few other creatures amazing as always from Michael Ende.
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Summary: Another Ende masterpiece
Review: This is a great book in every way. The story of the little orphan girl, who ends up having to save the world from the terrible Grey Men, who want to steal people's time, like all of Ende's books is the work of a genius.
And even better: Unlike The Neverending Story, in this case I would dwefinitely recommend watching the movie too. It really captures the magic of the book.
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