Vicki, from my book club, sold me on this book when she told me that it was the story of a man who could read characters in and out of stories. She said her and her daughter had enjoyed it so much that they'd even bought the second one in hardcover! If I recall correctly, I think I popped into Book Warehouse on Lonsdale in North Vancouver after work one night, and bought a copy right then and there, without even reading the back of the book. Well, I wasn't so impressed. It was a good story, but I found that it dragged on much longer than was necessary. With a better editor, it may have been a better read.Years later, in September 2011, I purchased the second book in the series from Russell Books in Victoria, during a visit back home. I haven't read it yet, but I think I bought it because, upon recollection, I didn't dislike this book as much as I thought I would have. I still have yet to read anything else by Funke: Dragon Rider (which was a favourite in Elaine's class) and Thief Lord (which has received nothing but rave reviews), but I think that the next one I read will be more enjoyable, now that I'm expecting a slower moving story. Her writing is translated from German, which surely contributes to the style. Just as Coelho and Allende's writing floats gracefully with echoes of its poetic Portuguese, Funke's writing is very ... German. I'm sure that knowing this before you pick up the book is important to approaching this book. Had I known that I was reading more of a Neverending Story and less of a Harry Potter, I may have liked this book more than I did.
