1.5k reviews for:

Momo

Michael Ende

4.32 AVERAGE

adventurous inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

 
Have you ever given a book that you had previously dnf’ed, a second chance? I just have and I don’t regret it. 

There are some books in my library who have somehow just always *been there*, sitting on my shelves and I don’t even know where they came from – probably my parents’ bookshelves, but I truly can’t remember. I admittedly have a tier system to my shelves: the favourites on display in the living room, the beloved all around the bedroom – and the shelf of doom in the hallway, reserved for books I keep putting off giving to those lovely trade booths we have all around town. This had been the home of my edition of “Momo” for the past couple of years, until recently, when my dear friend who loves reading but has such a slow pace of reading that his recommendations always weigh a lot heavier than others, gushed on about this book he’d been reading with his students. (Also: Do not read this as criticism of slow readers, on the contrary, I think the way he reads is a lot more thorough and in-depth than mine and thus I value his recommendations so much, because he spent MONTHS with a book he recommends.) 

There I go, walk of shame, picking up my edition from the shelf of doom and giving it another try, probably a good … 15-18 years after the first one. And you know what? The adult (haha) Leonie enjoyed this one a lot more than child-Leonie did. I now found the beauty in the way Michael Ende tells this enormous tale of heroics and the fight against time thieves in grey suits and poisoning the world with their greed. It also tells the story about how one child can save a whole world, just by being themselves. 

The style of writing is beautiful and I partially also listened to an audiobook version of this, too, which I enjoyed tremendously. I still see why younger me had discarded this book and I could imagine why other kids would do, too, but I was swept away by the fascination my friend and his students had for this book and I admit, I had a really good time. This is a great book to read with kids, but even if you just read it for your own enjoyment, I guarantee, you’ll have a great time. 

Here's to giving books second chances and listening to your friends’ fascinations, be it books or whatever else their rabbithole is themed after. 

(Also, listening, truly listening, might just be the perfect advice to take away from this book.) 

 

 

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A wonderful book for all ages, Momo reminded me of a modern fairy tale applicable to everyone in this day and age. Beautifully written, translated, and illustrated.
nathaliehoffmannn's profile picture

nathaliehoffmannn's review

5.0
adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Worldbuilding: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Plot:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐
Characters:⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐
Narrator:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Una metafora della vita moderna. attendo una momo o una tartaruga. 
“Da principio non si nota gran che. Capita che un giorno uno non ha più voglia di niente. Niente lo interessa, si annoia; questa svogliatezza non passa, resta e aumenta.
Peggiora di giorno in giorno, di settimana in settimana; sempre più di umor nero, sempre più vuoto dentro, sempre più insoddisfatto di se stesso e del mondo intero. Poi gradatamente sparisce anche questo sentimento e più nulla conta. Diventa grigio e indifferente, estraneo a tutto il mondo, senza rabbie o entusiasmi, incapace di essere felice o di soffrire, disimpara a ridere o a piangere. Ed è perché si è diventati freddi dentro, e non si è più capaci di amare niente e nessuno. Quando la malattia arriva a questo punto, è incurabile. Non c'è ritorno. Ci si aggira qua e là con la faccia grigia priva di vita, si diventa simili ai Signori Grigi. Si è uno di loro. Questa malattia si chiama Noia Mortale.”
adventurous funny hopeful inspiring reflective
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
maya_b's profile picture

maya_b's review

5.0
adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Ich habe Momo bereits irgendwann als kleines Kind gelesen (bzw. vorgelesen bekommen), und damals auch die Serie geschaut, und eigentlich dachte ich, ich hätte mich an nichts erinnert, außer, dass  es mir gefallen hat, aber tatsächlich kam jetzt beim Lesen doch richtig viel zurück.
Was der Unterhaltung in meinen Augen überhaupt nicht geschadet hat. Ich fand die Geschichte wirklich schön geschrieben, selbst in den Momenten, in denen nur kurz zusammengefasst wird, was passiert, hat Ende es dennoch geschafft, dass ich das alles als sehr lebendig empfunden habe (oder eben so lebendig, wie für eine solche Geschichte angebracht), Momo und Kassiopeia, ebenso wie die beiden Freunde sind mir schnell ans Herz gewachsen, und tatsächlich fand ich die Geschichte auch jetzt noch durchaus spannend und interessant. Spannend sicherlich noch mehr für Kinder, auch wenn auch ich sehr gerne immer wissen wollte, was als nächstes kommt, aber interessant ganz sicher für alle, denn diese Herangehensweise an Zeit und was wir mit unserer Zeit anfangen, hat doch sehr zum Nachdenken angeregt.
Es gibt auch eindeutig einen Unterton davon, wie man Zeit schlecht verbringt und wie gut, und nicht in allen Punkten würde ich immer zustimmen, aber gleichzeitig wird auch klar, dass man das differenzierter sehen kann, und in so einigen Sachen stehe ich auch voll und ganz hinter dem, was die Geschichte zu erzählen hatte.
Sehr gut Gefallen hat mir auch das Nachwort, ebenso wie die Illustrationen. Beides hat noch einmal mehr zur Magie der Geschichte beigetragen, und insgesamt bin ich einfach richtig gerne in die Welt eingetaucht und auch unglaublich zufrieden wieder aus der Geschichte herausgegangen. Hat mir wirklich gut gefallen, und ich bin froh, mich dem Buch noch einmal zugewendet zu haben.