The City Of Dreaming Books (2007) - Plot & Excerpts
The moment I opened this book (and yes I know I say this a lot) I knew that I would love this book from the first page. My dear readers, did you, like me, never want this book to end? I wanted it to be longer. I savoured it, took my time...but at the same time, I was reading pages whenever I had the chance. Literally in the bathroom, during dinner--I'd read into the night until my eyes got sore and even then, the book nagged at me from my bedside tables in my dreams. "Read me, read me!" it cried until I would give in, light a candle and become a night owl once more.You may ask, what would compel me to do such a thing? Let me fangasm for a moment, if you please. *OMGZZZ THIS BOOK IS SO AWESOME LIKE YEAHHHH I JUST WANT TO LIVE IN IT FOREVER AND EVER AND EVERRRR!" Ok. Now that that's out of my system, let me give my explaination as to why this kooky book is so very wonderful.Moers writing is so detailed and creative that he invokes emotions, senses. When Optimus Yarnspinner entered Bookholm for the first time, I was in awe. I could smell, at least in my imagination, a place I've only dreamed of: a place dedicated to BOOKS. I smelt leather and paper and ink...As a bibliophile, you can imagine how happy this made me--this book was written for people like me in my mind. I've always loved books about books, but this takes everything and blows it out of the water. Even Inkheart.A part of me ached because Bookholm doesn't and will never exist, except on a page, and another part was telling myself that I could visit this book time and time again and be enraptured. This is how I imagine I'd react in Bookholm:I'm having a hard time figuring out how to get across my feelings about this book. I love all the small details and the world building, all the quirky anagrams which were fun to figure out in my head, and the interesting Zamonian book titles, the creatures and the food. I felt like I was in the tavern with Optimus, wincing as he accidentally got a bad sting from Beebread. {watch out for that by the way!} The Poets Ringlet sounds most delicious to me or the book shaped pastry with apple filling and pistachios. I loved all the footnotes and the backstories of Zamonian history, or even Optimus's little asides about a memory and such. I think one of my favorite parts was when I read about Regenschein and his adventures in the catacombs. I swear that in reading that passage, I could hear The Shadow Kings rustling papers behind me, his ink breath on the back of my neck. Another part I enjoyed was towards the end, about the history behind Zamonian horror literature. (pgs. 318-322 in my edition) There are so many passages that I want to memorize, just for the sheer delight. There were so many that felt special to me, but especially this one on pg. 81 of my edition: "Books, books, books, books. Old books, new books, expensive books, cheap books, books in shop windows or bookcases, in sacks or on handcarts, in random heaps or neatly arrayed behind glass. Books in precarious tottering piles, book parcelled up with string ("Try your luck --- buy your surprise package!), books displayed on marble pillars or locked away behind grilles in dark wooden cabinets ('Sighed first editions--don't touch!). Books bound in leather and linen, hide or silk, books with clasps of copper or iron, silver or gold--even in one or two shop windows, books studded all over with diamonds." My bibliophilic brain went dizzy with the images I conjured up in my owlie head.The illustrations make the book come even more alive and the writing is wonderful, have I mentioned that? There was never a point where I wanted to stop or I felt it slowed down, I felt as if every word was placed perfectly in the story--beautiful sentences complimented each other in wit and vivid imagery. and god help anyone who interuppted me. I was irritated whenever my stomach growled or I had to use the bathroom. I wanted to yell at my body and say "Can't you see I'm trying to read!?"This is a fun charming and gorgeous read for bookish adults who still dream of mountains of old books in a far off fantasy land. I was obsessed with this book to the point where I would be at the edge of armchair, going through a range of emotions just as how most people did reading the manuscript given to Optimus. I giggled with sheer happiness at all the passages describing ancient book lore and the shops, and the stories of the catacombs--I laughed at a lot of things--I bit my lip and nail in fear for Optimus's safety, and shed a tear when it was done, considering picking it up again because I felt as if I had just lost something. I can't say exactly what, but I knew I'd miss the whimsy and the adventure. I had an Oz moment and I wanted to turn to the Booklings and say: "I'll miss you most of all!"Even though I'll miss this book and I certainly never wanted to stop and start other books, I'm glad I have finished such a wonderful story. Many other stories are waiting on my shelves for me, so this one will be put up in a place all its own and rest for a good while--but I know like a good old friend, it will always be there to welcome me back into its pages.PS--Beware of Hazardous Books and Animatomes! (or the hybrids)
Fantastic. I'm in literary love. This was the first book by Walter Moers that I read but will definitely not be the last. I have rarely loved and adored a book as much as this one.The ultimate book for any booklovers with a sense of humour and a love for good, exciting stories. "The City of Dreaming Books" tells the story of Hildegunst von Mythenmetz (called Optimus Yarnspinner in the English translation, but I read a Finnish translation which kept the original German name of the protagonist) who inherits a mysterious manuscript from his godfather and, in quest for its author, is driven into the exciting but dangerous depths of Bookholm, a city entirely devoted to books. Everything in the story revolves around books, reading and writing, and the story is written in accordance with all the rules of good storytelling so that in 500 pages the story never slows down too much but becomes more and more exciting, and at the same time the story is voluminous enough to have time for revealing much of the fantastic world of the book. There dangerous Bookhunters hunt unscrupulously for valuable books, a book-filled labyrinth under the city is also filled with unspeakable monsters, and one-eyed little Booklings deep in the labyrinth are all devoted to a single author, memorizing his or her entire work. The characters in the story are lovely; the protagonist is simply adorable, and easy for any book nerd to relate to, and I also love the various friends and helpers he meets during his quest, and the villains are delicious as well. Moers' imagination is truly impressive, and his love for books and good storytelling is obvious, which makes is easy for the reader to fall in love as well. The book is full of wacky humour, and it's crazy and whimsical enough that it may be dismissed as silly by people who expect novels to be Serious and Devoted To Being Great Art. But a story about a literate dinosaur's adventures is probably not meant for such people anyway, and the book it hit my sense of humour exactly. It's also partly just the wacky humour that made me love the characters and the story so much that I also cried for it. To me a book as lovable, fun and exciting as this is worth much more as art than a thousand Serious Art Novels written for critics and academics rather than a reading audience who loves a good story and sympathetic characters.The creatures in Zamonia all resemble some kind of animals or mythical monsters or creatures you never imagined before. Sometimes I find books with such characters annoying because it seems the author is just trying to be cutesy or trying to tell me that Also Other Creatures Than Humans Are Worth Telling Stories About (I hate being preached at), but in this case it all seems entirely natural: of course the protagonist is a literate dinosaur, of course all dinosaurs are writers, of course a legendary bookhunter resembles a fox, a book agent looks like a wild boar and so on, and of course Booklings are small cute cyclops. It's how things are in the world of the book and it doesn't seem at all forced, preachy or cutesy.I agree with the warning in the beginning of the story about how dangerous this book can be. I could scarcely put it down after I had started it, nearly ignoring little facts of life such as that I should eat. And after excitedly reading its 500 pages, laughing, crying and fearing through it, I remain under its spell and will no doubt have to find all of Moers' books and read them, as well as continue reading piles and piles of other books because seriously, I can't read a whole exciting novel about books and not have it wash my brain into wanting to do nothing but read, read, read, no matter how much more "useful" things there are I should do. Because really, now nothing seems as important as good books. And certainly I will have to return to the literary catacombs under Bookholm again.
What do You think about The City Of Dreaming Books (2007)?
Do you love reading? Do you love fantasy worlds? And do you love books? In that case, this book is for you. It's the story of a dinosaur who goes to a city where everything, and I mean everything, has to do with books. The newspaper Die Welt has called this a love declaration for literature, and in that, the critic was quite correct. I'm a bit hestitant to talk about the book or its fantasy world, because I don't want to spoil anything! But in short: the city of Buchhaim is a city full of books, where everyone reads and where there are hundreds of book stores. Everyone hopes to find an old book, especially those from the golden list, who are worth a fortune. These books however are usually buried underground (about 90% of Buchhaim is underground) and so Book Hunters usually go underground to look for these books: which is not entirely without danger. There are many creatures down there, none that we know of from this world, and not to mention the feud between all Book Hunters, based on the fact that they're all greedy. Hildegunst von Mythenmetz (as he's called in German), our protagonist, is a dinosaur coming to this city with a perfect manuscript in hand. He's curious as to who's written it and is looking for answers. Little does he know, that the manuscript is more dangerous than it seems..I must admit that the story in itself didn't really fascinate me, at least not to the same extent some other things did. It was a good story, but not what really captured my attention. What I loved most about this book, was the love for books and literature. There is love for the written word in every single sentence, every single word. The city of Buchhaim and its underground world were fascinating: both scary and really beautiful. I fell in love with both the Living Books and the Booklings, who are both wonderful creatures that I'd dearly love to have as companions. The story and the fantasy world are both good, but what carries this book is the love for everything readable. And consequently, I fell in love with the book too.The writing is also amazing. I don't know about translations, but the original German is so gorgeous. I have an insane love for the German language and its clear sounds, the way it tastes in your mouth and the strength it possesses. And this, this.. was just exceptional German. I can understand easily now, why my Literature Professor declared this was good literature and recommended it to all of us. It's so much more than just a fantasy novel. This book really, really is amazing and I would recommend it to every single one of you.
—Sandra
It’s alive I tell you, alive! Everything in this book is alive, and even the book itself might be as well, possessed by the Orm and all the astral dust in between Earth and Bookholm. Moers conjures up a vast catalog of species and settings in this metafiction-fantasy, that is mostly set in the catacombs below a city of readers and writers. Some parts in this book are unforgettable- like the trombomusic, the trash dump, the crystal caves, and the mine-shaft “rollercoaster”, which might be the most intense segment of any book I’ve read this year. For fans of adventure don’t let the metafiction dissuade you; after 100 pages the wild journey begins, a journey that left me scratching my head in between the epic, often horrifying dangers that lurk beneath Bookholm's dark, mysterious caverns. I’m quite certain that fans of the Abarat series by Clive Barker will love this to pieces. They are very similar in the factors of genre, style, and outlandish creativity. So if you love Abarat , read this!
—Chris
This is the best of the three Moers books I've read. Moers never seems to run out of wildly imaginative ideas and bizarre, endearing characters. Unlike Rumo or Captain Bluebear, the hero of The City of Dreaming Books has a quest from day one, and we follow him on the adventures he encounters trying to complete his mission. This book is definitely written for book lovers! It's filled with marvelous, sneaky references (all the Booklings are named after Zamonian authors, like Aleisha Wimpersleake...). The incredibly detailed drawings in this book are astounding. The only disappointments were that a) there wasn't a map in this book, and b) it was shorter than his other books at only 500 pages or so.
—Lisa
