Fantasy – made in Germany

They still exist: “wordsmiths with a touch of magic” from Germany who are able to transport their readers into fantastic worlds, adding a whole new dimension to the country’s tradition of tales and legends. Cornelia Funke, author of “Inkheart” and many other successful stories, has received countless honorary titles; one radio station once introduced her as a “magician of words”. Funke’s magic is far-reaching: her books have sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and have been translated into around 50 languages.  

Cornelia Funke: modern fairy tales 

The author has created her own fairy-tale worlds and was also inspired by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. In her series “Reckless”, the names of main characters Jacob and Will are a playful nod to the famous German collectors of fairy tales, and there are numerous motifs drawn from the world of the Brothers Grimm: Cinderella’s glass slipper, the cudgel that jumps out of a sack, and the magical table that sets itself. With her “Inkworld” saga, Funke created a realm of her own in which characters travel between the here and now and a world of imagination through the magical reading of books. The first volume, “Inkheart”, was even made into a Hollywood film in 2008 – starring Brendan Fraser, Helen Mirren and Paul Bettany. 

Fantasy worlds

Cornelia Funke’s literary worlds are especially well known, but other German authors have also achieved success as modern storytellers, particularly in the fantasy genre. They include Michael Ende with his classics “The Neverending Story” and “Momo”, while Wolfgang Hohlbein’ works such as “Magic Moon” sold millions, reaching a large international audience. Kerstin Gier’s successful books include her “Ruby Red” trilogy (“Ruby Red”, “Sapphire Blue” and “Emerald Green”, in which the heroes travel into the past with the help of a “chronograph”, and in Katja Brandis’s “Woodwalkers” series, boarding school pupils can transform into animals. Meanwhile comic artist and writer Walter Moers has written eight novels about the continent “Zamonien” and its extraordinary inhabitants. In a review of the first volume, “The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear”, the Daily Telegraph wrote: “The book is part science fiction, part fairy tale, part myth, part epic and a satire of all these genres, so it constantly engages in self-mockery.” Indeed, it is not easy to draw strict literary boundaries in this field – but the storytelling goes on, that much is certain.