Conrnelia Funke discussion

[DeathtoTrite]

Sorry if this is a duplicate thread. A quick search only showed a long dead discussion of Inkheart. This is just for general discussion of Funke and her style.

What I find especially interesting about Cornelia Funke is that she manages to defy many things this forum recommends and yet is more successful than just about anyone here (if GRRM or JK Rowling is lurking, I apologize). Some things she does VERY differently-

POV- she doesn't have any consistency. You might get one random chapter told from a villain's perspective, or some minor character. She doesn't have the same more rigid approach someone like GRRM has, or some of the discussions here recommend.

Magic- Most of us like or elaborate, hierarchical magic systems. It has a clear source, well-defined rules, and its scope is clear. Think the magic in Eragon. Cornelia Funke's magic tends to be an eclectic variety with little or no overarching design. The Mirrorworld novels are a great example. Sure, fairie's are the most powerful, but their are all kinds of varieties of power.

Length- Most of Cornelia Funke's books tend to be a reasonable length, and often are self contained works- Dragon Rider and the Thief Lord both come to mind. Wheel of Time and ASOIAF move in the complete opposite direction, with a truly insane length. She accomplishes this by moving through thinks at a pretty remarkable pace that, when I attempt, tends to come of as rushed.

Some of Funke's strengths could also be called weaknesses. Not everyone enjoys a helter-skelter magic system, nor does everyone enjoy quick actions and short chapters.

Also a question; what age do you think her books are for? I read Dragon Rider in 2nd grade, but having just read Reckless (featuring:Tailor who wears human flesh, attempted wedding massacre, parents killing children due to to disease...) I'm not really sure how right that is for children...

 

[Mindfire]

I picked up Inkheart by chance when I was in an airport and wanted something to read. I loved it so much I tracked down Inkspell and Inkdeath too. They had a significant influence on my own work, especially the magic. Specifically the magical fire powers that Dustfinger gains later in the books, which was one of the inspirations for my own fire-based magic. I like that she doesn't outline a system of rigid rules, however, I think you do her a disservice by calling her magic helter-skelter. It's clearly not. It's very consistent. What's actually going on is that the rules of the magic exist, but they are hidden from the reader, never explicitly explained unless it's absolutely necessary. That gives it an air of mystery and wonder. But if you think about it, all of the magic powers are logical extensions of things that appear early on and they do have limits. (Except maybe Dustfinger's fire mojo. Not sure what the limits on that are, but the author keeps it in check.) Nothing in those books is random, but the magic feels so intuitive that you don't think about the mechanics. That's the true genius of it.

 

[Tom]

I've always loved Cornelia Funke's books, ever since I picked up Igraine the Brave in middle school. Then it was Dragon Rider, and then Thief Lord, and the Ink trilogy, and now the Mirrorworld series. Her imagination and wit are amazing, and I love her writing style. I've even read a few of her works in the original German.

My only complaint is that the translation of the Mirrorworld series so far has been a little sub-par; it seems clunkier than the others, with odd word choices here and there and awkward sentence structures. :/ Maybe I'm just picky. No one else I've talked to has even noticed that she switched translators.