The Neverending Book, a delightful Japanese illustrated novel, is essentially a love letter to books. Written in the style of a fairy tale, it tells of a near-blind and aging king who can no longer read the books he loves. The king sends two men out on a journey around the world. Their mission is to search out the strangest books people know and then come back to tell the king about them.
The two men are gone for a year, and upon their return, in a set-up reminiscent of One Thousand and One Nights, they take turns nightly telling the king of the stories they discovered. There are fuzzy books, cursed books, books about people whose dreams had been crushed along the way, and books with terrible reviews. Interspersed with charming ink illustrations, each of the books described is a glimpse into the worlds the two men discovered, and a wonderful distraction for a dying king.
Clever and whimsical, The Neverending Book would make a perfect gift for any book lover seeking imaginary escapades. --Jessica Howard, former bookseller, freelance book reviewer