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Much
has happened since 2005, when Cornelia Funke first published
Inkspell, the second book in her Ink trilogy.
Perhaps most importantly, Funke saw the death of her husband,
Rolf, whose personality was so meaningful to her that it required
two fictional characters to encompass it. In the last book
of the trilogy, Inkdeath, Funke writes a dedication
to her deceased husband, noting that it was "the best of things
to be married to Dustfinger," one of the story's protagonists.
Though
Rolf's passing came shortly before she finished the book,
Funke claims that it affected the writing only minimally.
But so much of the book revolves around the lives and deaths
of Rolf's alter egos that one can't help wondering if the
influence was subconscious—perhaps a tribute to his role
as a father, a husband, and what appears to be a man of considerable
conscience.
Inkdeath
concludes the story of the Folchart family, including a bookbinder
named Mo and his teenage daughter Meggie, who both have the
uncanny ability to turn written words into reality simply
by reading them aloud. In the previous book, the two—along
with Meggie's mother, Resa, and the author of a book called
Inkheart, Fenoglio—find themselves living in Fenoglio's
Ink world, a medieval land full of fairies and minstrels.
Their lives forever interwoven with Inkheart's characters,
the Folcharts encounter several hostile locals and a tyrannical
sovereign known as the Adderhead. At the end of Inkspell,
the previous book in Funke's series, Mo promises to bind the
Adderhead a blank book that will make him immortal unless
three words are written on its pages: heart, blood,
and death. As Inkdeath begins, the protagonists
must retrieve this book, write the words, and save the Ink
world from the Adderhead's boundless cruelty.
Though
Funke's narration has always been third person omniscient,
Meggie's perspective beautifully dominated the first two books
and provided young girls a brave and clever heroine. In Inkdeath,
however, the narration focuses mostly on Mo, one of Rolf's
alter egos. Now owning the role inadvertently given to him
by Fenoglio, Mo is known by the Ink world's citizen as the
Bluejay, a valiant outlaw in the vein of Robin Hood. His alliance
with a band of robbers causes sword fighting and killing to
come much too easily for both his and his family's tastes,
but the pursuit of justice and the desire to resurrect the
fallen Dustfinger keeps him from relinquishing the role.
More
so than Mo or Meggie, it is Dustfinger, the enigmatic fire
eater, who grounds all three of the books with his internal
and external conflicts. Revealing that he is revived wouldn't
be much of a spoiler here. Indeed, his absence shows just
how important he is to the story. Without him, the plot moves
slowly, building both steam and plot ideas. But it is a slow
boil that is worth the wait. A reluctant hero in the past,
Dustfinger is resurrected with mysterious superhero-like powers,
and he becomes braver and more selfless as the story progresses.
Despite his and Mo's rocky relationship, the two become nearly
one man in Inkdeath, as the parallels between them
become more pronounced. They are more than simply husbands
and fathers in Inkdeath; they are men of such compassion
that they sacrifice themselves repeatedly for the public at
large. Though both men grow from ordinary men to storybook
heroes, it is their basic humanity that makes them compelling.
An illustrator
before becoming a writer, Funke pens gloriously magical visual
descriptions, weaving the typed word as well as Fenoglio weaves
his ink. Though the book is a hefty 683 pages, nearly every
description of the Ink world feels necessary. Readers can't
afford to burn through the pages quickly; instead, they need
to absorb each detail carefully, patiently soaking in the
wonder of Funke's imaginary world.
Beautiful
as the build-up is, however, Funke still writes underwhelming
climaxes and abrupt conclusions, and she ties up Inkdeath
quickly and a little too efficiently. The problem seems to
be that despite her beautiful sensory details, Funke has difficulty
writing exciting in-the-moment action and instead glazes over
descriptions of fights and even of giants trampling men underfoot.
These, however, are the descriptions that are perhaps the
most necessary, as well-written action sequences are what
compel readers—especially young readers—to barrel
through long books such as Harry Potter over the course
of a single day and become attached to the work.
Still,
there is no denying Funke's talent with the written word.
She has a truly lovely sense of place, and despite a few flaws
the journey through the Ink world is remarkable. Whether Inkdeath
is a tribute to her late husband or not, Funke has written
an enchanting novel with characters one can't help cheering
on.
(October,
2008)
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