Iconoclast
Jedi Master
recently a bunch of friends and me sat around one lazy sunday afternoon talking about anything that came to mind.
the discussion turned to childhood influences and someone mentioned Michael Ende's book 'Momo'.
i remember watching 'The Neverending Story' as a child, but i had never read 'Momo'.
someone then mentioned that the tortoise in the book was called Cassiopeia. my ears perked up and later i read the wikipedia entry for the book, where it says:
(spoiler warning)
does anyone who has read the book care to elaborate on the similarites with Laura/C's/SotT?
more from wikipedia:
the discussion turned to childhood influences and someone mentioned Michael Ende's book 'Momo'.
i remember watching 'The Neverending Story' as a child, but i had never read 'Momo'.
someone then mentioned that the tortoise in the book was called Cassiopeia. my ears perked up and later i read the wikipedia entry for the book, where it says:
(spoiler warning)
very interesting...Wikipedia said:In the ruins of an amphitheatre just outside an unnamed Italian city lives Momo, a little girl of mysterious origin. She is remarkable in the neighbourhood because she has the extraordinary ability to listen — really listen. By simply being with people and listening to them, she can help them find answers to their problems, make up with each other, and think of fun games. The expression "go and see Momo!" has become synonymous with panacea and Momo has become the friend of everyone, especially honest street-cleaner Beppo and poetic tour guide Guido (also known as "Gigi").
This pleasant atmosphere is spoiled by the arrival of the Men in Grey. These strange individuals represent the Timesavings Bank and promote the idea of timesaving among the population, time which can be deposited to the Bank and returned to the client later with interest. They then make people forget all about them but not about the resolution to save as much time as possible "for later use". Gradually, the sinister influence of the Men in Grey affects the whole city: life becomes sterile, devoid of all things considered time-wasting, like art, imagination or even sleeping. Buildings and clothing are made exactly the same for everyone and the rhythms of life become hectic. In reality, the more time people save, the less they have. The time they save is actually lost to them; instead, it is consumed by the Men in Grey in the form of cigars, made from the dried petals of the hour-lilies that represent time.
Momo, however, is a wrench in the plans of the Timesaving Bank thanks to her special personality. The Men in Grey try various plans to take care of her, but they all fail. When even her closest friends fall under the influence of the Men in Grey in one way or another, Momo's only hope to save the time of mankind is the personification of Time Professor Hora and Cassiopeia, a tortoise which can communicate through writing on her shell and can see thirty minutes into the future. Momo's adventure will take her from the depths of her heart, where her own time flows from in the form of lovely hour-lilies, to the lair of the Men in Grey themselves, where the time people believe they save is hoarded.
does anyone who has read the book care to elaborate on the similarites with Laura/C's/SotT?
more from wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momo_%28novel%29The main theme of Momo can be seen as a criticism of consumerism and stress. It describes the personal and social losses produced by unnecessary consumption, and the danger to be driven by a hidden interest group with enough power to induce people into this life style. Michael Ende has also claimed to have had the concept of aging money in mind when writing Momo.