Momo, also known as The Grey Gentlemen or The Men in Grey, is a fantasy novel by Michael Ende, published in 1973. It is about the concept of time and how it is used by humans in modern societies. The full title in German (Momo oder Die seltsame Geschichte von den Zeit-Dieben und von dem Kind, das den Menschen die gestohlene Zeit zurückbrachte) translates to Momo, or the strange story of the time-thieves and the child who brought the stolen time back to the people. The book won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1974.
Page-for-page, the single most impactful book I have read in my adult life. It literally changed how I think about time and what is important. Everyone, young or old, should read this book.
"Und das Leben wohnt im Herzen."
Eines der schönsten Zitate aus diesem Klassiker, wie ich finde. Momo habe ich das letzte Mal als Kind gelesen und vieles schon wieder vergessen. Es hat aber nichts von seinem Zauber eingebüßt und ist im Gegenteil ein, und ja ich entschuldige mich für das Wortspiel, zeitloses Buch. Man kann es immer und immer wieder lesen um sich selbst daran zu erinnern, nicht nur durch das Leben durchzuhetzen.
I started reading this, because I already heard about it being as interesting for adults as it is for children. Now I think this book is much more written for adults anyway and I wonder how children interpret the story.
I don't think I even have to sell it much, it's not that long and it goes through the topic of being thoughtful with how you are using your time in life, but in a different way than you might expect.
Would recommend, it's a short but surprisingly deep book.
Always relevant and so fantastic. I had the audiobook as a child and now read it myself for the first time. 20 years after I last heard it and almost 50 years after being published it's still magical.
Ļoti gribēju pieturēties pie "recenzija tajā valodā, kādā grāmata", bet man šķiet, ka pat google translate māk vāciski rakstīt labāk par mani. Sapratu ļoti maz, bet esmu lasījusi tulkoto versiju pirms tam, tā kā sižetu zināju un zināju, ka man šī grāmata ļoti patīk. Klausīties viņu vāciski man bija ļoti nostaļģiska sajūta, jo maziņa skatījos pa televizoru vācu satelīt-kanālus, kā arī tādēļ, ka pati grāmata šķiet ļoti nostaļģiju radoša.
Ja kāds vēl nezina par pelēkajiem vīriņiem un dīvaino meitenīti Momo, silti iesaku (tiesa, valodā, ko saprotat).
Das unglaubliche Buch von Michael Ende, das Kinder verzaubert, Jugendliche aufklärt und Erwachsenen zu denken gibt. Eine der schönsten modernen Märchengeschichten überhaupt; packend, traurig, komisch und nachdenklich zugleich.
This book is really something else. It has enough fantasy to keep a kid engaged in it but its also reflexive enough to make an adult think about the main subject on the book: Time.
The main character, a little homeless girl called Momo, is the antithesis of the super-hero: she has no super powers, she's poor and she seems to be very naive. As the book progresses, her powers become evident: she's a great friend, a better listener and a catalyst of imagination.
The antagonists are ruthless ethereal gray-men devoted to steal time from mankind - they are intimidating and devoted to their labor.
The whole book is a fantastic metaphor of the value of time and what we do with it - What will you do with more free time? Who would you spend it with? Is it really that important to amass a fortune? Is solidarity worthwhile? …
This book is really something else. It has enough fantasy to keep a kid engaged in it but its also reflexive enough to make an adult think about the main subject on the book: Time.
The main character, a little homeless girl called Momo, is the antithesis of the super-hero: she has no super powers, she's poor and she seems to be very naive. As the book progresses, her powers become evident: she's a great friend, a better listener and a catalyst of imagination.
The antagonists are ruthless ethereal gray-men devoted to steal time from mankind - they are intimidating and devoted to their labor.
The whole book is a fantastic metaphor of the value of time and what we do with it - What will you do with more free time? Who would you spend it with? Is it really that important to amass a fortune? Is solidarity worthwhile?
I would recommend this book to all the workaholics out there. Because, even if I don't agree 100% with the author point of view, the book may help people realize that there's more to live than work and richness - friendship, self sacrifice and solidarity are properly depicted as values that will help us improve our lives.
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Este libro es algo diferente. Tiene la fantasía suficiente para mantener a un niño involucrado en él, pero también es suficientemente reflexivo para que un adulto piense en el tema principal del libro: el tiempo.
El personaje principal, una niña pobre llamada Momo, es la antítesis de la super-héroe: no tiene súper poderes, es pobre y parece ser muy ingenua. A medida que el libro avanza, sus poderes se hacen evidentes: es una gran amiga, una mejor oyente y funciona como catalizador de la imaginación.
Los antagonistas son los despiadados hombres grises: etéreos, dedicados a robar tiempo de la humanidad - son intimidantes y muy dedicados a su trabajo.
Todo el libro es una metáfora fantástica de el valor del tiempo y lo que hacemos con el - ¿Qué harías con más tiempo libre? ¿Con quién lo pasarías? ¿Es realmente tan importante amasar una fortuna? ¿Vale la pena ser solidario?
Yo recomendaría este libro a todos los adictos al trabajo. Porque, aunque no estoy de acuerdo al 100% con el punto de vista del autor, el libro puede ayudar a la gente a darse cuenta de que hay más por que vivir que el trabajo y la riqueza - la amistad, el sacrificio por los demás y la solidaridad, están bien representados como los valores que nos ayudarán a mejorar nuestras vidas.
