A Wild Ride Through the Night

Wild Ride Through the Night is a first time published in 2001 novel by German author Walter Moers. The book is not, as Moers ' other works, illustrated by himself, but contains 21 wood engravings by the French artist Gustave Doré, who had this created for various works ( including Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes and the Bible ) and which form the basis of the narrated story of Moers. The artist is also the main character of the novel, the Moers designated as a tribute to Doré.

Action

The twelve- year-old Gustave Doré travels as captain of the ship Aventure by the lake. But he falls into a severe storm and a Conjoined Twin Tornado rips his ship along with the team in the air. When the storm has passed by, Gustave is the sole survivor in the heavily battered ship back where he meets death and his insane sister dementia. Gustave learns that death demands his soul and wants to imprison the soul in a coffin. The soul shall then be handed over to the sun, so the light remains.

But Gustave want to live, because his biggest dream is to become a great artist. Then closes the death with him a bet: if it succeeds Gustave, in one night to solve six tasks, he spared him.

  • The first task: Gustave has to free a beautiful maiden from the hands of a dragon.
  • The second task: he must travel through the forest of goblins and thereby to behave as possible striking.
  • The third task: It has to guess the names of six giants.
  • The fourth task: Gustave must pull a tooth from the most terrible of all monsters.
  • The fifth task: Gustave has to confront himself.
  • The sixth task: Gustave must visit death on the moon.

While Gustave handles these tasks, he learns many new things. He also finds good friends who help him in his duties: for example, a grasping, a talking horse named Pancho Sansa (a reference to the companions of Don Quixote ) and the time. In addition, Gustave love.

Expenditure

  • Wild Ride Through the Night (Hardcover): Eichborn 2001, ISBN 3- 8218-0890 -X
  • Wild Ride Through the Night ( Paperback ): Goldmann 2003, ISBN 3-442-45291-0
  • A Wild Ride through the night. Special Edition ( Audiobook on 4 audio CDs): Eichborn, 2006, ISBN 3-8218-5446-4

Others

The song This Will Never End of the band Blind Guardian ( on the album A Twist in the Myth, 2006) based on the novel, and in particular the role of death.

  • Literary work
  • Literature ( 21st century)
  • Literature ( German )
  • Walter Moers
  • Novel, epic
Homage
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de