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Pan's Labyrinth

The Labyrinth of the Faun

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Pan's Labyrinth

By: Guillermo del Toro, Cornelia Funke
Narrated by: Thom Rivera
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Bloomsbury presents Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro & Cornelia Funke, read by Thom Rivera.

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

This enthralling novel, inspired by the 2006 film, illustrates that fantasy is the sharpest tool to explore the terrors and miracles of the human heart

You shouldn't come in here. You could get lost. It has happened before. I'll tell you the story one day, if you want to hear it.

In fairy tales, there are men and there are wolves, there are beasts and dead parents, there are girls and forests.

Ofelia knows all this, like any young woman with a head full of stories. And she sees right away what the Capitán is, in his immaculate uniform, boots and gloves, smiling: a wolf.

But nothing can prepare her for the fevered reality of the Capitán’s eerie house, in the midst of a dense forest which conceals many things: half-remembered stories of lost babies; renegade resistance fighters hiding from the army; a labyrinth; beasts and fairies.

There is no one to keep Ofelia safe as the labyrinth beckons her into her own story, where the monstrous and the human are inextricable, where myths pulse with living blood ...©2019 HarperCollins Publishers Dark Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Magic Magical Realism Heartfelt Wolf
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Critic reviews

Funke’s sensitive expansion of Del Toro’s dark fantasy is a delight
More than just a film spin off , this is a beautiful companion piece and a reminder of the importance of Del Toro’s initial vision
A work of consummate love and passion, one that needs to be revered for its unmistakable brilliance ... This novelisation not only lives up to impossibly high expectations but incredibly adds to the darkest of magical fairytales
Inspired and beautifully illustrated
Pan’s Labyrinth is a terrific masterpiece, a literary accomplishment that reaches and often rivals its cinematic counterpart
Reading this is a wonderful re-exploration of a beautiful and terrifying world, merging the horrors of reality and the wonders of fantasy just as well as the film did, if not better
Not only is this book a fantastic retelling of the film, but it is also a beautifully written expansion that dives into del Toro’s mythology in a way that the film couldn’t … Harsh, poetic, and visually stunning
Charged with the monumental task of adapting an intricate film to the page, del Toro and Funke have avoided merely describing the film and instead have elegantly recrafted the narrative ... Dark and mesmerising
Funke maintains the tale’s dark beauty, filling it with imaginative details, complex characters, love and history, as well as humanity’s evils ... This book will creep into the minds and hearts of readers and linger there
All stars
Most relevant
I loved the film so I thought I would listen to the book, I loved it as well, it added to the movie giving backstories to each characters. Definitely worth listening too.

Great story

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The movie was a delight but this, with its beautiful delivery and intricately woven detail and emotion, is just so perfect.

Enchanted

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'Pan's Labyrinth' is one of the greatest movies ever made, and one of the finest fairytales ever put to screen or paper. Del Toro and Cornelia Funke have masterfully crafted a prose rendition of the original fantasy story in this enticing and captivating short-read. I would highly recommend this novel for lovers of fantasy who are seeking to tint their imaginations green with the tales of forests, fauns, fairies, and fighting for your country's freedom. This novel cannot be praised higher in any greater or fewer words. Truly a great listen. This will inspire you to take to the page and craft fairytales of your own...

The Fairest Fairytale

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A beautifully dark expansion of the story told in the film.

What makes the book particularly effective is the way it expands on the mythology and gives greater depth to the fantastical world surrounding Ofelia. The fairy-tale elements feel much more substantial here, with additional stories and details that make the creatures, legends, and mysterious forces surrounding her feel like part of a much older world.

At the same time, the brutal reality of post-Civil War Spain remains ever-present. That contrast is what makes the story so powerful: the fantasy isn't simply an escape from reality, but exists alongside it, creating an unsettling mixture of wonder, horror, innocence, and cruelty.

Ofelia is a particularly compelling protagonist. Her imagination, curiosity, and determination make her easy to root for, while the increasingly dangerous tasks she encounters create a constant sense of tension. The story manages to preserve that childlike sense of wonder while never forgetting that the real world around her is anything but safe.

I also really enjoyed the additional material between the main sections of the story. The mythology feels richer and more like a collection of old fairy tales, giving the book an almost folkloric quality that complements del Toro's original vision beautifully.

Thom Rivera's narration works extremely well with the darker fairy-tale atmosphere. His delivery gives the story a suitably mysterious and atmospheric quality, while keeping the characters distinct and the more unsettling passages suitably eerie.

The combination of del Toro's haunting imagination, Funke's storytelling, and Rivera's narration makes Pan's Labyrinth a fantastic companion to the film rather than simply a novelisation of it.

Dark Fairy Tales, War, and a World Between Worlds

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Very good with strong adult themes… I also think no the ending is a lie

Adult themes, fairy tale

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