105 pages • 3 hours read
Cornelia FunkeInkheart
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 21-30Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 21 Summary: “Basta”
The group stops to rest in a partially caved-in old villa in the forest. Elinor sleeps, but Meggie feels uneasy. She goes to sit with her father and eventually sleeps. Mo wakes her abruptly, covering her mouth to keep her quiet; Basta and Flatnose are approaching with dogs. The dogs lead the men toward where Mo, Dustfinger, Elinor, and Farid are hiding. Mo jumps out from his hiding place and tries to wrestle Basta’s gun from him. The dogs lunge threateningly at Mo and one bites him on the arm before Dustfinger grabs them. Farid throws a rock at Flatnose’s head, knocking him unconscious. Elinor manages to get Flatnose’s gun from him and points it at Basta’s chest. Basta lowers his own gun, which he was pointing at Mo.
The group ties Flatnose and Basta up. Dustfinger takes the superstitious Basta’s lucky amulet as revenge for when Basta cut up his face, which is why Dustfinger has scars. They then trek through the wilderness until they reach the outskirts of a town. They can see the ocean in the distance.
Chapter 22 Summary: “In Safety”
Elinor managed to keep a credit card hidden in her clothing, so the group eats breakfast in a cafe and rests in a hotel. Dustfinger and Farid have vanished, but Mo is unconcerned. Elinor decides to return to her home. Before she leaves, she gives Mo the name and address of the author of Inkheart, who lives nearby. Elinor suspects that Mo would otherwise go back to try to steal Capricorn’s last copy. She suggests Fenoglio, the author, may have some left. Meggie wishes they would accompany Elinor to her house rather than going to see Fenoglio.
Chapter 23 Summary: “A Night Full of Words”
Elinor gives Meggie a novel and a book of poetry as goodbye presents. Elinor explains that she believes Mo can read poetry to Meggie without the risk of any characters coming out.
Mo and Meggie come across Dustfinger performing for a crowd on the street, with Farid assisting him. Mo warns Dustfinger against returning to Capricorn’s village to look for the last copy of Inkheart. He tells him of his plan to visit Fenoglio to see if he has a copy. Dustfinger insists that he will come, but that he doesn’t want to meet Fenoglio or for Fenoglio to know of his existence. Dustfinger doesn’t want to know the ending of his story.
That night, Meggie urges Mo to read to her from the poetry book. He accidentally conjures a bird from the book. Meggie reads from the book when Mo leaves the room. There is a line about peppermint, and she thinks that she smells it.
Chapter 24 Summary: “Fenoglio”
Meggie, Mo, Farid, and Dustfinger travel by car to Fenoglio’s home. Farid and Dustfinger wait with the car when they arrive. Fenoglio answers the door accompanied by two of his grandchildren. As the group talks, the children keep updating him about another child who has stolen chocolate from the top of a cake. Fenoglio is initially standoffish, but he is flattered when he learns that Mo is not a collector and merely wants a copy of Inkheart to read it. He invites them inside and tells the children to give Meggie some of the cake.
Fenoglio tells Mo that all the copies of Inkheart were stolen at an exhibition. Mo is devastated and says his copy was also stolen, which intrigues Fenoglio. Mo is reluctant to tell him more; he explains that his friend Dustfinger does not want Fenoglio to know the story. Fenoglio says that he wrote a character called Dustfinger in Inkheart and mentions that he dies near the end of the book. Meggie is shocked and upset, but Mo is unsurprised, as he already knew. Meggie asks if Basta kills him, and Fenoglio says one of Capricorn’s men does; he happily reminisces about Basta and Capricorn, who are some of the darker villains he’s created. Meggie is devastated when Fenoglio says Capricorn and Basta survive: “How could I kill [them] off? It’s the same in real life: Notorious murderers get off scot-free and live happily all their lives, while good people die” (258). Mo decides to tell Fenoglio the truth.
Chapter 25 Summary: “The Wrong Ending”
Fenoglio is amazed that his characters are alive, though he offers condolences about Meggie’s mother being pulled into the story. Fenoglio is desperate to see Dustfinger. Mo insists that Dustfinger doesn’t want to see him, but Meggie begs him to try and convince Dustfinger to stay, as she does not want him to die. Mo eventually relents, thinking that Fenoglio might have better luck convincing Dustfinger not to return to the Inkheart world. They set off to the square where Dustfinger is, Fenoglio accompanied by his grandchildren.
Chapter 26 Summary: “Shivers Down the Spine and a Foreboding”
Dustfinger reflects on how sorrowful he feels in this world as he waits in the square. Mo approaches, looking guilty. Mo confirms that there are no copies of the book left. Dustfinger correctly works out that Mo has told Fenoglio about him and demands to know what they know. Meggie confirms that Dustfinger is killed in the book by one of Capricorn’s men. Dustfinger’s eyes fill with tears.
An old man approaches. Dustfinger does not know it is Fenoglio, but he feels unnerved by the way the man is looking at him. He takes Gwin and his bag and, threatening Fenoglio with Basta’s knife, manages to run away. Farid follows him and refuses to leave even when Dustfinger tries to shoo him away. Dustfinger explains that he plans to return to Capricorn’s village. Farid convinces Dustfinger to teach him everything he knows about fire before he goes.
Chapter 27 Summary: “A Good Place to Stay”
Mo insists that he wants to stay one more night to discuss something with Fenoglio. Mo hopes that he can change the events of nine years ago. Mo and Fenoglio talk late into the night while Meggie plays with Fenoglio’s grandchildren.
Fenoglio assures Mo that he will get to work first thing in the morning. Meggie wonders what they are talking about, but Mo will not tell her.
Chapter 28 Summary: “Going Home”
Elinor surprises herself by feeling a bit lonely on her drive home, as she usually enjoys solitude. She arrives home and is appalled to see all of her books in the corridor pulled onto the ground in a messy pile and trodden on. A dead rooster hangs upside down in the library. All of her most precious books from her library have been burned in a huge bonfire in the garden. She weeps, devastated.
Chapter 29 Summary: “Only an Idea”
Meggie and Mo stay in the small village for a few days in an apartment owned by Fenoglio. Mo is evasive about why they’re staying. Meggie asks one of Fenoglio’s grandchildren, Paula, to spy on him, but Paula reports that when she checked, Fenoglio was just chewing his pencil in his study.
Later, Meggie asks Mo when they’re going back to Elinor’s, and Mo simply says “soon.” They discuss Meggie’s mother, whom Meggie barely remembers. Mo admits that he always misses her. Meggie asks Mo where he thinks Dustfinger and Farid went. Mo says he isn’t sure, but they both know Dustfinger likely went after Capricorn again. Mo admits that, if not for Meggie, he likely would’ve done the same.
Chapter 30 Summary: “Talkative Pippo”
Elinor calls Fenoglio’s home to tell Mo about the destruction of her books and says she is coming to stay with them. Mo leaves to pick her up from the airport and Meggie is left with Fenoglio’s grandchildren. Meggie goes back to their apartment, bringing a stray cat with her.
There is a knock at the door; Meggie hears Pippo’s voice (one of Fenoglio’s grandchildren). To her horror, it is Flatnose and Basta. Basta has a hand around Pippo’s neck. Meggie demands to know how they found them, and Basta tells her they followed stories about Dustfinger. He asks where Dustfinger is, and Meggie, secretly pleased to know Dustfinger had evaded them, simply says he left a long time ago. Meggie learns that Pippo told Basta and Flatnose about a book Mo discussed with his grandfather. Meggie tells them that Fenoglio doesn’t have any copies of Inkheart, but they force her to lead them to Fenoglio anyway. Before they leave, the stray cat attacks Flatnose, who threatens to kill it; Basta intervenes, claiming that killing cats is bad luck.
Fenoglio is amazed to see his creations come to life. Basta denies that Fenoglio wrote Inkheart; according to him, all stories are ancient and authors are already long dead. Fenoglio provides details of Basta’s backstory, spurring Basta into threatening him. Meggie quickly intervenes, claiming that Capricorn, Basta, and all the others will die if they kill Fenoglio. Her lie works.
Basta and Flatnose decide to bring Fenoglio with them to meet Capricorn, in addition to luring Mo with Meggie. Flatnose searches for Inkheart among Fenoglio’s many books but does not find it. On the way back to the car, they stop by Meggie and Mo’s apartment again, and Basta carves his name into the table as a message to Mo.
Chapters 21-30 Analysis
The Power of Literature continues to function as a pivotal theme. Basta and Capricorn’s other lackeys cannot read; Fenoglio explains that Capricorn himself cannot read. Flatnose retrieves all of Fenoglio’s books that begin with “IN” when he is searching for Inkheart, but he cannot even recognize the letters: “‘Here!’ he said, dumping them on the table. ‘They all begin with this single upright stroke followed by the three up-and-down lines. Just the way you drew it’” (303). The ability to read is associated with characters who are kind, curious, and motivated to do good. Characters who cannot read, or have no interest in learning, are portrayed as “thuggish,” brutal, and cruel. Through these characterizations, Funke suggests that books have the power to facilitate kindness, empathy, and intelligence.
Funke uses the way that characters treat animals as a further characterization tool. Kind characters, such as Meggie and Farid, take pity on the many stray cats around the Italian village, petting them and feeding them. Meggie carries a thin, gray cat home to their apartment: “The poor thing weighed no more than a small damp towel. Meggie was afraid of breaking something when she picked it up” (293). Furthermore, Dustfinger lovingly feeds Gwin and cares for the marten despite the fact that it frequently bites his fingers. In contrast, Basta and Flatnose are physically violent toward animals: Basta kicks a dog in the village, and Flatnose threatens to kill the gray cat when it scratches him after they invade Meggie and Mo’s apartment. Only Basta’s superstitious beliefs spare the cat.
Funke also hints in Chapter 23 that Meggie shares Mo’s ability to read characters, objects, moods, and sensations from books: “‘And there the moon-bird rests from his flight / To cool in the peppermint wind.’ Meggie whispered the words aloud as she read them, but no moon-bird flew down from the lamp. And she must have been just imagining the smell of peppermint” (247). Meggie brushes off the smell of peppermint, but the fact that she shares Mo’s power indicates that, here, she is genuinely conjuring the scent.
The development of Meggie’s power coincides with the way she is Maturing Through the Hero’s Journey. Meggie’s mother disappeared into Inkheart when she was only three years old, and though she misses her, she struggles to remember anything about her. Now that she knows the truth behind her mother’s disappearance, Meggie spends time reevaluating her feelings toward her mother. She also shows her growing maturity when she asks her father whether he misses his wife, showing her empathy and love for him. Mo’s response reveals that he misses Meggie’s mother constantly: “‘Sometimes,’ he said at last. ‘In the morning, at midday, in the evening, at night. Almost all the time’” (285). This brings Meggie and Mo closer together and subtly foreshadows the family’s reunion.
Fenoglio is introduced in these chapters, adding a layer of metafiction to the story. Funke places the “author” of Inkheart directly into the story and exposes him to the magic of literature when she confronts him with his own creations. Funke also references the concept of “death of the author.” “Death of the author” refers to the idea that an author should be separated from their work, and that an author’s ideas, beliefs, and intended interpretations hold no particular weight. Funke humorously portrays this idea in a literal sense when Basta declares that all authors died a long time ago and that stories have existed on their own for many years.
As with past chapters, Funke explores The Complexities of Loyalty through Dustfinger. Funke reveals more of Dustfinger’s backstory, such as the fact that Basta is the one who cut up his face: “[D]on’t worry, I’m not going to cut a pattern in his face in the way he decorated mine” (224). Dustfinger is also slightly more open about his misery and fear now that he is no longer beholden to Capricorn. Sorrow has been “stalking [Dustfinger] like a second shadow ever since Silvertongue lured him into this world” (266), and he feels condemned to a life as “a stranger forever” (269). This adds depth to Dustfinger’s desperation to return to his own story. His goals are complicated by the reveals that he dies toward the end of Fenoglio’s Inkheart; this puts Dustfinger’s fear of the story into context, as it implies that Dustfinger already suspected his fate. Dustfinger must also deal with the fact that Farid has, for reasons Dustfinger cannot understand, become loyal to him. Dustfinger is determined to stick to his goal of returning to his story, but he reluctantly brings Farid with him. This shows his soft spot toward children and suggests a sense of kinship between the two, as they were both pulled unwillingly from their worlds and have a common enemy in Capricorn.
Elinor also continues to develop, as she now openly values companionship and relationships, perhaps even more than her books. This is evident when she goes “into a cafe in a sleepy little town that didn’t even have a bookshop, just to hear other human voices” and when “the silence in her car [suddenly begins] to trouble her” on the drive home (279). Where she once refused to let Meggie near her precious books, she now attempts to connect with Meggie over a shared love of reading, giving her books that Meggie can use to bond with her father. When she returns home to find Capricorn’s lackeys have destroyed her library, she is devastated, which shows that she still deeply values her books—but she also decides to go and stay with Meggie and Mo, indicating that she now finds comfort in their presence.
Related Titles
By Cornelia Funke
