In this Michael Ende children's book, a little girl named Momo must stand against a formidable group of men in gray that are bent on taking people's time by making them believe they need to “save” it at the risk of appreciating life.
The hustle and bustle and corporate world that Ende describes is so close to the world we actually live in today that at times it's hard to remember that he is in fact a creative writer predicting (in the early 70s) what he thought might come our way. A quick read, it's enchanting, though less vibrant and sweeping than his Neverending Story (which I have previously recommended) with a nice moral about the importance of “stopping to smell the roses” and the value of friendship and imagination.
Unbeknownst to me, it was made into a German film in 1986 and a 2001 cartoon feature, which makes sense given its extraordinary imagery.
But what do you think?