The Time Thieves can’t touch her, since she has plenty of time and no interest in saving it. They’re harried and miserable, and no one goes to see Momo anymore. They take no pride in their work, doing only what is necessary to get finished and move to the next task. They make more money, maybe, but they don’t visit friends, or enjoy a sunset, or play with their children. Soon the entire city is under the spell of the Time Thieves, and the more time people “save,” the less they seem to have. People in town waste too much time, they claim – instead, citizens should start saving it by cutting out leisure activities and pointless daydreaming. Then one day men in grey suits arrive, representatives of the Timesaving Bank. The townspeople bring her food and take care of her, and life goes on in a rustic, pleasant, unrushed sort of way. The games kids play are always more fun when Momo’s around, too their imaginations are fired up and they turn the amphitheatre into a world of adventure. People can just pour out their troubles and cares while she listens, and suddenly they know what to do. No one knows where she came from, but grown-ups and children alike love her, because she’s such a good listener. Momo is an orphan who lives in the ruins of an old amphitheatre on the outskirts of a town.

Among the handful translated into English is a slim novel called Momo. In the United States, German novelist Michael Ende is best known for his towering masterpiece The Neverending Story, but really, his body of work is composed entirely of towering masterpieces.

Momo and the time thieves book