The Neverending Story (published in 1979) is Michael Ende’s best-known book, but Momo — published six years earlier — is the all-ages fantasy novel that first won him wide acclaim. It’s a strange story about sweet talking gray men who steal time and a young orphan girl, Momo, who tries to return the stolen time to the people of her society. With a new translation from the German by Lucas Zwirner and drawings by artist Marcel Dzama, this 40th anniversary edition celebrates the book’s first U.S. publication in over 25 years. Published by McSweeney’s McMullens, August 2013 ($22).
Artist Marcel Dzama is represented by David Zwirner Gallery. (The translator of Momo is David’s son Lucas, a recent Yale grad.) Dzama is having a good year: he had his first solo show at David Zwirner, London, in April and a comprehensive monograph of his work is slated for fall 2013, with a contribution by one of his biggest fans (among Beck, Brad Pitt, Spike Jonze, and Gus Van Sant) — McSweeney’s founder Dave Eggers.