The supernatural manifests in Inkheart in both obvious and not-so-obvious ways.
Obvious: It's possible to read people and things into and out of books.
Not-so-obvious: All the references to superstition.
For instance, Basta is super superstitious, and clever folks can use his fear of supernatural causation against him. The thing is, though, who's to say that in a world where people pop out of books, superstitions couldn't come true? It might be best to stay on the safe side and not break any mirrors or step on cracks in the sidewalk, if you know what we're saying.
At any rate, magic and superstitions and other manifestations of the supernatural have a real presence in Inkheart. We don't know all the whys and hows, but we can observe their effects on characters like whoa (prime example: Basta).
Questions About The Supernatural
- What do you think would happen if Mo and Meggie actively tried to practice and develop their reading skills?
- Would you rather live in a world with a lot of magic in it, like the world of Inkheart, or in our world? Why?
- Why do you think Basta is so superstitious?
- If you could read characters out of books, do you think it'd be worth the risk?
Chew on This
Being superstitious is Basta's main character flaw.
The ability to read people into and out of books is a more realistic form of magic than most of what we see in fantasy novels. After all, when reading a good book, the characters almost seem to come alive.