As her friends no longer come to her for counsel, she perceives the irony that the more time people save, the less time they have. Momo remains immune to the powers of the Men in Grey. Gradually, activities perceived to be time wasting such as socialising, art creation, imaginative playing or even sleeping begin to be replaced by hectic work and stress. These men indoctrinate the people of this town to the value of ‘saving time’ which requires depositing time in accounts in order to gain interest on it. Into the tranquil world of this community come the Men in Grey, bald men with greyish skin and grey suits who represent the Time Savings Bank. Momo’s closest friends are Beppo, the street sweeper and Guido, a tour guide. Momo does not say much but her gentle ability to listen to people helps them untangle their problems themselves. Momo is considered to be somewhat of an advisor to all the people of the neighbourhood for helping them solve their petty problems by simply listening. She however has a unique gift for truly listening to people.
Living in the ruins of an amphitheatre, Momo does not know how to read or write, nor does she know her own age. Set on the outskirts of an unknown Mediterranean city, perhaps in Italy, the story centres around a neighbourhood of simple folk and an orphan, Momo.
His fantasy novel Momo, also known as The Grey Gentleman explores themes of modernism and materialism and the power of a young girl to simply give people a most valuable asset, her attention and time. Michael Ende is best known for his novel “ The Never Ending Story” however, the German author was a prolific writer of fantasy and children’s fiction, selling more than 35 million copies of his works in his lifetime and having them adapted into films, plays, operas and audio-books.
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