The Thief Lord

Funke, C. (2002). The thief lord. (O. Latsch, Trans.). Scholastic. (Original work published 2002). 249 pages. ISBN 0439404371

Primary genre: Realistic fiction

Other elements: fantasy, family, friendship, coming of age, loss, survival

Intended reader age: 8 and up

Synopsis:

After losing their mother and facing the prospect of separation by their aunt (who only wants Bo) Prosper and Bo decide to strike it out on their own. Their mother always told them fantastic tales of Venice and that is where they decide to make their new home. They are not prepared for the struggle that comes with being on their own and are only saved when the Thief Lord and his gang take them in and give them a home. Their aunt is not yet ready to give up on Bo and follows the boys to Venice, employing a detective to find them at any cost. When fate hands the Thief Lord a chance at riches beyond his wildest dreams the whole group sees it as their opprotunity to free themselves from adults’ control.

Review:

I did not realize how much I skipped over (or possibly just missed) the number of references there were to age through the book the first time I read it. After reading this and seeing the progression the story took, it is quite obvious that the main idea Funke presents is the idea of age and who really has it better, adults or children.  

One of many favorite aspects of this story is the timeless quality of it. When first reading it, there is no indication of what year or even decade this story is happening in. I think a great deal of that, for me at least, has to do with the location. Venice is such a historical and ancient city, that I just think ‘historical’ when I read books set there. Of course, later there are references to air planes, tourists with cameras, and finally cell phones. But, for a while I was able to stick with my first thought.

When I was reading this I was reminded of Peter Pan, a group of kids banding together and making it on their own. In Scipio’s case, though, he made it very clear that he did not agree with Peter’s mentality of remaining young forever. Scipio wanted to grow up very much at least to force his father to acknowledge him as more than just another thing in his to be organized. I feel that this is a yearning that many tweens and teens have. They have this belief that when they are older, when they are grown up, their lives will be better. We don’t just get one view in the book though. Funke also supplies readers with children who want to stay young and enjoy that time, adults who want to go back to being children, and adults who enjoy being adults and controlling every little piece of their lives.

This is not the first Cornelia Funke book I have read, I feel in love with her work after reading Inkheart. I just adore the way she has with words, the descriptions she gives to not only her characters but also the setting. I was also quite amazed when I learned that her works (as I read them) are translations. Of course, some of that credit does go to the translator.