I began reading The Thief Lord after I had gotten to page 52 in Good News by Edward Abbey. After page 52, it skipped to page 85... so I decided to get another copy. Unlike Plane and Normal, Good News is worth finding a new copy and finishing. Abbey was a brilliant and concientious writer. Entertaining and literarily unique. He could string sentences almost like Poe.
The Thief Lord was up against that competition. One thing that can be said for it is that the ending is different. Very un-American. But it was originally published in German, a fact well concealed by the publisher, doing a disservice to Cornelia, the translator Oliver Latsch, and the reader. I will always wonder how good the original is, but the translation is not nearly impressive enough for me to read it in another language. This book is largely unimpressive and it is an easy book to find errors in. Descriptions can be "Nonsensical" at best, often distracting, and it is a mystery why so many people in Italy, or who grew up in Germany, are constantly speaking in English. The plot is lusterless, the characters drab. Interactions are sparse. Unlike the renown Harry Potter, which is appealing far outside it's original age group, this book can't stand under scrutiny from an elder audience.
And though it could be interesting and a good read for a 12 year old, there may be some messages they can get which would be unfavorable. Such as: being a runaway street rat is fun!
The general problem with this book is that Cornelia tells you one thing (Victor Getz is a great detective) and shows you something else (a bumbling fool - but that's only one example). The plot is standard and predictable, even though characters aren't well developed, you can easily assume where things are going. And yet the setting is difficult to nail down. Though the book is set in "modern" Venice, I felt like I was somewhere between the 21st and the 19th century. Until they start pulling out cell-phones and motor boats.
Movie theaters don't stand out like a "child among grown ups", but this book certainly does. I wanted to read Inkheart, after watching the movie, but this book, by the same author, makes me much less enthusiastic (but I suppose there could be a better translator).
Analysis (spoilers will follow):
The Thief Lord starts out stronger than it ends. Cornelia takes her time, character interact a little better, it hasn't devolved into clichéd relationships yet. There is unique imagery, sometimes, but often because it doesn't really work.
She talks about the "magic" of Venice. So I suppose there was some foreshadowing for the Magical Merry Go-Round which shows up 2/3 of the way through the book. That is hardly enough. The sudden appearance of this 'Narnian Wardrobe' so late in the story makes it feel like a cop out. Like it was just inserted because she couldn't think of anything better.
When Scipio is first introduced, it is hard to tell wheather he is really a thief or not. But it is hard to imagine that he isn't, really. It's unbelievable, but the kids seem to think they've seen him stealing. Then he's not and one must wonder why the other children ever believed him so throughly. Similarly, when the idea of the Magical Merry Go-Round is first introduced, one thinks: it cannot be real, though.... There's no way. She wouldn't make it... Oh. She did. Wow.
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