The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti reads like a fairy tale. And I’m not sure if I have much more to say than that (although not having anything much to say has never stopped me before). It reminded me of Life of Pi, really, with it’s quasi-fantastical elements. Yes, that’s the right word for it: fantasy. But not the kind with dwarves and giants and castle… although there was indeed a dwarf and a giant and a castle in the novel.
I haven’t read Big Fish but I’ve seen the movie; The Good Thief has that sort of feel to it. Except whereas the main character in Big Fish spins a tale of magic out of his real-world experiences, with The Good Thief you only get the realworld parts. A few small towns in colonial New England, an isolated monastery turned orphanage, a mouse-trap factory built like a castle. An adventurer, a school-teacher turned drunk, and a boy with only one hand.
It’s a novel filled to bursting with symbolism, although I can’t say that I’m ready, yet, to tell anyone what all those symbols mean. The book doesn’t have much of a plot, reading more like a picaresque. Sort of.
I’m afraid I’m not doing a very good job of explaining any of this. You should just read the book. I came across it from a friend, a long-time friend who loves to read as much as I do. She told me she loved this book, and I can see why. It’s interesting that, for the most part, we rarely agree on how good a book is, or what it means. But on occasion we do agree. I’m going to get a copy of this one and have my wife read it. When my kids are old enough, I’ll have them read it too.