Next time you head to the library.....

A few weeks ago my mother ( another fellow book lover ), gave me a wonderful book recommendation. The book is titled, "The Good Thief" and is written by Hannah Tinti. I just finished reading it this evening, and felt that it was worth the time to share some of my thoughts about it.

First of all, I have to say that this was an extraordinary book. It has a classic feel similar to Charles Dickens or that genre, but a bit spicier. I have not read a novel with storytelling like this one in a long time. When I am reading a book and I can imagine the characters, the scenery, and the plot line coming to life - that says something. If I finish it and think - "wow, that would make an awesome movie" I give the author even more props. So Hollywood, if you're looking for a great book to adapt into a movie anytime soon, (coincidentally there already was a movie made back in 2002 starring Nick Nolte with the same title) here's a real winner. And I say that as if any Hollywood screen writers just happen to check in on my blog every day.

Here's a short synopsis from the inside cover of the book:

"Richly imagined, gothically spooky, and replete with the ingenious storytelling ability of a born novelist, The Good Thief introduces one of the most appealing young heroes in contemporary fiction and ratifies Hannah Tinti as one of our most exciting new talents.

Twelve year-old Ren is missing his left hand. How it was lost is a mystery that Ren has been trying to solve for his entire life, as well as who his parents are, and why he was abandoned as an infant at Saint Anthony’s Orphanage for boys. He longs for a family to call his own and is terrified of the day he will be sent alone into the world.

But then a young man named Benjamin Nab appears, claiming to be Ren’s long-lost brother, and his convincing tale of how Ren lost his hand and his parents persuades the monks at the orphanage to release the boy and to give Ren some hope. But is Benjamin really who he says he is? Journeying through a New England of whaling towns and meadowed farmlands, Ren is introduced to a vibrant world of hardscrabble adventure filled with outrageous scam artists, grave robbers, and petty thieves. If he stays, Ren becomes one of them. If he goes, he’s lost once again. As Ren begins to find clues to his hidden parentage he comes to suspect that Benjamin not only holds the key to his future, but to his past as well."


As I started reading, it took me a chapter or so to really get my hooks into the story. There are so many twists and turns that I never knew what was going to happen next. The main character Ren is very conflicted about the life he leads and has a good heart despite his shady companions. After every skirmish and predicament, he silently ponders the prayers and lessons he learned in his orphanage and hopes for forgiveness for the despicable shenanigans he's been drawn into. He longs to do the right thing, although it could very well cost him his life in most situations. All he's ever really wanted was a real family and a place to call home. There was just something about the way this writer created his character that really drew me in. And although the close of the story was a few shades shy of what I would consider a "happy fairytale ending", it resolves itself in such a way that makes the time spent reading more than worthwhile.