The Thief Lord

The Thief Lord
Cornelia Funke
Scholastic, Inc.
New York, New York
2000
0-439-40437-1

Summary

Prosper and Bo are two orphans that have arrived in Vienna after their mother's death. Their aunt, their legal guardian, only wants to take Bo, which prompted them to leave their home and escape to Vienna. There they meet up with a band of orphans who scout magnificent homes for another kid they call the Theif Lord. Bo and Prosper do little except Prosper is a good negotiator. He earns Bo and him a spot in the gang by negotiating prices to the evil pawn broker Barbarosa.

Barbarosa is amazed by what the Thief Lord can do, and offers the gang the chance to steal something that would make them richer than they ever dreamed. They accept the challenge and discover things that turn their whole world upside down. They knew the object they were to steal looked ordinary, but not everything is what it seems. Complicating things are a private investigator hired by Prosper & Bo's aunt to find the boys and the real identity of the person known as the Thief Lord.

Impressions

At first I thought this was one of the worst books I have ever read. It started off slow with a lot of descripton about where the children lived and what Vienna looked like. Cornelia Funke did do a good job of setting a scene, but it seemed to take a while. Once the plot line got to the big job gang of children were to perform, and there was more action, the story was better. The twist that comes near the end was wonderful, if the outcome was a little predictable. The children in the gang were well thought out and each chld had their strengths and weaknesses in the group, except for Bo whose job was to look cute and pitiful since he was the youngest.

Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Imagine a Dickens story with a Venetian setting, and you'll have a good sense of Cornelia Funke's prizewinning novel The Thief Lord, first published in Germany in 2000. This suspenseful tale begins in a detective's office in Venice, as the entirely unpleasant Hartliebs request Victor Getz's services to search for two boys, Prosper and Bo, the sons of Esther Hartlieb's recently deceased sister. Twelve-year-old Prosper and 5-year-old Bo ran away when their aunt decided she wanted to adopt Bo, but not his brother. Refusing to split up, they escaped to Venice, a city their mother had always described reverently, in great detail. Right away they hook up with a long-haired runaway named Hornet and various other ruffians who hole up in an abandoned movie theater and worship the elusive Thief Lord, a young boy named Scipio who steals jewels from fancy Venetian homes so his new friends can get the warm clothes they need. Of course, the plot thickens when the owner of the pawn shop asks if the Thief Lord will carry out a special mission for a wealthy client: to steal a broken wooden wing that is the key to completing an age-old, magical merry-go-round. This winning cast of characters--especially the softhearted detective with his two pet turtles--will win the hearts of readers young and old, and the adventures are as labyrinthine and magical as the streets of Venice itself. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly
Wacky characters bring energy to this translation of an entertaining German novel about thieving children, a disguise-obsessed detective and a magical merry-go-round. After their mother dies, 12-year-old Prosper and his brother, Bo, five, flee from Hamburg to Venice (an awful aunt plans to adopt only Bo). They live in an abandoned movie theater with several other street children under the care of the Thief Lord, a cocky youth who claims to rob "the city's most elegant houses." A mysterious man hires the Thief Lord to steal a wooden wing, which the kids later learn has broken off a long-lost merry-go-round said to make "adults out of children and children out of adults," but the plan alters when Victor, the detective Aunt Esther hired to track the brothers, discovers their camp and reveals that the Thief Lord is actually from a wealthy family. There are a lot of story lines to follow, and the pacing is sometimes off (readers may feel that Funke spends too little time on what happens when the children find the carousel, and too much on the ruse they pull on Prosper's aunt). But between kindhearted Victor and his collection of fake beards, the Thief Lord in his mask and high-heeled boots, and a rascally street kid who loves to steal, Prosper's new world abounds with colorful characters. The Venetian setting is ripe for mystery and the city's alleys and canals ratchet up the suspense in the chase scenes. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.