The Thief Lord - Cornelia Funke

Victor Getz, a private detective who takes on “investigations of any kind,” is visited by the Hartliebs, a Mrs. Esther and Mr. Max. They’ve lost something. Well, two somethings, but they’re only really considered about retrieving one of them. The nephews of Esther Hartlieb’s recently deceased sister, Prosper and Bo, have run away from their home in Hamburg and the Hartliebs would really like Bo back as they’d like to adopt him the most. Getz takes the case, a bit nervously, as this is the first time he’ll be searching for children.

Now Prosper and Bo—Prosper being twelve years old and the thinker of the two—ran away on the belief that they were not meant to be separated by their nasty aunt. Having truly no idea where to go they head towards Venice, the city their mother used to tell them tales about. It is here that the two brothers meet other runaways/ruffians/rascals who follow orders under the leader of The Thief Lord. Their new home is an abandoned movie theater, and it’s theirs to share so long as they don’t overstep the lines placed before them. The Thief Lord, also known as Scipio, is essentially Robin Hood, albeit a much younger version. Rob from the rich, give to the poor, rinse, lather, and repeat.

Things grow much more serious for Scipio and company when the shopkeeper of a local pawning business, Barbarossa, a man described to have orange hair, makes a request for the theft of a wooden wing. This item is rumored to be the missing part to complete a magical merry-go-round—one that when it finishes going round and round and round could change a person’s life forever.

The plot is pure fun, fairly nonstop, and split between Detective Getz and the two young boys. Getz has a strange tick to him; he’s constantly preoccupied about his pets, namely his two tiny turtles.Quite possibly, Funke’s characters are the true reason I read her work. Here we get to share the adventure with Detective Getz, Prosper, Scipio, Hornet, Mosca, and Riccio. Yes, her children characters are more distinctive and appealing than most of the adults.

There have been several complaint that about three-fourths of the book reads just like a regular novel, and that the last section is the only place that the speculative fiction aspect reveals itself. Or for a better way of saying it, “where magical stuff happens.” I did not find this to be the case; rather, I read the book without a care of when something magical was going to happen, taken along by the hands and words of these characters, only wanting to know what happens to them and how it happens. When the big poof/pow/pazam shows it, I was ambivalent for a moment, then nodded in understanding, and continued reading. The magic at the end allows for some fun twists of certain characters, almost enough so to create a separate plotline.

A great book that’s been translated nigh perfectly from German and filled with both colorful characters and vivid settings. You’ll be sorry when it’s deemed a classic and you’re still reading Harry Potter and the Fork of Finality, Year Twenty-Six or whatever book it is that J.K. will still be spooning out long past her time. Stick with Funke and see what a great read is really all about.