Author: Cornelia Funke
Pages: 345
Version: Paperback
Publisher: The Chicken House
This week, I read The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke. It is about two boys, Prosper and Bo, who have run away from home after their parents had died and ended up in Venice. They are looked after by a mysterious boy called the Thief Lord. Little do they know, the Thief Lord has a secret that will change everything. In the midst of all this, a magical adventure to a secret island will complicate things even more. I personally absolutely loved this book. I really haven't read another book like it before which made me interested in it from the start. The book is quite realistic in the beginning; I could really picture the kids walking the streets of Venice and sleeping in their hideout. The Thief Lord was very mysterious and interesting as is expected and I just kept wondering what he was hiding. As the book goes on and it tells more about the Thief Lord, things got even more interesting. The story had a slight shift or twist to focus on fantasy which I loved. By introducing new characters, the addition of fantasy to the story was very smooth and seemed to fit really well. In general, I just really liked this book a lot. It was nice to read something so different from what I usually read. I found myself wanting to read this book all the time which doesn't happen too often. Besides the actual book, I think the cover is really nice; I love the colors and the mysterious Thief Lord in the top corner, slinking around the roof tops. Another really interesting thing that I found out after I read the book is that it was originally written in German and then translated into English. It doesn't seem that way, it is very well translated in my opinion and I couldn't tell at all. Something that I really enjoyed in this book was that there were little drawings at the beginning and sometimes end of each chapter. I thought this added a lot to the book and with the writing, really gave it an overall style that I absolutely loved. The only thing that I did not like as much about the book was the ending. It was good, but seemed incomplete and almost like a cliff hanger to me (which kind of drove me nuts). Overall, the book was very good and I enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend it to anyone that likes "realistic fantasy" kind of books.
Can I just say I love the cover? Cause I do. I also love the author's last name. I also love when fantasy is introduced smoothly, which is why I tend to stay away from complete fantasy books that plunge straight into the world. I will have to read this book once I get the chance, and hopefully the ending won't drive be nuts (which it probably will).
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of this book before but it sounds pretty good. The whole "realistic fantasy" thing sounds like it would make for a really great read. I hate cliffhanger endings, but maybe I'll give it a read anyway!
ReplyDeleteWow, that sounds like an good book. I think it would interesting to read a book that is a "realistic fantasy." I also like it when books have drawing, pictures, or diagrams that fit nicely with the story.
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