The Thief Lord is a story by Cornelia Funke about two orphaned brothers who run away to Venice from their aunt who threatens to separate them. The older of the two, Prosper, is the well-behaving, cautious one who is unwanted by their aunt, and the younger one, Bo who is only around seven or eight, is the playful, misbehaving one whom their aunt wants to keep.
In Venice the boys are helpless, homeless and cold, when they befriend a gang of street children. These children live in a disused cinema and rely on their leader, the mysterious so-called Thief Lord, who brings them stolen valuables for them to sell. He calls himself the master of stealing and can get into any house without being caught. While all this happens, there is a detective named Victor Getz who is searching for the boys, by order of their aunt. And as the gang is set to the task of stealing a magical treasure from a forgotten past that can spin time itself, Victor becomes more and more involved and another new story is unravelled.
Throughout the whole book, the identity of the Thief Lord is not clear. All we know is that he comes back very late from wherever he has been, and that he is still only a teen. The more I read, the more I started wondering who he really was until at the end, everything was revealed.
I enjoyed this book because it showed the dodgier, darker and dirtier side of Venice with homelessness and poverty, as well as the popular, tourist attracting and prosperous side. However, I think it would appeal more to younger readers as a bedtime story because it is simple, about a magical treasure, has a cliche happy ending and obvious 'good' and 'bad' characters, and no particularly unexpected plot twists. The way it was written allows readers to understand social classes and society issues in an easy, more visual way as well. It also isn't a very big book, so if you are looking for a quick and easy read, I would recommend this.
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