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Executive Times |
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2008 Book Reviews |
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The Good
Thief by Hannah Tinti |
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Rating: |
*** |
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(Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Waif The
protagonist of Hannah Tinti’s debut novel, The Good
Thief, is a one-handed orphan named Ren. Set in 19th century
New England, the story is packed with adventures for Ren as he leaves an orphanage
and gets involved in one set of predicaments after another. Tinti avoids
making The Good Thief a sappy story, and I found myself anxiously turning the
pages rooting for Ren to get out of one peril after another. Here’s an
excerpt, from his life in the orphanage, pp. 15-16: To
make up for this, Ren stole things. It began with small items of food. He'd
stand in front of the cook after cleaning out the fireplace, and the man
would glance at the boy's scar, and then turn and study a pile of cabbages
while shouting for someone to wash the beans, and it was just enough time for
Ren to slip one of the pieces of bread left out on the counter into his
pocket. He
never took anything that couldn't be easily hidden away. He stole socks and
shoelaces, combs and prayer cards, buttons, keys, and crucifixes. Whatever
crossed his path. Sometimes he would keep the items, sometimes he would
return them, sometimes he would toss them down the well. In this way Ren was
responsible for most of the lost things being prayed for at the statue of
Saint Anthony. The
items he kept were stashed inside a small crack about a foot from the edge of
the well, Leaning over the stone wall, Ren could fit his hand inside the
hiding place, his breath echoing back to him from the water far below. There
was a broken piece of blue and white pottery, a snake skin he'd found in the
woods, a set of rosary beads he'd stolen from Father John, made from real
roses, and, most important of all, his rocks. Every
boy at Saint Anthony's collected rocks. They hoarded stones as if they were
precious objects, as if the accumulation of feldspar and shale would pave
their way to a new life. If they dug in the right places, they found rarer
things pieces of quartz, or mica, or arrowheads. These stones were kept and
traded and loved, and sometimes, when the children were adopted, they were
left behind. That
afternoon, when Brother Joseph had fallen asleep, William's rocks were spread
out across the floor of the barn, and the boys began to argue over how to
divide them. There were perhaps thirty or forty pieces. Rocks that gleamed
like metal, or had brown and black stripes, or reds and oranges the color of
the sunset. But the best of the collection was a wishing stone, a soft gray
rock with an unbroken circling band of white. Good for one wish to come true. Ren
had seen only one before—it had belonged to Sebastian. He'd shown it to Ren once,
but he wouldn't let anyone hold it. He was afraid of losing the wish. He was
saving it, he said, for a time when he was in trouble, and he'd taken it with
him when he left for the army. Later, outside the brick wall that surrounded
the orphanage, his lips cracked from the sun, Sebastian told Ren through the
swinging door in the gate that someone had stolen the wishing stone while he
slept. "I shouldn't have held on to it," he wept. "I should
have used it as soon as it came into my hands." The
rafters of the barn caught the boys' voices and sent them back, louder and
more forceful, as they bargained over William's collection. A few had already
noticed the wishing stone. Once William's rocks were divided, Ren was sure to
lose his chance. He edged closer to where it lay on the ground, rolling up
his sleeve as he went. Then he pretended that someone had shoved him from
behind, and threw his body into the center of the group, scrambling on the
floor, the stub of his left arm covering his right. The group elbowed him to
the side. "Shove
off." The Good
Thief is a worthy debut novel of a talented writer, and I look forward to
reading more from Hannah Tinti. Steve
Hopkins, November 20, 2008 |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the December 2008 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/The Good Thief.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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