tbim's review against another edition
5.0
Really good book. The evil that men do and what men do, fighting against it.
storyman's review against another edition
5.0
A novel about how ideology dehumanizes everyone it touches, without losing sight of strong characters torn by the choices they have to make.
This is an excellent, terrifying novel which invests heavily in its characters. A proper page turner.
It starts with a man, half dead from a bullet in his abdomen, dragging a sledge with two kids under a cover. They’re both dead, one with her leg cut and eaten.
The protagonist, Luka, immediately sees the terror this man has brought. The village, with memories of the Ukrainian famine and acts of cannibalism to survive, are up in arms at his presence. The man can’t defend himself as he is passed out. Luka demands that the man has a right to defend himself against the village’s belief that the man killed the children and cannibalized one, but Luka knows what fearful crowds do. He witnessed it in the army as the Russian Revolution took hold of the country and ate its own as paranoia took hold.
The novel jumps right in with a conundrum to make your blood run cold. Do you kill this man to satisfy your perceptions, or do you let him wake up and answer for the horror he brought into their lives, maybe even risk their own children in doing so?
Smith does a brilliant job at playing both sides, though you err on Luka’s due process side as events turn ugly and a child from the village is stolen.
Russia’s history seems to be one long tragedy. The Child Thief, set in the 30s, stamps that impression deep. Luka takes his sons on an epic rescue mission for the girl, fearful for his family, of the shadow of the communist machine as it descends on his as-yet untouched village, and his struggles with the past as he remembers the atrocities he’s witnessed as a sniper in to be imperial army, then the Red variety. The Child Thief turns out to be a match for Luka, including a taste for war, which Luka fights internally.
There’s not a moment in this book which doesn’t make your stomach hurt. The stakes are so high. The missing girl is Luka’s niece and might be eaten. His sons could end up dead. The communists might find the village and take his daughter and wife. And if the Child Thief or the communists don’t kill everybody, the snow might do the job for them.
A great book that grabs right from the start.
This is an excellent, terrifying novel which invests heavily in its characters. A proper page turner.
It starts with a man, half dead from a bullet in his abdomen, dragging a sledge with two kids under a cover. They’re both dead, one with her leg cut and eaten.
The protagonist, Luka, immediately sees the terror this man has brought. The village, with memories of the Ukrainian famine and acts of cannibalism to survive, are up in arms at his presence. The man can’t defend himself as he is passed out. Luka demands that the man has a right to defend himself against the village’s belief that the man killed the children and cannibalized one, but Luka knows what fearful crowds do. He witnessed it in the army as the Russian Revolution took hold of the country and ate its own as paranoia took hold.
The novel jumps right in with a conundrum to make your blood run cold. Do you kill this man to satisfy your perceptions, or do you let him wake up and answer for the horror he brought into their lives, maybe even risk their own children in doing so?
Smith does a brilliant job at playing both sides, though you err on Luka’s due process side as events turn ugly and a child from the village is stolen.
Russia’s history seems to be one long tragedy. The Child Thief, set in the 30s, stamps that impression deep. Luka takes his sons on an epic rescue mission for the girl, fearful for his family, of the shadow of the communist machine as it descends on his as-yet untouched village, and his struggles with the past as he remembers the atrocities he’s witnessed as a sniper in to be imperial army, then the Red variety. The Child Thief turns out to be a match for Luka, including a taste for war, which Luka fights internally.
There’s not a moment in this book which doesn’t make your stomach hurt. The stakes are so high. The missing girl is Luka’s niece and might be eaten. His sons could end up dead. The communists might find the village and take his daughter and wife. And if the Child Thief or the communists don’t kill everybody, the snow might do the job for them.
A great book that grabs right from the start.
sigridreads's review against another edition
5.0
When reading the short content, I expected a thriller along the lines of Child 44. Which would be fine.
But this book is so much more, it gripped me and I had to stop myself from reading very late, because it would not leave me.
The hunt for the thief and being hunted is only the frame for the story. Beyond that it is about the fear of oppression, about fathers and sons and about balancing between desperation and hope.
Highly recommended.
But this book is so much more, it gripped me and I had to stop myself from reading very late, because it would not leave me.
The hunt for the thief and being hunted is only the frame for the story. Beyond that it is about the fear of oppression, about fathers and sons and about balancing between desperation and hope.
Highly recommended.
audjfield13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.75
monbeausoleil's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Première fiction historique que j’ai lu. L’histoire se déroule en Ukraine entre les deux guerres mondiales dans un petit village. Le contexte est vraiment intéressant et particulier et l’intrigue est attachante. La fin est bonne quoiqu’un peu attendue. Les points négatifs sont que les dialogues ne sont pas toujours faciles à suivre et que je n’ai pas totalement accroché au protagoniste.
castiellucis's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
'When people are scared they'll do almost anything to survive'
'And it struck me that in these hard times there were small moments of kindness which lifted us above the filth and the death. With these tiny acts, we were still human, still able to have faith in one another. There was still something good left in the world.'
'There are times when no words can convey feelings. Sometimes a gesture is all that can be made, a gesture that overpowers the weakness of empty words.'
'Grief expands. If allowed, it can push out all other thought, consuming all other emotion until nothing else exists. Uncontrolled, it smothers clear thinking, can take a man close to madness.'
'When people are scared they'll do almost anything to survive'
'And it struck me that in these hard times there were small moments of kindness which lifted us above the filth and the death. With these tiny acts, we were still human, still able to have faith in one another. There was still something good left in the world.'
'There are times when no words can convey feelings. Sometimes a gesture is all that can be made, a gesture that overpowers the weakness of empty words.'
'Grief expands. If allowed, it can push out all other thought, consuming all other emotion until nothing else exists. Uncontrolled, it smothers clear thinking, can take a man close to madness.'
lizlogan's review against another edition
3.0
This book was recommended to me as something I would enjoy after reading Child 44. Although they both take place in similar areas of the world and both have to do with murders of children, history of Russia (and the Ukraine) post-Alexander. I preferred Child 44, but this book wasn't bad. I could have been happy if I didn't finish the book, but I saw it through to the end. The hunting aspect was interesting, but overall I just could not get into the book. It was overly long and unnecessary. Nothing lost and nothing gained from this book.
kab11's review against another edition
3.0
3 1/2 stars if I hadn't already read and loved child 44 I would give this book 4 1/2 stars but it's far too similar
And frankly not as good, but then again. child 44 is a 10 out of 5stars read . This was our January book club read and If it hadn't been I don't think I would have made it to the end.
And frankly not as good, but then again. child 44 is a 10 out of 5stars read . This was our January book club read and If it hadn't been I don't think I would have made it to the end.
daffzcookie's review against another edition
4.0
The Child Thief wasn't a book I had on my TBR, I pretty much picked it at random in the library. Sometimes I'm the type of person who can get too bogged down in what I feel like I should be reading and treating my TBR list as a to-do list. So picking a book without knowing much about it and without having planned to read it for ages is something I don't do a lot. In this case it was a good decision, as The Child Thief gripped me and held my attention in a way not many books do. It's very tense and grim, but not without hope. I really enjoyed the setting and time period even though I didn't actually know a lot about either. That made it hard to follow at times, but not enough to stop me from enjoying the well-constructed plot.