Reviews

The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

jlk64's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

mcasiraghi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

geenyas's review against another edition

2.0

A passable first attempt at a YA book, perhaps, but I'm listening to the audio version and I can't get around the atrocious reader. The reader's attempt at "voices" is uneven at best, over-the-top and cartoonish most of the time. A closer inspection of the liner notes indicates that his previous experience includes supplying the voice of "Builder Bob" for the animated children's series -- I think he has confused the two efforts. The voice talent aside, the story didn't grab me as I had hoped and the "magical realism" element seems disjointed and unwarranted. (But then, I'm not a big fan of magical realism.) The comparison to Dickens is inevitable in light of of the central character's orphan status and the cast of picaresque characters he encounters, as well as the timeframe. There may be some anachronistic issues, although it is somewhat difficult to pinpoint the time: Pointed references to Cooper's novel "The Deerslayer" place the action sometime after 1841, but the complete lack of references to the watershed events of the American Civil War would seem to lock us into the 1840's-1850's era. If we go with the "magical realism" path, anachronisms such as the likelihood of a black man owning and running a successful used book store anywhere in America are possible. (Frederick Douglas's "Autobiography" was published in 1845 and raised doubts among the general populace that a black man could produce such eloquent prose when it was still against the law even to teach blacks to read.) Are we to read "The Good Thief" as a historical novel bound by historical fact or should we read it by the looser constraints of a fairy tale? The ambiguity of the author's intention is what ulitmately causes the book to fail.

lbolesta's review against another edition

4.0

A fun and quick read. As Liz said, Dickensian, but in the best possible way.

shona_reads_in_devon's review against another edition

3.0

Hmm, I found this one a bit patchy. It started pretty slowly and by the time I was about 100 pages in had decided it probably wasn't for me but that I would keep going. It definitely picked up and I was enjoying it by the end.

Not the greatest writing but some fun characters all the same and the plot eventually got going and zipped along towards the end.

maryc79's review against another edition

5.0

Wow what a great story. I loved it! Ms Tinti developed the characters so well. I grew to love them all except of course Mr McGinty. The story played out so well and in many unexpected ways. Thank you for a wonderful adventure!

mcasebolt's review against another edition

3.0

Someone recommended The Book Thief, I read The Good Thief. Unexpectedly, I enjoyed it!

It's the story of a boy in a monastic orphanage, trying to find his family and understand his place in the world. He's adopted by a band of criminals & while they are gravedigging and swindling, he is saying prayers for their souls. It's an interesting juxtaposition and a quick, enjoyable read.

cornmaven's review against another edition

3.0

Full disclosure - I didn't finish the book, because it just wasn't my type of book.

Sort of Dickensian, and I think girls would like it, but I am sort of an action fan, and there were many parts of what I read where I started getting bored.

I thought the writing was excellent, the story was a good one, but just not my style.

qiaokelibar's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I found this book in a used bookstore back when I was a kid and I asked for it on a whim. Now I'm 26 and it's my all-time favorite book. I can't even name how many times I've read it cover to cover. I just love the story so much 🥺

mikayladlewis's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0