The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti

The story opens in 19th Century New England with the hero, a twelve-year-old orphaned boy called Ren living in a Catholic orphanage hoping and dreaming of one day being rescued and brought into the bosom of a loving family. Ren knows little about his heritage having been dropped at the door of the orphanage as a baby. His hopes of one day having a loving family are minimal as he is missing a left hand and is generally considered less desirable than ...
...man called Benjamin Nab visits the orphanage and picks Ren out of the group of boys claming he is Rens long lost brother. For once, Rens missing hand seems to be his saving grace as it becomes clear early on that con-artist Benjamin feels he can play on Ren's disability when "acquiring" money. Ren is then taken across the country learning what its like living day to day outside the orphanage, meeting strange and interesting characters and listening ...

burtybookworm 30.04.2009 · Read full review
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Review of The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti

I was quite intrigued by the title of this book. Was it called 'The Good Thief' because it was about a thief who was very good at stealing or was it about someone who, even though he was a thief, was innately a good person. As I read this book, I felt it was probably a bit of both of these which had led to this very apt title. The thief in question is Ren, a small boy who, when we first meet him, is living in an orphanage in America in the 19th ...
...he will be sold into the army and, as he only has one hand, this prospect looks quite likely. However, he is rescued by Benjamin Nab who claims to be his brother. Benjamin leads Ren into a rather seedy life where they are forced to steal to make ends meet. Eventually they end up stealing bodies from graves and selling these to a hospital in the name of medical science a career which seems to be besieged with hazards. On their travels they meet a ...

kingfisher111 11.09.2008 (12.09.2008) · Read full review
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Review of The Good Thief - Hannah Tinti