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 ...
...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 ... more

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 the other able bodied children.

That is until one day when a young 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 to Benjamin as he weaves sometimes ridiculous and sometimes clever lies to gain Ren and others trust as well as con people out of money.

Will Ren ever find out who his true family are? Will he forever be embroiled in Ben's moneymaking schemes?

Ren is a character that gains the readers sympathy almost immediately. Quite clearly a boy who has been unloved all his life, he shows love and a protective instinct throughout the book from the twins who enter the orphanage and become his best friends through to his strange relationships with the adults in his story. Ren is courageous, bold, and giving and for that the writer Hannah Tinti should be applauded; Ren is a character that is unbelievably enjoyable to read about, one who invokes sympathy and horror when things go wrong, happiness and smiles when things go right.

In fact, as this is written from a child's perspective, the writing throughout the book is lively and feels almost like a children's story. Ren, before meeting Benjamin Nab, was a thief but always knew that what he did was wrong. Meeting Benjamin gives him a whole new perspective on things and opens up a whole new world and adventure. The stories that Benjamin weaves are wholly elaborate but highly entertaining and engrossing, often involving evil Indians, war stories mingled with ever lasting love - all told with a child audience in mind but also managing to entertain its intended adult audience.

As well as this, there is the friendships between the characters - especially the relationships that Ren has with his adult counterparts - this in particular reminded me of childhood stories of how children befriend the strangest of things. For instance, Ren and his comrades meet Dolly, a huge hunk of a man who they find out is a contract killer. Obviously this isn't the same as traditional stories where the child befriends a Lion or a Spoon, but it reminded me of how children sometimes disregard the bad in things and befriend the person that they see in front of them due to how they act and react around them. (I hope that makes sense!).

Despite the clear contrast between Ren, the disabled twelve-year-old boy and the grown man who is a paid murderer, there becomes an instant bond and friendship, which is at first disturbing but also touching. Although on the surface Dolly does a job that is not at all humane or pleasant, he did have an overall likeability to me as a reader and his clear trust and love of the boy won me over. In fact, Ren is such a powerful character that he manages to win almost all of the characters in this book, which felt right and just as he felt like such a treasure!

As for the writing style and pace, I can't really fault it. Despite being set in a time and place that is unfamiliar to me and one that might require a bit more explanation, Tinti's writing style was straight forward, interesting - and best of all for me as it is a pet hate of mine when it comes to certain authors - it never dragged, over elaborated or focussed and described too much on one specific detail. It was smooth and effortless reading. This can be put down to writing from the perspective of a twelve year old boy but it is done with simplicity and ease.

Obviously, this book isn't a children's story and it does appeal to a more adult audience that much is clear from the outset. At times it is dark and sinister and Ren has to go through a lot of pain and hurt from people he thought he could trust before there is any kind of peace for him. This book had a slow start and I wasn't sure if I was entirely interested in the escapades of a con artist and an orphaned one-handed boy, but this book is so much more than that. The setting is so vivid, the characters as colourful as a children's storybook and the mystery surrounding Rens parentage fascinating. There is humour and love, dark and gruesome moments, intrigue, heart wrenching moments as well as full on adventure. The descriptions and the general feel I got from this book was just so vibrant that I felt that I could see it in a movie - and I wouldn't be surprised if it ever did get that far with a few tweaks!

A truly enjoyable book and a great debut.

 

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