Fiction and Fantasy are
different genre,at least that's what I feel. As a serious reader, I would expect a fictional novel
to be a
convincing narration of imaginary events but yet be closer to reality.
The. Good thief by Hannah Tinti has as its backdrop, the social setup of 18th century England. Ren is a 12 year old boy who has lost his hand and living in St Anthony orphanage. A guy named Benjamin Nab,claiming to be Ren's brother ,takes him along after convincing Father Joseph of his identity.
The slow life that Ren had been living is replaced by a highly eventful and fast paced one with thiefs,goons and ressurection men for company.In the process,they reach a township managed by a villianious character called Mc Ginty
Slowly , Ren's parentage, which had always been his quest in life, is unravelled through his new found companionship of Ben in this town. Also revealed is the real reason how Ren lost his hand in his early childhood.
The novel is fast paced and there are sudden twist in the plot which encourages you to read on. But eventually when you reach the end of the novel, you feel like " what's the big deal".
None of the character except for Ren evolve into stronger ones and hence doesn't linger in your mind for long. Some of the character like the dwarf or the hulky Dolly doesn't justify their presence largely in the whole chain of events
Still can't make out how the novel got good review from the literary circle. Or maybe it has to do more with my taste...