The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (unabridged audiobook read by Simon Jones; 8.5 hrs on 7 CDs): Young brothers Prosper and Bo are on the run in Venice, having escaped their aunt Esther who intends to separate them. Esther hires Victor, a private investigator, to find them. Soon Victor finds himself in the middle of a complex plot involving orphans, mysterious counts, and a certain Thief Lord with secrets of his own. Though the fantasy element was an interesting treatment of classic Bradbury, it came out of nowhere and left me a little cold. If the story leading up to that part hadn’t been so thoroughly within the realm of Realistic Fiction it would not have been quite so jarring. That said, it was still a fun little tale with likable characters, and I am still a little bit in love with Scipio.
A note on the audio: Though his use of voices is a little strange with some of the female characters, Jones is a thoroughly entertaining narrator.
Also posted on BookCrossing.
Leave a Comment