To grow old or to stay young.
Herr Der Diebe
Also known as: The Thief Lord, Pangeran Pencuri
Author: Cornelia Funke
Depressed youngsters want to become adults as soon as possible.
Depressed adults miss their childhood and want to become children again.
How many books have explored that subject? And those books usually end up patronizing: cherish your youth, enjoy your time being children, there is a time and place for everything. (‘And it’s called college,’ says Chef in South Park.) While the adults? Well, they’re usually left seething, agonizing over their lost childhood, or realising that they’re now adults, time goes by however, nothing left to do but keeping on… etcetera etcetera.
While built on the similar problem - of youngsters and adults wanting to change positions - Cornelia Funke’s Herr Der Diebe tries to give different solutions to the problem.
The opening is plain enough.
Victor Gentz, a Venice-based private detective, is asked by a German pair, the Hartliebs, to find their nephew Bo (from ‘Bonifacius’). Bo has escaped from the Hartliebs’ house with his brother Prosper (‘Prop’). Husband and wife are certain that Bo and Prosper run away to Venice, because while still alive, their mother always told them about how wonderful Venice is. How the labyrinthine city’s filled with magic. The Hartliebs know that what Bo and Prosper want to do is just that: go to Venice.
The Hartliebs want Bo back. Bo, little Bo. But not Prosper, the teenager. He’s no longer cute and lovable enough for them.
The Hartliebs are right. Prosper and Bo are in Venice. They now live with a band of homeless children - well, not quite homeless, since they take residence in an old, abandoned theatre, the Stella. Their patron is a mysterious figure who wants people to call him ‘The Thief Lord’, but whose real name is Scipio (‘Scip’). He’s actually only a bit older than Prosper, and not too tall that he has to wear high-heeled shoes. He hides his face behind a mask similar to the one Venetian doctors used to wear during the times when Black Death raging through Europe. The Thief Lord does all the thefts, taking the responsibility off the shoulders of the Venetian children (Hornet, Riccio, and Mosca) who used to steal to survive before they met The Thief Lord.
They all live happily. As children. Without adults.
One day, someone who calls himself ‘Comte’ wants to hire The Thief Lord to steal a singular item: a wooden wing. The thing seems to be very unimportant and valueless, but the Comte dares to pay five millions for it, because the wing means dearly for him - whatever the meaning is. Later, the children find out that the wing belongs to a creature in a magical merry-go-round once owned by the Sisters of Mercy. Legend has it that anyone who gets on the merry-go-round and has a ride will either become older or younger. Isn’t that great? Becoming an adult, no longer a child treated like worthless dirt…
But then the Hartliebs - through Gentz - are still after Bo and Prosper.
But then there are still secrets about who The Thief Lord actually is.
But then they still have to find the wing first!
And who will take the ride then? Does it really work?
To my relief, the end doesn’t sound too patronizing. The solutions can be different for different people. Some choose to, some choose not to. Some are happy and some are not.
And I really like the way Funke spins her story. ‘Herr Der Diebe’ is a children book that doesn’t treat children like inexperienced maggots need moralizing. At least it doesn’t feel that way.
There’s also a film adaptation of ‘Herr Der Diebe’ already. The film has to add some years to the characters though, since I think the ones who play Prosper and Scipio are way too tall to be twelve-year olds. The film is satisfying enough, although as expected there are alterations here and there. Also added to the film is the line “He wants me as a brother, not as a father" (ooops, sorry, I’m spoiling Prosper’s decision) that to me is so fundamental since it illuminates Prop’s character very well. He wants to be an adult so that he may take legal responsibilities as the guardian of his younger brother - but is that a right thing to do?
My final word? Read it, and feel the magic yourself!
Also known as: The Thief Lord, Pangeran Pencuri
Author: Cornelia Funke
Depressed youngsters want to become adults as soon as possible.
Depressed adults miss their childhood and want to become children again.
How many books have explored that subject? And those books usually end up patronizing: cherish your youth, enjoy your time being children, there is a time and place for everything. (‘And it’s called college,’ says Chef in South Park.) While the adults? Well, they’re usually left seething, agonizing over their lost childhood, or realising that they’re now adults, time goes by however, nothing left to do but keeping on… etcetera etcetera.
While built on the similar problem - of youngsters and adults wanting to change positions - Cornelia Funke’s Herr Der Diebe tries to give different solutions to the problem.
The opening is plain enough.
Victor Gentz, a Venice-based private detective, is asked by a German pair, the Hartliebs, to find their nephew Bo (from ‘Bonifacius’). Bo has escaped from the Hartliebs’ house with his brother Prosper (‘Prop’). Husband and wife are certain that Bo and Prosper run away to Venice, because while still alive, their mother always told them about how wonderful Venice is. How the labyrinthine city’s filled with magic. The Hartliebs know that what Bo and Prosper want to do is just that: go to Venice.
The Hartliebs want Bo back. Bo, little Bo. But not Prosper, the teenager. He’s no longer cute and lovable enough for them.
The Hartliebs are right. Prosper and Bo are in Venice. They now live with a band of homeless children - well, not quite homeless, since they take residence in an old, abandoned theatre, the Stella. Their patron is a mysterious figure who wants people to call him ‘The Thief Lord’, but whose real name is Scipio (‘Scip’). He’s actually only a bit older than Prosper, and not too tall that he has to wear high-heeled shoes. He hides his face behind a mask similar to the one Venetian doctors used to wear during the times when Black Death raging through Europe. The Thief Lord does all the thefts, taking the responsibility off the shoulders of the Venetian children (Hornet, Riccio, and Mosca) who used to steal to survive before they met The Thief Lord.
They all live happily. As children. Without adults.
One day, someone who calls himself ‘Comte’ wants to hire The Thief Lord to steal a singular item: a wooden wing. The thing seems to be very unimportant and valueless, but the Comte dares to pay five millions for it, because the wing means dearly for him - whatever the meaning is. Later, the children find out that the wing belongs to a creature in a magical merry-go-round once owned by the Sisters of Mercy. Legend has it that anyone who gets on the merry-go-round and has a ride will either become older or younger. Isn’t that great? Becoming an adult, no longer a child treated like worthless dirt…
But then the Hartliebs - through Gentz - are still after Bo and Prosper.
But then there are still secrets about who The Thief Lord actually is.
But then they still have to find the wing first!
And who will take the ride then? Does it really work?
To my relief, the end doesn’t sound too patronizing. The solutions can be different for different people. Some choose to, some choose not to. Some are happy and some are not.
And I really like the way Funke spins her story. ‘Herr Der Diebe’ is a children book that doesn’t treat children like inexperienced maggots need moralizing. At least it doesn’t feel that way.
There’s also a film adaptation of ‘Herr Der Diebe’ already. The film has to add some years to the characters though, since I think the ones who play Prosper and Scipio are way too tall to be twelve-year olds. The film is satisfying enough, although as expected there are alterations here and there. Also added to the film is the line “He wants me as a brother, not as a father" (ooops, sorry, I’m spoiling Prosper’s decision) that to me is so fundamental since it illuminates Prop’s character very well. He wants to be an adult so that he may take legal responsibilities as the guardian of his younger brother - but is that a right thing to do?
My final word? Read it, and feel the magic yourself!