So, when I reviewed Coraline, I mentioned that, in terms of "Young-person-casts-off-illusions-and-outwits-a-vastly-more-powerful-otherworldly-entity-and-comes-to-appreciate-the-realities-of-life" stories, I thought this book was vastly superior. So I jumped onto Bookmooch to see if anyone had a copy. Lo and behold, a nice person in Israel was giving his copy away, so I snagged it. And I stand by my judgment.Plus, this book has one of the best opening lines I have ever read: "The great, gray beast February had eaten Harvey Swick alive."Can't beat that.Harvey Swick is ten years old, and like so many ten year-old boys, he is bored with his life. The interminable grayness of February, the drudgery of life - going to school, coming home, going to school again - and believes that, if his life became the tiniest bit more boring, he would certainly perish.Then he met a strange, smiling man named Rictus, who told Harvey of a wonderful place where boredom could not enter, and there was nothing to be had but fun and adventure. There is no better place for children, Rictus said, than Mister Hood's Holiday House.Thinking about it, given that Harvey was willing to follow a strange man to a mysterious house without much consideration for his safety, suggests either that Harvey is not very bright, or Rictus is extremely persuasive. Given the rest of the book, I'd bet on the latter.The Holiday House is truly a place of miracles. The food is better than you've ever eaten and there are enough toys and games and costumes and masks to keep any child happy for the rest of their lives. And in every day there are four seasons - a perfect green spring in the morning, a blazing wonderful summer in the afternoon, an evening full of woodsmoke, pumpkins and fallen leaves, and every night is a white Christmas with a present for each boy and girl.It is the best place Harvey has ever been, and it takes him about a month to realize that something is not... quite right. Why would the mysterious Mister Hood do this for children? And what happened to the children who had come before? And what's the deal with that cold, deep pond full of big, creepy fish?It's a very quick read, but a very good book.
Η προηγούμενη επαφή που είχα με βιβλίο του Clive Barker ήταν ο υφαντόκοσμος το οποίο τολμώ να πω πως δε με συγκίνησε καθόλου (ε ναί λοιπόν το είπα).Καθώς κοιτούσα τη βιβλιοθήκη μου ξέθαψα τον κλέφτη του πάντοτε,όντας προκατελειμμένος αρνητικά απέναντι στο βιβλίο και τον συγγραφέα(τελείως αδικα όπως αποδείχτηκε) ξεκίνησα να το διαβάζω και ως εκ θαύματος δικαιώθηκα για την επιλογή μου!Μιλάμε για ένα όμορφο με έντονο το σουρεαλιστικό στοιχείο παραμύθι γεμάτο συμβολισμούς που πραγματικά καθηλώνει κάθε αναγνώστη (ανεξαρτήτως ηλικίας).Ο Barker έστησε περίτεχνα ένα περίεργο και ονειρικά φτιαγμένο κόσμο ,φλερτάροντας με τη φαντασία μας την οποία και την οδηγεί σε μονοπάτια που ξεφευγουν απο τη σφαίρα και τα όρια της λογικής.Απώτερος σκοπός του συγγραφέα είναι να προβληματίσει τον αναγνώστη..Αναλωνόμαστε άραγε σε απολαύσεις οι οποίες στην ουσία δεν έχουν να μας προσφέρουν απολύτως τίποτα?Έχουμε χάσει μήπως το νόημα της ζωής?Διαβάζοντας τον κλέφτη του πάντοτε το μόνο σιγουρο είναι οτι θα μπείς στη διαδικασία να ξαναβάλεις στη σωστή σειρά τις προτεραιότητες σου για να ανακαλύψεις τις αληθινές αξίες της ζωής.
What do You think about The Thief Of Always (1992)?
Read SynopsisWow! This is a book that stays with you, if you let it. Harvey Swick, as normal a kid as you'll find, is trapped in paradise. The holiday House is a place where dreams come true - so long as you're willing to play by it's rules. Try to break free, and swim with the fishes.Clive Barker's prose is brilliant; I can think of no other word that clearly conveys my thoughts on The Thief of Always. From the first line-one of the best ever written, rivaled only by the opening to Gibson's Neuromancer-to the final word there is nothing that can be added or removed. The ideas flow in a manner other writers should envy, especially many of today's YA authors.This is a book that refuses to treat it's audience as dull or stupid. Barker wrote for the masses, but not to the masses. To his credit, he lifts the reader rather than lower his prose.This is the only book I can say I've read, willingly, more than once. Caveat: Much of Barker's work is not at all suitable for younger readers.
—Robert Bickers
If somebody would have asked me which contemporary horror writer I would choose to write a dark fantasy largely aimed at children, I must admit that Clive Barker would not be top of the list. Most of his work is sexual often with themes of homosexuality and usually BDSM. Not that I have a problem with this but for those reasons Clive Barker would never jump out at me as being the ideal writer for a children’s dark fantasy. Therefore I was surprised when I opened The Thief of Always and not only enjoy it, but to afterwards consider it my favourite Barker novel.Harvey is ten years old and bored with school so when a mysterious man ‘Rictus’ offers him the chance to go to the Holiday House where he can celebrate Christmas every night and just generally play and have fun for as long as he wants, Harvey jumps at the chance. The fantasy world is as amazing as he imagined and when he phones his mother to let her know that he is alright she oddly advises him to ‘stay as long as he likes’. He makes friends with two other children and as the (short) book progresses, they start to realise that not is all as it seems. When the truth comes out, it is more horrifying than they could ever have imagined.The world Barker has created is bizarre and fantastical; there is enough content and underlying theme to engage both children and adults. In some ways it feels very much long a modern horror, in other ways it feels rather like a homage to the likes of the brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson etcSee more book reviews at my blog
—M.G. Mason
Creepy!Harvey is 10 and bored...Soooooo bored...So when he is offered the chance of visiting a holiday house with unlimited food and presents, where it is spring, summer, autumn and winter all in one day how can he resist! [image error]
—Lisa
