The Thief of Always is a children’s novel by Clive Barker. As with much else of Barker's writing, it is a finely crafted tale that tells an interesting, important story, but seems to leave out some element of characterization that could have made it a phenomenon. But while The Thief of Always has its following, it didn't seem to break out into being regarded as a classic. It is the same basic story that Neil Gaiman would turn into such a success with Coraline. Barker takes the entire story of temptation and identity and distills it down to its essence, in a way that many writers would find enviable. As I said above, this book is a fable, more than it is a novel. In fact, it is downright sinister, and young Harvey Swick must gather his courage and his wits to return back to his normal, boring life.Ĭlive Barker is somewhat of a writer's writer.
While at first seeming an ideal break from his boring life, Harvey soon finds out that the house is not all fun. Every day has a halloween and a Christmas, Harvey finds two other children there, Wendell and Lulu. The plot of the book follows one young Harvey Swick, a typical bored preteen from an unspecified time in the 20th Century, who gets an invitation to go the Holiday House, a place where the high points of childhood occur everyday. I read the text version, which may mean I didn't get the full impact of the book.
There were several versions of this book published, one with Barker's own illustrations, and one as a text-only version. This was Clive Barker's first work for young adults, which meant that the horror factor was dialed down a bit, although since this is Clive Barker, it is still scary and disturbing. When I read "The Thief of Always", it occurred to me that it was not a novel as much as it was a fable, a distinction that seems to have occurred to others, as see the write-up above, as well as its description on tvtropes and the normally bland wikipedia.
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