A review by michidoc
The Thief of Time by John Boyne

3.0

As a novel by John Boyne, I expected the best, considering also the presentation lines on the back of the paperback edition I bought, extremely catching. As any first work though, you perceive greatness but you only get a taste of it. The novel starts with a lot of potential, and very good story-lines, but then all the anticipation doesn't really get fulfilled by the result. I guessed the ending way too early during the reading, but that is not exactly bad: John Boyne is a master of honesty, and you can see that the honest ending of this book was just the one he wrote. The tale of Matthieu's first love wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, at first, but then I sort of understood where John Boyne was going and, even though the start of the novel led you in one direction, it brings you to another one, as good as that one, or even better, talking about the meaning of love, the way it unfolds and the way it affects you. You have a sense of a great start and a not entirely fulfilled ending, but it is a very enjoyable and well-written book that is really worth a read.