- Hardcover: 376 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (6 Mar 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0312354800
- ISBN-13: 978-0312354800
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.7 x 4.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 992,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Thief of Time
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Praise for "The Thief of Time"""
""The Thief of Time" is a learned and at times provocative read."--"America"""magazine
"This lively historical saga . . . is undyingly recommended."--"Booklist"
"Boyne is creative and entertaining, particularly as he develops his characters."--"Library Journal"
"Extraordinary.... The various strands of the story are resolved with a stylish twist and genuine warmth." --"The Sunday Express"
"A delightful epic, filled with twists and treachery, and vividly told." --"The Herald"
"A minor masterpiece of organisation and historical sampling." --"Time Out"""
"Boyne is a skilful storyteller... The novel is superbly constructed." --"Sunday Tribune"
Praise for "Crippen"
"Wondrous to read."--"Philadelphia"" Inquirer"
"Boyne provides plenty of thrills, chills, ironies and surprises."--"The ""Washington"" Post"
"An addictive tale."--"People"
" "
"His characters are wonderfully memorable an
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
An ambitious, engaging first novel about a man who stops ageing
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
I don't die. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I don't die. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a truly imaginative read - a novel about a man who never dies, just carries on living, year after year, through the centuries. Rich in contrasts, the chapters swing between different eras; one of my favourites were the scenes where he moves to Hollywood and meets Charlie Chaplin, depicting him a cold womaniser off screen. The plot is fast-paced, combining numerous passionate affairs, not to mention the odd murder and chase sequence. This is literary fiction at its most accessible - a novel which you can read & enjoy on the train - but also an enthralling novel which makes you think. A great read!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The poor Matthieu Zela is at his wits end. His twenty-two-year old nephew Tommy, a hugely popular English television celebrity, just can't look after himself, spending most of his days living on the edge, snorting cocaine and partying to all hours of the morning. Indeed Matthiew fears that Tommy may go the way of Tommy's ancestors, everyone one of whom has met with an unhappy ending.
Matthieu is all too familiar with the various generations of Thomas's as his lineage has always been troublesome. Born in 1743 in Paris, Matthieu seems to have always had a nephew tagging along beside him. Now over 250 years old, Matthieu is well aware of the winds of change, each era in history providing a window of learning for this talented media entrepreneur who over the centuries has courted the rich and famous and witnessed some of the most defining moments of three centuries.
In 1758 the fifteen-year-old Matthieu escapes Paris for Dover, after his stepfather horribly murders his mother. Matthieu takes his five-year-old brother Tomas and his older companion, the lovely Dominique Sauvet, a girl whom he meets on the voyage over. Many adventures await them, as Matthieu struggles to make a life for himself in this new country.
But the biggest surprise is that in 1793 the process begins which was to make him truly "a thief of time," and he stops the physical aspects of aging. At first Matthieu is shocked, but as he lives on, he realizes that this kind of enforced longevity perhaps isn't that bad after all. Life continually leads him in completely different and unexpected directions, and what could have begun to unravel, ends up in fact being a life well lived, filled with murder, betrayal, marriage and romance.
Drifting somewhere between fiction and the totally absurd, The Thief of Time makes some fun observations about the last couple of centuries as Matthieu's path veers from a seventeenth century stable boy to a nineteenth century industrialist to a respectable, twentieth century media entrepreneur.
Over the hundreds of years, Mathieu's personal life indeed becomes complicated. There are failed marriages, and women who blend together and separate, and then there's the problem of what to do about his nephews, "256 years old and he's sat back and watched nine of the Thomas's die and done nothing at all to prevent any of these tragedies."
Fortunately, our hero is exceptionally bright, usually one step ahead of everyone else. Boyne moves his plot along at break-neck speed, weaving his time-traveling adventure tale and immersing the reader into these different eras of history.
My problem with this novel is that Matthieu often comes across as a blank slate and rather one dimensional; we never really get to the heart of what makes this 256-year-old man tick. Matthieu's encounters with different periods of history are always interesting, but for all its predilections towards an historical adventure novel and all the drama and behind-the-scenes machinations, the Thief of Time, and indeed Matthiew himself, is a bit flat and perfunctory. Mike Leonard March 07.
Matthieu is all too familiar with the various generations of Thomas's as his lineage has always been troublesome. Born in 1743 in Paris, Matthieu seems to have always had a nephew tagging along beside him. Now over 250 years old, Matthieu is well aware of the winds of change, each era in history providing a window of learning for this talented media entrepreneur who over the centuries has courted the rich and famous and witnessed some of the most defining moments of three centuries.
In 1758 the fifteen-year-old Matthieu escapes Paris for Dover, after his stepfather horribly murders his mother. Matthieu takes his five-year-old brother Tomas and his older companion, the lovely Dominique Sauvet, a girl whom he meets on the voyage over. Many adventures await them, as Matthieu struggles to make a life for himself in this new country.
But the biggest surprise is that in 1793 the process begins which was to make him truly "a thief of time," and he stops the physical aspects of aging. At first Matthieu is shocked, but as he lives on, he realizes that this kind of enforced longevity perhaps isn't that bad after all. Life continually leads him in completely different and unexpected directions, and what could have begun to unravel, ends up in fact being a life well lived, filled with murder, betrayal, marriage and romance.
Drifting somewhere between fiction and the totally absurd, The Thief of Time makes some fun observations about the last couple of centuries as Matthieu's path veers from a seventeenth century stable boy to a nineteenth century industrialist to a respectable, twentieth century media entrepreneur.
Over the hundreds of years, Mathieu's personal life indeed becomes complicated. There are failed marriages, and women who blend together and separate, and then there's the problem of what to do about his nephews, "256 years old and he's sat back and watched nine of the Thomas's die and done nothing at all to prevent any of these tragedies."
Fortunately, our hero is exceptionally bright, usually one step ahead of everyone else. Boyne moves his plot along at break-neck speed, weaving his time-traveling adventure tale and immersing the reader into these different eras of history.
My problem with this novel is that Matthieu often comes across as a blank slate and rather one dimensional; we never really get to the heart of what makes this 256-year-old man tick. Matthieu's encounters with different periods of history are always interesting, but for all its predilections towards an historical adventure novel and all the drama and behind-the-scenes machinations, the Thief of Time, and indeed Matthiew himself, is a bit flat and perfunctory. Mike Leonard March 07.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Now don't get me wrong - i'm not saying anything against modern hi-tech whizz-bang post-modern storytelling, cut-ups and fold-overs and spiralling internal monologues, but occasionally, just sometimes, it's nice to read a well-thought-out, diligently researched tale that utilises some modern method (time-jumping for one) but otherwise could have come straight from Dickens or Scott at their most imaginative. "The Thief Of Time" will transport you into the mind of a 256-year-old who's seen-it done-it in ways that most contemporary heros can only dream about, and evokes various key points in his story beautifully. I would say that "i couldn't put it down", if that didn't sound too trite. A simple story from a clearly far from simple wordsmith. Congratulations Mr Boyne - i hope your publishers signed your next few tales up as well...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An enjoyable read!
I read this book in hardcopy years and years ago and it is one of the several physical books that I keep on my shelf and lend to people. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Sarah-KindleFan
Full of promise, but ...
The concept of 'The Thief of Time' is intriguing: a man born in 1758 stops ageing before the end of the eighteenth century and in 1999 finds himself living in London. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Trevor Johnson
the thief of time
Excellent book. 1st class customer service, Well done. Your customer care is very much appreciated. Many many thanks. Profound apologies for the long delay with this review
Published 19 months ago by Mr. B. C. Hanna
Good first attempt
Have just read this (after reading some of John Boynes later works). I was a little dissapointed as the subject offered some really promising tales. Read more
Published 20 months ago by I. Moore
Interesting book but falls a little short
I quite enjoyed reading this book but I think it fell short of being really good. The nagging feeling I had throughout was why did no-one ask questions about him not aging? Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2009 by Alison
pleasant enough
The book was interesting enough to keep me entertained on a long train journey, but someone who sets his story in various periods of history needs to tighten up more on the... Read more
Published on 7 Dec 2007 by trouvay
Intricate storyline but limited insight
This is a story about a man who lives for 256 years; the author narrates his personal history and that of a series of nephews. Read more
Published on 11 July 2002 by "juliet_j"
An Innovative yarn ...
At first glance, John Boyne The Thief of Time seems like a historical novel, but develops into a sort of high concept Jeffrey Archer yarn. Read more
Published on 20 Aug 2000
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