Customer Reviews

Thief

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If a book succeeds on its own terms, I generally consider it to be a success. I don't expect every book I read to be a literary masterpiece, nor do I expect every book I read to present new and original ideas.

Thief, however, fails to live up to even its modest potential: it is terribly written, and it rather ineffectively veils a vitriolic and naive assumption that wealthy Americans are to blame for the world's problems behind its purported glimpse into the life of a criminal slum resident.

On the first point, the chief fault is the author's complete lack of narrative consistency. Is this a detached description of a person's life? Fine, then why break into first person every fifth page to complain about how Americans are to blame for his plight? Is this a firsthand description of slum life in a third world country? Then pony up, and drop the half-baked character development and one dimensional supporting cast (complete with a pedophilic priest).

Much more egregious an offense, however, is the author's clear intent to "expose" the complicity of America, and in particular its wealthy elite, in the miserable existence of the third world poor. Expose might be the wrong word, though, since there is nary a shred of evidence to support the author's frequent and increasingly bitter claims that America is much more responsible for his character's plights, than, say, the Peruvian government or the native middle class. No, they are, as the author explains at the end, a really friendly bunch, not like those Oprah fans in hollow, cosumerist America (and bewarned -- Oprah makes an uncredited and wincingly obvious cameo). If this was to be a anti-American diatribe, it would be much more palatable with even a modicum of evidence, the lack of which speaks volumes on the depth and maturity of the author's views.

So, to summarize: this book fails at both its stated purpose as a work of fiction, and at its true intent, which is to rail against America as the source of suffering in the world. And it's rife with spelling errors, to boot. Just awful.

This was a great idea for a story. Great potential for theme and plot, etc. But the execution didn't even come close to living up to that potential. The author rambles on and on re-empasizing the same points over and over again, trying to show a theme. The plot is pretty good except that it trails off and the ending is very poor. It is very good about 2/3 through and then it becomes worthless.
Now for the incredible "what was he thinking?" part: the lack of editing. I can't even beleive how sloppy this book is. There are misspelling and errors all over, and in a few parts there are crazy typos such as the letter "b" being in the middle of a sentence. What is up with that? If you're going to take the time to write and publish a book, edit it for god's sake! My guess is this thing took a couple dozen hours to write and wasn't even read though, let alone fully edited, after the writing process was done.

This is a dreadful novel, taking a potentially intriguing situation and contorting it, through clumsy prose, inconsistent narration, and absurd melodrama, into a complete disaster.

The narrative lacks any sort of authorial detachment, and we're thus bombarded with heavy-handed platitudes and insipid sermonizing--giving the characters all the depth and nuance of "good guys" and "bad guys" in an after-school special. There is a predictable reliance on cliches (the priest is a 'deranged sexual predator'; someone's head 'filled with rage'; a feeling 'swept over him'), and a discernible lack of copyediting, e.g., "You're very, very, dirty."

In short, this is the sort of effort you might expect from an eager (if not particularly talented) freshman in a high school writing program. That it's a vanity title (published because the author paid to publish it) should surprise no one. One is well advised to look elsewhere for deft social commentary, three-dimensional characters, or engaging prose.

I have to read another word of this [book] I recommend this book to anyone who feels that their sins are so terrible that it will take penance, self sacrfice and self punishment of a unique nature to get them into heaven, for example: serial axe murderers or Robin Williams.

I think it's clear that this guy wrote his own reviews. Might be worth a chuckle.

Thief
By Ben Jonjak
ISBN 0-595-22884-4

Great new book will lead you through a life of poverty and, unfortunately, reality for many of the world's less fortunate.

For those who have money, stability and family, this book will give you a look into the life of those less fortunate than yourself. Although it is fiction, the storyline, the plot and the life depicted is very real.

Set in Lima, Peru, the book details the life of a man, who was abandoned as a baby. The book takes you along in his journey of life as he grows and experiences the "streets" as many could never understand. For most of his life, he is alone and never feels the security of love or happiness. He often wonders why life has been so unloving towards him.

"Thief" is a book that keeps you wondering and wanting to know how the man will succeed, or will he, how could he with all that is thrown his way? Could his circumstances have been changed if he had a normal life? We will never know. All we do know is the struggles this man, and many other experience with a life on the streets.

This is a great read. Try to put yourself in his shoes and you will learn more about others and yourself as you read the book.

This book is a no-holds barred attack on American Pseudo-morality. It follows the life of a child that has been abandoned on the streets of Lima, Peru and shows the daily and yearly progression of abuse that slowly hardens and transforms the once innocent child into a horrible monster. The thing that makes the book so interesting is that Jonjak never fails to point how how easily preventable every step along the way was. At every turn he shows how all that was necessary to prevent the inevitable outcome was for somebody to step in and perform some simple and kind task. Somebody like you or me. This is a chilling and fascinating read, a true highlight in the genre of moralistic criticism.

I loved this book, and boy did I enjoy it also.

Every passage on this tome is a testament to the power of the written word. Ben Tonjak's lyrical style is poetic as well as vivid. His rhythmic method is easy to follow, especially if you are reading this on a train that stops a lot.

Some people may object to his use of the word 'the' too much, but I found it remarkably descriptive.

The song "Hot Shot City" is particularly good.

"Thief" is a rare novel of intense power and ferocious imagery that pierces the reader with both its brevity and its bluntness. The story is the simple and inevitable progression of a young child who is abandoned on the streets and how he develops into a brutal and horrific monster. It is a fascinating look at the creation and the nature of evil. At every step along the way the child, the adolescent, the young man that eventually becomes the thief is denied assistance by the very people he can`t help but admire for holding the key to the understanding of morality and goodness that is forever lost to him.

In "Thief" Ben Jonjak realizes much of the potential he flashed in his first work, "Glorious Failure." "Thief" is a much darker novel and much more single-minded. It immediately brings to mind the great short works of Hemmingway and London, "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Call of the Wild", not for any thematic relationship but because the novel has the flavor of something that was constructed over a few brief nights of feverish inspiration. Though only a hundred pages, "Thief" is a satire of inestimable weight and does not shy from the unanswerable questions of morality its subject matter suggests.

Of all the young writers working today I look forward to the works of Ben Jonjak above all others. His writing is rhythmic and gentle and the significance of every word is tempered by the quest for human enlightenment. "Thief" is a must have, and is sure to be recognized as a new classic.

Ben Jonjak is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers. His stories are so wonderfully written and the words flow together with such precision. Thief is a story of the unfortunate circumstances that compose too much of the world. It is hearbreaking and infuriating at the same time. A good lesson of morality for rich nations.