The Thief of Always, By Clive Barker
Created | Updated Mar 22, 2003
The Thief of Always
The Thief of Always is a novel by Clive Barker, published by Harper. In it, a young boy named Harvey Swick is crushingly bored with his home life, so when a strange, short, smiling man swoops into his room and offers to take him away to Mr. Hood’s Holiday House, where everything he could ask for will be given to him, he leaps at the chance. When he arrives, Harvey leaps into the festivities of the house, where every day runs through all the seasons and holidays, where a kindly old grandmother dishes out home-cooked food, where the children play with whatever they desire. Soon, however, Harvey finds that the house is not all fun and games. The horrifying price of Mr. Hood’s illusions begins to surface, and Harvey is soon trapped in a struggle against Holiday House’s evil caretakers, and the nightmarish Mr. Hood, for not only his life, but his very soul.
This book is not the longest of Mr. Barker’s, but it is nonetheless a very good read. It also includes several illustrations done by Clive Barker himself, which help add to the fantasy world he creates. It’s easy to get lost in the house with Harvey, eager to explore it’s depths as the story progresses. It may seem like a kid’s story, with nothing to offer the more advanced reader, but it raises several questions about human nature, life, and what people will give up to have what they desire. It’s scary and fast-paced, and you’ll most likely zip though it in one night, always on edge about what will be on the next page. This is a very good read, and is highly advised by this Researcher.
