The Good Thief (2008) by Hannah Tinti

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

The Good Thief (2008)

by Hannah Tinti

Salem, Massachusetts

Massachusetts: 11/30

 Finally an enjoyable entry on the 1001 Novels: A Library of America list, after a seemingly endless procession of books about mentally ill siblings and the family members who let them ruin their entire lives.  This, on the other hand, is a dark work of historical fiction set in mid 19th century "factory-land" Massachusetts.  For some reason the 1001 Novels project decided to place The Good Thief in Salem- which- unless that's supposed to be the location of the Dickensian orphanage where Ren is plucked by petty criminal Benjamin Nab- makes no sense at all.   I've spent plenty of time in Salem and it's not clear to me why you wouldn't select Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of Seven Gables- which is literally located in Salem and continues to exist as a museum.  My sense is that editor Susan Straight has stayed away from picking easy books that people already know about (although I see Moby Dick lurking on the 1001 Novels map) in favor of more recent books by a more diverse group of authors.

   Like McGlue by Ottessa Moshfegh, another work of dark historical fiction set in19th century Massachusetts, The Good Thief is historical fiction with a modern sensibility.  There is plenty of R-rated content here, even though the story is told from the perspective of a child-orphan.   Of course, whenever a book is about orphans and factories and the 19th century the comparison on hand is Charles Dickens, but it's worth noting that when he wrote, Dickens was a contemporary novelist writing about contemporary issues, not a writer of historical fiction.  

  Basically these phrases should be enough to determine whether The Good Thief is right for you: historical fiction, 19th century, orphans, factories, Massachusetts, dark.