Weekly Recommendation: Herr der Diebe by Cornelia Funke
Hey there!
Here’s your weekly German media recommendation from Monoglot Anxiety. This time, it's Herr der Diebe by Cornelia Funke.
But first, a quick note from me:
After long running my "language Twitter" account separately from my work account, I've decided that two Twitters is just too much. My old @monoglotanxiety account is now my only account and has the new handle @elisecutts. Sorry for any confusion as yall get used to the switch, hopefully it passes soon. Expect not much new except occasional posts about science writing... and maybe a bit less swearing haha.
If you want to complain about (or perhaps, compliment) my recommendations, you can get in touch on Twitter @elisecutts or by shooting an email to hello@monoglotanxiety.com. You can also get in touch, support the blog, or send a one-time donation from the Buy Me A Coffee page.
With that out of the way, on to the recommendation...
Herr der Diebe
I grew up reading Cornelia Funke's books without ever realizing that the fantasy novels I so eagerly devoured were actually translated out of German. Funke, who you might also know as the author of Inkheart (German: Tintenherz) and Dragon Rider (German: Drachenreiter), started her career as a social worker before going on to become the "German J.K. Rowling." Herr der Diebe is the original German version of one of my favorite youth novels, which I read as a preteen in its English translation, The Thief Lord. The book follows the story of two brothers who run away and join a band of street kids living in an abandoned Venetian movie theater and explores themes of family, trust, and even aging. Looking back now, I'd almost call the book magical realist — the setting in Venice is realistic except for a few important fantasy elements that lend the story its magic.
I checked, and it is actually possible to order the German version of this book in the US from Amazon!
That's all for this week,
Elise from Monoglot Anxiety