The Thief Lord

Super: Do they watch TV in Venice?

Me: Sure, they have TV's there.

Super: So, instead of Honda commercials, do they show boat commercials?

I don't know if we'll finish reading The Thief Lord in time for our book club meeting--it's SO long and even though it's pretty good, we're getting a bit tired of it. This book is wordy. This book has 53 chapters. It's 2 inches thick and I have to admit, we are tempted to skip the next half inch or so!

I feel like we "cheated" a bit by watching the movie tonight, but at least it gave the kids an opportunity to see lots of great Venice scenery. In my younger days, I backpacked through Italy and spent a few days at a youth hostel in Venice, and I've tried to describe the city's magical atmosphere to them. But the movie actually shows the beautiful buildings, the Piazza San Marco, the canals, and even the water taxis and police boats.

Dude: I give it 3 1/2 stars. I was going to say 4 but I would like it better if they didn't change some things in the book.

Super: Four stars. I liked it. They didn't stay original to the book, but I liked it.

Mom: A bit choppy, but I'm sure it's hard to fit a 347 page book into a two hour movie. And I thought the kids were better actors than the grownups! Four stars, I mean stella.