Dief van altijd, De

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Het grote grijze beest Februari heeft Harvey Swick levend opgeslokt. Op school is het saai, buiten regent het en hij verveelt zich dood. Daarom springt Harvey een gat in de lucht als hij kan ontsnappen naar meneer Lupo's Luilekkerhuis, waar wonderen nog echt gebeuren en waar elke kinderwens in vervulling kan gaan... Na verloop van tijd laat het huis ook zijn duistere kant zien. Dan pas begint Harvey te begrijpen dat alles zijn prijs heeft. Maar dan is het al te laat, want het huis is niet van plan zijn gevangenen te laten gaan.

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A touching fable for the young at heart

The Great Grey Beast of February has imprisoned Harvey Swick and the young boy is bored to death. How will he ever survive that dreadfully dull period between New Year and Easter? Contemplating his misery, Harvey discovers that he is not alone in his room. Indeed a somewhat strange and scrawny figure is standing in the corner. The man makes himself known as Mr. Rictus and invites Harvey to the Holiday House. And true, Harvey does not believe his eyes: the house is filled with all the pleasures a boy can want. Delicious food, many friends, tons of toys, every day Christmas. What more do you need? Of course there is a price to be paid, but young Harvey Swick, bored with his life and beguiled by the wonders of the Holiday House, does not stop to consider the consequences. Only when he discovers that he is no longer a guest, but a prisoner does Harvey start to react. But maybe it is already too late.

Clive Barker's first attempt at writing a book for a younger audience does not go by unnoticed. As Clive is known for his very dark and fantastic tales, he indeed uses these talents to draw a magnificent place where many children surely would love to hide. But with the same zeal he deconstructs the dream and craftily let the evil seep into the story. Of course the villains are not as dark and disturbed as in his adult novels, but still he manages to portrait a series of characters that would enjoy taking permanent residence in the dreams of the younger ones.

One critique that might pop up is that the setting of the story is so rich that it begs for more than one episode. After reading the story, so many things are left untold that it leaves you wanting for more. Even the narrative itself is extremely concise with its twenty-six chapters counting on average not more than six pages each. It would probably not have hurt if more details were introduced in order to make the environment even more exciting and colorful. Nevertheless the story is exciting enough to get the stamp of a must-read. And please, do not worry if you think you are too old to read this book. You never are!