Clive Barker's the Thief of Always

The title is something that catches the eye from the spine of the book whilst sitting on the shelf.   The cover then would cause a person to become immediately interested or not interested with the book within.  Barker’s command of the illustrations is astounding with a gorgeous balance of childish sight, but through a skewed, dare I say, demented, lens.  The subtitle then makes the person who would want to read this realize that the story is to be regarded as a dark story such as the style of the Brothers Grimm which most Americans grow up knowing. 

The book follows the story of a boy who is bored with his life and is seeking a sense of excitement.  His life is stagnant whilst he is full of energy.  A strange man then appears at his home to appeal to his traveling with the man to a Holiday House.  When the boy does eventually go, it is realized that the house is called this for a reason.  The seasons shift with each day.  All four seasons within one day, so that every day has a Halloween and a Christmas.  Halloween is the main celebration at the house which is perfectly understandable with the sensibilities of what makes a fable what it is.  The taste of the dark side can be found within Halloween when it is only in childish fun and not to be taken seriously.  That is our current idea of what makes Halloween.  This alludes to the idea of what All Hallows Eve is supposed to be in the first place.  It isn’t about the candy and dressing up as someone or something else.  It is about the rise of the supernatural beings amongst the humans and the dressing up serving as a protection to the mere mortals.  The room of masks and Harvey’s moment of almost bestiality made the idea of what the holiday is supposed to be about come to life and make the reader realize what kinds of things were valued at the strange Holiday House.

The Holiday House is run by Mr. Hood.  He is a figure that is spoken of reverently, but not seen until late into the book.  He is a character of mystery much the same as the house is.  This association of his characteristics mixing with the house was a good touch when it is revealed that Mr. Hood is, in fact, the Holiday House.  He is a great magical being who steals time.  He lures children to his house and promises them fun forever.  Each day goes through all of the seasons because each day at the Holiday House in actually a year outside of the house.  He is the Thief of Always because he is a being that steals time and promises for always and does not let go of what he believes is his.  He is referred to as a Vampire King within the story by Harvey because that is the only way that Harvey can understand the concept of what Mr. Hood is.  This makes the reader look back to the incident during Halloween where Harvey had a moment of feeling bloodlust and almost gave into the vampiric want within himself.  The only way to comprehend what Mr. Hood was and what he wanted was to make Harvey remember how it felt to want in the darkest manner. 

The image of the broken Holiday House around the end of the book reflected the state of Mr. Hood.  His promises of always were broken along with his body.  The want within him was only to reveal how empty he was and how he would do anything to fill himself with the want of others.  He could not want for himself when he could not live for himself, so one of the many morals within this story would seem to be that stealing always from others would only take away from what time you do have with you.