Life comes a full circle for this first-time author from Kerala whose book is selling at the same store he stole a Harry Potter book

Reese Thomas, a former Harry Potter book thief turned author, reflects on his journey from shoplifting to publishing.

When the last instalment of the Harry Potter series, The Deathly Hallows, hit bookstores in 2007, Reese Thomas, a student of Class 9 in a Muvattupuzha school, was challenged by his classmates to get a copy of the much-awaited book. “They said I wouldn’t be able to get it. It was not about buying a copy but shoplifting one! I took it as a challenge. Stealing did not seem bad; those were the days of Dhoom 2!” says the assistant director in the Malayalam film industry, referring to heist film Dhoom 2, a part of the Dhoom film franchise, directed by the late Sanjay Gadhvi. 

He got away with it in true filmy style too, when a bus headed towards his home came at the exact time he was stepping out of the shop, New College Bookstall, with the stolen copy.

Cut to the present: Now, 17 years later, his first book in Malayalam, 90s Kid, is retailing at New College Bookstall. Reese confesses it feels like a full-circle moment. When he visited the shop recently, the person at the store remembered the incident after some prodding. “Honestly, even after all those years, I did not dare to go back. I did not know how they would react.” But all went well, and the owners were sporting about it. He was even asked to sign copies of the book.

While there, Reese offered to pay for the Harry Potter book, but the owners refused to take the money. “Over the years, once I started earning, I wanted to pay for it, but I could not bring myself to because I was afraid to. This time, accompanied by a friend, I felt bold enough because my book on sale there.”

Reese reminisces, “It seemed like a good idea back then. It cost way more than what my family could afford. This was one way to get it,” he says, laughing. Ironically, his familiarity with the Harry Potter universe was via the films “especially Emma Watson. I had not read any of the books. But the buzz around the book was so much that I just went with the flow.” Getting the book made him a hero of sorts in school.

Besides the Dhoom films, inspiration also came from books such as Thaskaran Maniyanpillayude Atmakadha (the autobiography of Maniyan Pillai, a notorious thief).  

Reese’s book, in Malayalam, is a compilation of his writings he has posted on Facebook. Over the years, he has shared his experiences on his FB page, some of which were based on his travels. Be it a pilgrimage of sorts to the places where his favourite authors lived— like Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s home or writer of detective fiction Kottayam Pushpanath’s home — or travelling to Mumbai to watch Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge at the iconic Maratha Mandir; visiting Kanchanamala (the inspiration behind the Malayalam film Ennu Ninte Moideen) are among the episodes that feature in the book. The Harry Potter episode also features in it.