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kitausu's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Honestly I think the biggest thing this book suffers from is bad advertising. If I'm promised fast and the furious style heist, that is what I expect, and that's just not what I got. That isn't to say the book itself is bad, it's just when you go in expecting one thing and get almost it's opposite, it makes it difficult to enjoy the story. I do also feel the characters could have been fleshed out more.
Really interesting premise with some fascinating things to say about colonialism and diaspora, just advertised so poorly.
Really interesting premise with some fascinating things to say about colonialism and diaspora, just advertised so poorly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Racism
maregred's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
i had an inkling a few pgs in that i wouldnt vibe w/ this book, and unfortunately i was right. portrait of a thief has an intriguing premise, but the suspension of disbelief, the writing thats unsuited for the story, and heavy-handed approach to its themes are simply not for me.
the book's built on a flimsy foundation, and how things develop just dont make sense. for example, that a billionaire art thief chooses will for a $50 mil job literally just bc he's chinese-american - having not an idea whether he'll have the skills to pull it off - is ludicrous to me. some of the crew agreeing to the job bc of will's sheer charisma is also far-fetched bc he has no charisma whatsoever.
moreover, this is a heist story, but the writing's totally unsuited for it. there are wayyy too many ~reflective~ moments - most of them being the same thing said over and over again in a slightly modified way - and it's all overdramatic and lamentative. tbh this book's more like a volume of the characters' emo introspection peppered w/ some action, so infrequently we ever get out of their heads. there's way too much boring stuff and not enough of the fun ones. i also think this book's written in a very amateur way, a playbook of a failed show-not-tell esp when the phrase "it goes like this..." is a given in almost every chapter.
as a result, the whole story falls flat for me, including the characters who im impartial to; i simply dont feel anything reading this. again, the tell-not-show approach also means li couldnt be more heavy-handed w/ the themes, which could benefit from more subtle exploration.
although the last couple chapters are markedly better than the rest of the book, they arent enough to save it. this is a novel brimming w/ potential, one that could def be sth better in more adept hands. alas, that cant be helped and this is what we get.
the book's built on a flimsy foundation, and how things develop just dont make sense. for example, that a billionaire art thief chooses will for a $50 mil job literally just bc he's chinese-american - having not an idea whether he'll have the skills to pull it off - is ludicrous to me. some of the crew agreeing to the job bc of will's sheer charisma is also far-fetched bc he has no charisma whatsoever.
moreover, this is a heist story, but the writing's totally unsuited for it. there are wayyy too many ~reflective~ moments - most of them being the same thing said over and over again in a slightly modified way - and it's all overdramatic and lamentative. tbh this book's more like a volume of the characters' emo introspection peppered w/ some action, so infrequently we ever get out of their heads. there's way too much boring stuff and not enough of the fun ones. i also think this book's written in a very amateur way, a playbook of a failed show-not-tell esp when the phrase "it goes like this..." is a given in almost every chapter.
as a result, the whole story falls flat for me, including the characters who im impartial to; i simply dont feel anything reading this. again, the tell-not-show approach also means li couldnt be more heavy-handed w/ the themes, which could benefit from more subtle exploration.
although the last couple chapters are markedly better than the rest of the book, they arent enough to save it. this is a novel brimming w/ potential, one that could def be sth better in more adept hands. alas, that cant be helped and this is what we get.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Racism, Chronic illness, and Colonisation
Minor: War and Death of parent
laurenkimoto's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This book had me in a choke hold from the second line when the museum being robbed is the Sackler Museum.
You think this is going to be a fun little heist book but noooo this book delves into what it means to be Chinese American, the ties you have to your ancestry, to love others, colonialism and it’s role in art and museums and so much more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Hate crime, Racism, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Death of parent and Gaslighting
luckykosmos's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Forgot to rate this one for weeks, because i was thinking about it so much I was convinced I had already rated it. Anyway - really enjoyed this book. I like how it took apart the nuances of diaspora culture in its many forms, what reclaiming it meant. The pacing felt strange in that so much happened between scenes that any single chapter felt almost timeless. This felt like a good fall book, in that it was somewhere between Ocean's Eleven and Talented Mr. Ripley - it's about the heist, but also about how cerebral the reason for the heist itself is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia
amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
sfbookgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
As the debate about returning artworks and artifacts to their rightful owners/countries is an extremely popular talking point in the art world today, Portrait of a Thief is more current than ever. The novel centers around five college students who are hired by a private Chinese art collector to steal artwork from various museums around the world and return them to China. The book is set up to be a *great* movie or show and already happens to be in the works with Netflix. That said, the book fell pretty flat for me and I was irked by the over-romanticism of the Bay Area…I get picky about how people write about where I grew up.
While I didn’t find the stakes high enough for these college kids (what student doesn’t want money?), Portrait of a Thief is a quick read with short chapters that are easy to inhale. Although it was easy to finish in a couple of sittings, I found a lot of the information about the characters to be repetitive and didn’t allow the characters to grow or develop. I ended up skimming the book towards the end only to encounter a dull ending that leaves readers with an unsatisfied experience. All and all, I was looking for some more action and a bit less description of the Bay Area’s rolling, golden hills and furniture-less apartments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Xenophobia and Cursing
mar's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Colonisation, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
sophiareadswaytoomuch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book is fantastic. I loved both the characters and the world they inhabit.
I read most of it in one sitting. It was a very fun, power fantasy type book. There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief required, but for me, for this book, that was part of the appeal.
I personally enjoyed how the writing style contributed to the overall tone of the book. While the writing style is not perfect from a critic/technical standpoint (I’ve seen some people say the wiring is too poetic/flowery) it worked perfectly for me. The pacing was a little bit odd, but it worked for the story being told.
I actually loved how the heist storyline was resolved- getting caught (though the lowkey betrayal of Daniel’s dad was… heartbreaking); breaking into the Met; releasing all that information about shady museum practices. Incredible. So much fun.
I understand why it was not for some people: it’s a very ambitious book, and from the reviews I’ve read I think the marketing focus on the heist aspect left a few people disappointed. While this book is about a heist, it’s more about what the heist means for each character and their connections to each other and their shared and unique cultural heritage. As well as some fun heist moments.
I can’t express how much fun I had reading this book. I laughed, I cried, I contemplated existence. It might be a cliche, but I could tell every part of this book was written with love.
It was also an interesting view into Chinese culture, particularly the diaspora living in America, which I am not personally very familiar with. I enjoyed the unpacking of both cultural and heist stereotypes, and the diverse range of both characters and worldviews represented. I loved each character for different reasons- though sometimes their decisions stressed me out a fair bit. I loved all of their character arcs, and I felt like they each got a decent amount of ‘screen time’, especially for such a large main cast. All in all, an extremely fun and interesting debut novel. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.
I read most of it in one sitting. It was a very fun, power fantasy type book. There is a certain amount of suspension of disbelief required, but for me, for this book, that was part of the appeal.
I personally enjoyed how the writing style contributed to the overall tone of the book. While the writing style is not perfect from a critic/technical standpoint (I’ve seen some people say the wiring is too poetic/flowery) it worked perfectly for me. The pacing was a little bit odd, but it worked for the story being told.
I understand why it was not for some people: it’s a very ambitious book, and from the reviews I’ve read I think the marketing focus on the heist aspect left a few people disappointed. While this book is about a heist, it’s more about what the heist means for each character and their connections to each other and their shared and unique cultural heritage. As well as some fun heist moments.
I can’t express how much fun I had reading this book. I laughed, I cried, I contemplated existence. It might be a cliche, but I could tell every part of this book was written with love.
It was also an interesting view into Chinese culture, particularly the diaspora living in America, which I am not personally very familiar with. I enjoyed the unpacking of both cultural and heist stereotypes, and the diverse range of both characters and worldviews represented. I loved each character for different reasons- though sometimes their decisions stressed me out a fair bit. I loved all of their character arcs, and I felt like they each got a decent amount of ‘screen time’, especially for such a large main cast. All in all, an extremely fun and interesting debut novel. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Racism, and Colonisation
vaniavela's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
Portrait of a Thief tells the story of 5 college students who receive a once-in-a-lifetime proposition: steal 5 Chinese sculptures and receive $10 million each. The heists are realistic, something you don't see often. Visualize this. They plan it all by watching Ocean's 11, discussing things via zoom, putting all their research and plans on a google drive, and keeping in touch via WhatsApp. Mind you, Portrait of a Thief is much more than that. We can examine issues regarding colonialism, immigration and identity. It is a critique of Western imperialism. I loved the multitude of identities we encountered. While I personally can't speak to the Chinese and Chinese-American representation in this book, I found it amazing to read. My problem is that it's hard for me to think that anyone would hire these random college kids to do something like this. It seems like an odds-on thing to me. The romantic subplots also seemed unnecessary to me, as they were poorly developed. Literally everyone ended up with someone in the group. The only one who didn't was Daniel. Something I also disliked a tiny bit was the attempt at Sapphic romance. I know it was somewhat enemies to lovers, but Irene literally kept insulting or being rude to Alex for no apparent reason. As a sapphic person, I wish I would have read the correct terms (lesbian, bisexual) because I was really confused. Also, I loved the writing in this book. If more books are written in the future, I will definitely read them. I'm sure it will make an interesting Netflix movie when adapted.