Reviews

“The Art Thief” by Michael Finkel is based upon the story of Stephane Breitwieser, and his years long escapade as an art thief. It delved into his background and childhood, the nature of the crimes, and the people around him that aided him. Unlike most thieves, Breitwieser never once tried to sell the art he was stealing, rather keeping it on display in his mother’s attic. His collection was based upon his desire for each piece. If an art piece consumed his very being, he’d arrange to steal it.

The book itself is a character study. Like most true crime novels or documentaries, it is more concerned with motive. In this case, the motive for stealing billions of dollars worth of art, art that wasn’t always that well known either. Because the heists never seem connected. With the help of his girlfriend, Ann-Catherine, Breitwieser amassed a collection of over 200 pieces. Though, many of them ended up at the bottom of the Rhone-Rhine Canal, where not all were able to be recovered.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t do what it needed to. It had an interesting topic that could have been made captivating, but Finkel’s storytelling here relies on one to sympathize with an unreliable sociopath. It almost seems as though he is in awe of Breitwieser, and that brings a little bias to the book. I imagine that when this case was first publicized it was fascinating – like a train wreck that one can’t look away from. Yet, the writing in this book made the whole thing dry and uninteresting. There were parts when I could tell the author was trying to build suspense and intrigue, but it never actually worked. Ending chapters on a “cliffhanger”, usually was just dragging out a topic that the reader had, by then, gotten the gist of. It was repetitive, and it certainly didn’t have to be. There is no other art theft case in the world like this one. Good true crime stories keep you hooked because you need to know more about it. But though this case is unique, the book certainly didn’t have the weight to it that a true crime story needs.

But, credit where credit is due, it was informative. I didn’t know anything about this case going into it, and coming out I felt like I knew all there was to know. It just is unfortunate that it felt like dragging my feet through it to get to that point. However, weighing out the pros and cons, being informative isn’t enough to redeem the dryness of the writing.