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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
2nd read: Mar 5, 2023
One year later, I still adore Li's writing, the way she interwove the characters' relationships with each other. These five college students, with bright futures await, joined the heist because of art (Will), because of family (Irene), because of friendship (Daniel), for a purpose (Alex), and for something more (Lily). In the end, they forged a future for themselves. New relationships were formed, and old relationships mended.
(Also, I don't remember loving Irene as much as I do now the first time I read it, but she's such an awesome character.)
1st read: Feb 20, 2022
I love this book with my whole heart.
Prior to reading Portrait of a Thief, I had heard other readers rave about Li’s writing. But no amount of praise had prepared me for this level of gorgeousness.
Li writes in a way that makes my heart weep, the sheer power and rhythm and emotions her sentences carry. She captured the yearnings of the future, relationships, and connections with a familiar land that is too far away in the best way possible.
I love everything about the crew: Will, Irene, Alex, Lily, Daniel. The story hits all the diasporic feels of sometimes belonging in two places, sometimes neither, like you are not enough for the land even though you are. The five of them are strong yet vulnerable, ambitious in life, and carry the heavy weight of familial expectations as first- and second-generation immigrants. A full cast of Chinese Americans, each with their own complexities and dreams. And, of course, I loved seeing the sapphics living their best lives, the first time I saw two diasporic queer Asians falling for each other in fiction. I thought about the cast every waking hour days after finishing, and even now, as I write the review weeks later, trying and failing to do this book justice, my heart still aches for them. I don’t often fall for fictional characters, but Li has made me love all five of the crew.
Portrait of a Thief is less about thieving and heist and more about big dreams and family, diaspora and colonialism. It made me rethink my relationship with my homeland, my family, myself, and it also showed me what it is like to dream big again and live. The book means more to me than I could have possibly imagined before picking it up, and it is surely something that I would revisit again and again for the years to come.
INITIAL THOUGHTS: nobody talk to me as i sulk in the corner bc i miss the crew too much.
-
a little background
this is the tiger will chen stole before the book started:
(from harvard art museum)
then he casually tossed it to daniel liang...
also, if you don’t know about the 12 zodiac animal heads (in bronze) that used to be in 圓明園 (old summer palace), it might be helpful to google them before reading. :)
the gang <3<3<3:
– will chen (21): harvard art history major
– irene chen (~20): will’s sister, duke public policy major
– alex huang (21): will’s friend who he went on two dates with, mit dropout, silicon valley software engineer
– lily wu (~20): irene’s roommate, duke mechanical engineering major
– daniel liang: the chens’ childhood friend of 10y, immigrated to the us at ~12yo from beijing, premed at ucla
you can read my non-spoilery live tweeting thread here.
content warnings: trespassing, pandemic (covid), alcohol (recreational), past loss of parent, racism
I received an advanced digital copy from Tiny Reparations Books via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
One year later, I still adore Li's writing, the way she interwove the characters' relationships with each other. These five college students, with bright futures await, joined the heist because of art (Will), because of family (Irene), because of friendship (Daniel), for a purpose (Alex), and for something more (Lily). In the end, they forged a future for themselves. New relationships were formed, and old relationships mended.
(Also, I don't remember loving Irene as much as I do now the first time I read it, but she's such an awesome character.)
1st read: Feb 20, 2022
I love this book with my whole heart.
Prior to reading Portrait of a Thief, I had heard other readers rave about Li’s writing. But no amount of praise had prepared me for this level of gorgeousness.
Li writes in a way that makes my heart weep, the sheer power and rhythm and emotions her sentences carry. She captured the yearnings of the future, relationships, and connections with a familiar land that is too far away in the best way possible.
I love everything about the crew: Will, Irene, Alex, Lily, Daniel. The story hits all the diasporic feels of sometimes belonging in two places, sometimes neither, like you are not enough for the land even though you are. The five of them are strong yet vulnerable, ambitious in life, and carry the heavy weight of familial expectations as first- and second-generation immigrants. A full cast of Chinese Americans, each with their own complexities and dreams. And, of course, I loved seeing the sapphics living their best lives, the first time I saw two diasporic queer Asians falling for each other in fiction. I thought about the cast every waking hour days after finishing, and even now, as I write the review weeks later, trying and failing to do this book justice, my heart still aches for them. I don’t often fall for fictional characters, but Li has made me love all five of the crew.
Portrait of a Thief is less about thieving and heist and more about big dreams and family, diaspora and colonialism. It made me rethink my relationship with my homeland, my family, myself, and it also showed me what it is like to dream big again and live. The book means more to me than I could have possibly imagined before picking it up, and it is surely something that I would revisit again and again for the years to come.
-
a little background
this is the tiger will chen stole before the book started:
(from harvard art museum)
then he casually tossed it to daniel liang...
also, if you don’t know about the 12 zodiac animal heads (in bronze) that used to be in 圓明園 (old summer palace), it might be helpful to google them before reading. :)
the gang <3<3<3:
– will chen (21): harvard art history major
– irene chen (~20): will’s sister, duke public policy major
– alex huang (21): will’s friend who he went on two dates with, mit dropout, silicon valley software engineer
– lily wu (~20): irene’s roommate, duke mechanical engineering major
– daniel liang: the chens’ childhood friend of 10y, immigrated to the us at ~12yo from beijing, premed at ucla
you can read my non-spoilery live tweeting thread here.
content warnings: trespassing, pandemic (covid), alcohol (recreational), past loss of parent, racism
I received an advanced digital copy from Tiny Reparations Books via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Gorg
This took me a while to read because hardbacks make me SLOW but I adored all the characters and the setting and the real emotion that shows in this book. I felt like I was at each of the museums with the characters, it was almost a visual experience of art but somehow it's just words on a page??? explain
A cheeky enemies to lovers slid in there too which you know we love
my fave character was probs either Lily or Alex but probably mostly Alex because I relate to her solitude and quest for something more!!!! and we stan a nerdy queen. 4 stars!!!!
This took me a while to read because hardbacks make me SLOW but I adored all the characters and the setting and the real emotion that shows in this book. I felt like I was at each of the museums with the characters, it was almost a visual experience of art but somehow it's just words on a page??? explain
A cheeky enemies to lovers slid in there too which you know we love
my fave character was probs either Lily or Alex but probably mostly Alex because I relate to her solitude and quest for something more!!!! and we stan a nerdy queen. 4 stars!!!!
3.7 rounded up. Really strong characters, intricate relationships. Daniel and his father's relationship is probably my favorite I've read in awhile. Wish there was a bit more heist, but loved the moments of action (especially the street-racing bits).
adventurous
reflective
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:
Yes
Somewhere between 3 and 4 stars on this. The characters all felt like the same person to me and the heist portion if the book fell flat. I went in expecting it to be heist heavy, and the heists turn out to be “blink and you’ll miss them”. It just felt very “oh they did it, in and out”. I also find the character motivations a bit odd. One of them does this because she’s lonely and hates her job?Regardless, for a debut novel it’s promising.
When I watched Crazy Rich Asians, I remember thinking "I love everything about this except that it inexplicably isn't a heist movie." Suffice to say, I'm an easy mark for Portrait of a Thief.
Does the pacing slack a little in the middle? Sure. Is the descriptive writing occasionally repetitive (particularly in romantic moments)? Absolutely. But this book packs enough surprises and delights to recommend without reservation.
While the heist setpieces are maybe not quite as intricate and thrilling as those in the movies the characters name-check, there are plenty of unexpected twists and reversals. Where the book really shines, though, is in its memorable characters, who Li uses to explore different perspectives on the Chinese-American experience. It makes for a richer, more nuanced portrait (insert obligatory "Portrait of Thieves" joke here) than one might expect from a popcorn novel.
I hope the Netflix movie does it justice!
Does the pacing slack a little in the middle? Sure. Is the descriptive writing occasionally repetitive (particularly in romantic moments)? Absolutely. But this book packs enough surprises and delights to recommend without reservation.
While the heist setpieces are maybe not quite as intricate and thrilling as those in the movies the characters name-check, there are plenty of unexpected twists and reversals. Where the book really shines, though, is in its memorable characters, who Li uses to explore different perspectives on the Chinese-American experience. It makes for a richer, more nuanced portrait (insert obligatory "Portrait of Thieves" joke here) than one might expect from a popcorn novel.
I hope the Netflix movie does it justice!
This novel is about a group of college students who are asked to complete a heist to take back Chinese art that was stolen or taken from colonization from famous museums around the world—and promised a lot (!!) of money in return. The group is led by Will Chen, a Chinese American art history student who is grappling with his identity, his art and his dreams for the future.
I found the book to be an incredibly interesting concept. I loved the exploration of who owns art, what colonization means for art and how museums are dealing with these conversations. I thought the characters were very well-developed, and I liked getting to know them all throughout.
However, I did feel like the book, especially for one about heists, dragged at times. There was a lot of internal dialogues and glimpses into the thoughts for all the characters, and while it was sometimes interesting, there were other parts that felt long. Some of the characters’ inner struggles were repeated over and over, and I wish it could’ve been just a little less.
All in all, I loved the overall plot and the characters, I just felt it dragged here and there. I know this is being developed for a tv show, and I think it will adapt fantastically for the screen.
I found the book to be an incredibly interesting concept. I loved the exploration of who owns art, what colonization means for art and how museums are dealing with these conversations. I thought the characters were very well-developed, and I liked getting to know them all throughout.
However, I did feel like the book, especially for one about heists, dragged at times. There was a lot of internal dialogues and glimpses into the thoughts for all the characters, and while it was sometimes interesting, there were other parts that felt long. Some of the characters’ inner struggles were repeated over and over, and I wish it could’ve been just a little less.
All in all, I loved the overall plot and the characters, I just felt it dragged here and there. I know this is being developed for a tv show, and I think it will adapt fantastically for the screen.
I loved the idea of this book. It has a stellar premise. However, most of the characters felt like a writing workshop prompt that was stretched into a novel. It was like each character had a mission statement and the author kept repeating it over and over and over again. I listened to the audiobook and wanted to pull my hair out after hours of this repetition. I could get over the unbelievability of the heists and lack of key details, but it was the repetition I couldn't get over. Also, listening to the audiobook convinced me that there was not a full sentence in this novel. So many fragmented sentences and all of them were, "and yet."
There are some great heist books out there and this is just not it. It’s more about the heist members’ personal character development as Chinese Americans than it is about the heists. The heists barely last any pages. The twist at the end was a great way to resolve the book, but not unexpected.
This book follows a group of Asian-Americans as they plan to steal back lost art from the Summer Palace in Beijing, stolen a long time ago. I think the book raises some important questions on when reparations should be made and important artefacts of history should be given back to the countries from which they were looted.
The book starts of a bit slow, but the pace does get quicker as they get closer to the heists. Overall recommend the book and agree that art and other things should be given back to the countries they come from.
The book starts of a bit slow, but the pace does get quicker as they get closer to the heists. Overall recommend the book and agree that art and other things should be given back to the countries they come from.