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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Was a little show in the middle but the ending was fun with some predictable parts and some nice surprises!
4.5, rounded up! It's definitely not a heist novel in the usual sense, but I loved what it actually was instead (character exploration + discussions about colonization, immigration, family, and culture)
i went into this with my belief suspended like i was going to watch a fast and furious movie; where the unrealistic heist is not the point, but the backdrop on which these characters are studied and turned into a family.
writing style is RIGHT up my alley; beautiful descriptions and scene setting, perf dialogue. little nitpicky of me, but some phrases/words got repeated too much
the weakest point of this book is plot, because as much as its saying its a heist novel, it feels more like character/cultural studies while these people so happen to be heisting.
as for the characters; all of them are bonkers for going from 'i feel like i don't belong' straight to 'lets be international art thieves' (some walter white level jumping the gun)
but i love the Crew and i love who they become/represent for each other; found family and belonging i love you muah.
will and irene's sibling rivalry/camaraderie was so juicy; always trying to measure up to one another and feeling pressured to be better because you see who you're being compared to and they are perfect and as proud as you are of them, you can't help but resent who they force you to become AH ("all the choices she had made, as if his were not good enough, as if she could not bear to be like him." "he was her older brother, her best friend, and yet sometimes she looked at him and saw everything that she could never be.")
and daniel finding siblings in will and irene and being willing to do whatever they asked .. i love him. also daniels relationship with his dad had me crying (him feeling like a failure but his dad just didn't know how to process his grief AND his sons; the passwords being his birthday; them finally saying i love you at the end)
lily was a Cool girl and her finally getting a place to belong <3 ("all these years, and lily had never known how to love a place and not leave it behind." "it feels like home shouldn't have to be this complicated.") i like how she grapples with knowing she should feel something for her home country, but not knowing if she deserves to since she grew up w/o it.
alex is a perfect selfless genius angel whos never done anything wrong ever
irene is a calculating bitch and i love her. she reads people so well and use it to further her goals without seeming like shes using them. she's also secretly incredibly sweet and giving so what's not to love
alex and irene, my beloveds. they had me giggling and kicking my feet i LOVE their dynamic. in the beginning, irene says "other than alex, the three other people in the car were the people she loved most in the world." lol ; i love how they both see each other as beautiful and perfect and unattainable and they know each other too well right from the start so they lash out when really they're just in love,, ("it might always be like this, the two of them facing each other with their knives drawn." "this whole time you've been so fucking intent on proving me wrong. so prove me wrong." "'no,' she said. and then, because it was true, because she couldn't help herself, 'i'll have you exactly as you are.'" ECT i could write a dissertation about how feral their quotes make me)
overall; solid book, i devoured it and had a great time; the part that made me cry the most was the acknowledgement section bc i love seeing how many people loved and supported the author <3
writing style is RIGHT up my alley; beautiful descriptions and scene setting, perf dialogue. little nitpicky of me, but some phrases/words got repeated too much
the weakest point of this book is plot, because as much as its saying its a heist novel, it feels more like character/cultural studies while these people so happen to be heisting.
as for the characters; all of them are bonkers for going from 'i feel like i don't belong' straight to 'lets be international art thieves' (some walter white level jumping the gun)
but i love the Crew and i love who they become/represent for each other; found family and belonging i love you muah.
will and irene's sibling rivalry/camaraderie was so juicy; always trying to measure up to one another and feeling pressured to be better because you see who you're being compared to and they are perfect and as proud as you are of them, you can't help but resent who they force you to become AH ("all the choices she had made, as if his were not good enough, as if she could not bear to be like him." "he was her older brother, her best friend, and yet sometimes she looked at him and saw everything that she could never be.")
and daniel finding siblings in will and irene and being willing to do whatever they asked .. i love him. also daniels relationship with his dad had me crying (him feeling like a failure but his dad just didn't know how to process his grief AND his sons; the passwords being his birthday; them finally saying i love you at the end)
lily was a Cool girl and her finally getting a place to belong <3 ("all these years, and lily had never known how to love a place and not leave it behind." "it feels like home shouldn't have to be this complicated.") i like how she grapples with knowing she should feel something for her home country, but not knowing if she deserves to since she grew up w/o it.
alex is a perfect selfless genius angel whos never done anything wrong ever
irene is a calculating bitch and i love her. she reads people so well and use it to further her goals without seeming like shes using them. she's also secretly incredibly sweet and giving so what's not to love
alex and irene, my beloveds. they had me giggling and kicking my feet i LOVE their dynamic. in the beginning, irene says "other than alex, the three other people in the car were the people she loved most in the world." lol ; i love how they both see each other as beautiful and perfect and unattainable and they know each other too well right from the start so they lash out when really they're just in love,, ("it might always be like this, the two of them facing each other with their knives drawn." "this whole time you've been so fucking intent on proving me wrong. so prove me wrong." "'no,' she said. and then, because it was true, because she couldn't help herself, 'i'll have you exactly as you are.'" ECT i could write a dissertation about how feral their quotes make me)
overall; solid book, i devoured it and had a great time; the part that made me cry the most was the acknowledgement section bc i love seeing how many people loved and supported the author <3
Ahhh i loved it and I’m mad that I let school get in the way and making me take a break in finishing this wonderful wonderful book!
Absolutely love the premise of stealing the colonized art back, the heists were so much fun!
But the reading about each heist member’s connections to China, to the art, to the US, to their families, their schools/jobs– so brilliant and nuanced.
Just beautifully written, especially about how the art tells the history, especially when stolen.
Alex and Irene were cute, I liked their turning point; Lily and Will were fun, but ngl I liked her flirting with the guy in Paris too. But Daniel and his dad– that was my favorite relationship!
Absolutely love the premise of stealing the colonized art back, the heists were so much fun!
But the reading about each heist member’s connections to China, to the art, to the US, to their families, their schools/jobs– so brilliant and nuanced.
Just beautifully written, especially about how the art tells the history, especially when stolen.
Alex and Irene were cute, I liked their turning point; Lily and Will were fun, but ngl I liked her flirting with the guy in Paris too. But Daniel and his dad– that was my favorite relationship!
Li’s debut novel centers on five college aged young adults as they decide to steal 5 Chinese artifacts and give them back to China for a cool $10 million. The book really delves on colonialism, stereotypes, racism, Chinese Diaspora. It also makes you question whether it in fact is a theft if the artifacts in question were stolen from China.
Li creates three-dimensional characters that you feel you actually know. I’d argue this book is a lot more a statement about Western colonialism rather than an Ocean’s Twelve type novel. I went in thinking it was the latter.
I’m not sure I was a fan of the ending. The way it wraps up could have Just kind of happened from the get go. Also something happened in the book that I either missed some key passage or really was out of no where.
I’d give it a 3.5/5.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
Li creates three-dimensional characters that you feel you actually know. I’d argue this book is a lot more a statement about Western colonialism rather than an Ocean’s Twelve type novel. I went in thinking it was the latter.
I’m not sure I was a fan of the ending. The way it wraps up could have Just kind of happened from the get go. Also something happened in the book that I either missed some key passage or really was out of no where.
I’d give it a 3.5/5.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
This was my first "book cloob" book, and I gotta say, talking about it was more fun than reading it. Picture this: 5 college-aged Asian-Americans try to steal (back) 5 timeless pieces from museums across the globe. It's largely unbelievable, so if you take this as an entertaining read, rather than a serious one, you may have more fun.
I'm not sure who to root for, as each character is pretentious, privileged, with little development. It's hard to empathize with anyone because each voice starts to feel the same. I'm not Asian-American. I can neither relate to art being stolen, nor diaspora families constantly struggling with personal and social identities. And because each point of view starts to feel homogenous, the commentary on imperialism and reclaiming what's yours weighed down the book. Still, the pacing was quick. The plot, minimal.
Ultimately, this would probably serve better as a mini-series, with each person serving an archetype. I related most to Alex, the hacker with imposter syndrome, and the scenes with Alex, her grandma, and Irene were touching. Though author Li didn't mess with Western gender roles, I was ultimately disappointed.
I'm not sure who to root for, as each character is pretentious, privileged, with little development. It's hard to empathize with anyone because each voice starts to feel the same. I'm not Asian-American. I can neither relate to art being stolen, nor diaspora families constantly struggling with personal and social identities. And because each point of view starts to feel homogenous, the commentary on imperialism and reclaiming what's yours weighed down the book. Still, the pacing was quick. The plot, minimal.
Ultimately, this would probably serve better as a mini-series, with each person serving an archetype. I related most to Alex, the hacker with imposter syndrome, and the scenes with Alex, her grandma, and Irene were touching. Though author Li didn't mess with Western gender roles, I was ultimately disappointed.
I liked some parts of the story and the meaning behind the book, but overall it was just okay.
3.5 stars
This was ok. It has some great moments.
Lots of repetitive descriptive words like jaw, carve, cheekbone…and way too many descriptions of the moon!
I really was bored by their relationships. This aspect of this novel felt forced and not a natural expansion of these characters. Also, way too much direct talk of the “diaspora” which made it feel silly instead of serious.
This was not a very long book, but by the last 5 chapters, I was saying “Is this it—finally?” And it wasn’t.
Some of this book was thought provoking, but the author did not make me care about the characters at all. They may as well have been interchangeable since it felt like they all shared the same brain. Chapters are headed with the character’s name it’s about, and I found myself rolling my eyes when I was trying to finish this! I think she just tried to do too much and also ran into troubles with overly descriptive writing.
This was ok. It has some great moments.
Lots of repetitive descriptive words like jaw, carve, cheekbone…and way too many descriptions of the moon!
I really was bored by their relationships. This aspect of this novel felt forced and not a natural expansion of these characters. Also, way too much direct talk of the “diaspora” which made it feel silly instead of serious.
This was not a very long book, but by the last 5 chapters, I was saying “Is this it—finally?” And it wasn’t.
Some of this book was thought provoking, but the author did not make me care about the characters at all. They may as well have been interchangeable since it felt like they all shared the same brain. Chapters are headed with the character’s name it’s about, and I found myself rolling my eyes when I was trying to finish this! I think she just tried to do too much and also ran into troubles with overly descriptive writing.
it's a shame, as this was one of my most anticipated releases this year, but it just didn't hit the mark. i will admit somewhere halfway through i really just started skimming, but some of the plot points seemed nonsensical, as did the actions and behaviour of some of the characters. some of the actions really made me ask myself if there was some research put into this, because as a heist, none of this is even remotely believable.
the cover is absolutely gorgeous tho!
the cover is absolutely gorgeous tho!
I did not enjoy Portrait of a Thief as much as I expected to, but it was still a good read. Kind of like Two Nights in Lisbon, it felt like the author was not being at all subtle about the specific justice issues they were alluding to. I definitely felt like this was the kind of book I wanted to see turned into a movie, though.