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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
promising premise but none of the characters felt fully realized or that distinct from one another (speaking as someone who probably would've agreed with these characters in my late teens) and the plot was so unrealistic as to feel lazy. the story also puts forward a lot of ideas only to trail off poetically rather than do anything with them. "because China" does not actually mean anything (again, as someone who used to post that shit on Tumblr)
I liked this a lot, tho I think the publishers did it a disservice by marketing it as a heist book. It is like 20% heist, 80% meditation on colonialism and displacement and finding your place in a world that rejects you even when you try desperately to meet its expectations. I thought it did a great job on the second front and a less great job on the first, but welcomed how character driven it was while masquerading as a plot-driven thriller. I have not read the reviews here that have dragged down its ratings but I suspect it is a case of people wanting the promised Oceans 11 vibes and not getting them. This is a good book, but a publishing marketing fail.
Characters: I never really connected to these characters, so I can't say how I feel about their development through the novel. Reading the blurb, I liked the challenge that was set - a group of Chinese Americans with differing levels of connection to China fighting to reclaim stolen art. I liked the idea of examining the connection to China that each of these characters had, and how that might change over the course of the novel. But I don't feel like any of the characters grew or had any major arcs, outside of romantic / familial relationships with other key members of the heist (police or thief). I don't feel that I really got to know the characters because the POV changed every chapter, and the setting would jump around in terms of the day or hour each section was retelling. It all just felt very disconnected to me.
Atmosphere: I wanted the atmosphere to be almost like 'Robin Hood', as the blurb did feel like the story could have been inspired by the idea of theft for the greater good. I wanted major tension in the middle of those heists, with sections where the characters were so close to getting caught and I was so invested in them not being caught. I don’t think I really got any of that tension. I think part of it was because the set-up of the heists began to make it seem like the group was doing this for money, rather than being motivated by what was morally right. Plus, I just wasn't connected to the characters so, when there would be a couple of tense scenes where they were caught or almost caught, I didn't really care much.
Writing: I think the story was well-written, but I don't think the writing achieved its intended purpose with me. I liked that the story was written in multiple POVs, but the amount it changed up and would repeat itself made me lose focus. When I look up the genre of this book, I get Crime Thriller, but I really didn't feel that when reading. The thrilling element definitely wasn't there because I didn't feel the tension in the writing that I would need to classify this as a thriller. Lastly, there was no diversity in the characters perspectives regarding their own history, or the reclaiming of this artwork. I would have liked to see some internal conflict within the group about measuring something morally right (reclaiming the stolen artwork) against something morally wrong (becoming thieves themselves), rather than the only hesitation for these characters being that they might be caught.
Plot: Unfortunately, the plot felt a bit mediocre and repetitive, especially with all the different POVs. I didn't feel that there were enough individual catalysts or moments throughout the story to keep me hooked.
Intrigue: Because of all the different POVs and my confusion around the setting of a lot of the scenes, I didn't feel intrigued by the story. Also not helped by my lack of connection to the characters.
Logic: Whilst I understand the need for characters to be motivated by more than just righteousness when stealing the artwork, I think providing the monetary motivation made some of the 'reclaiming history' intent disappear. I can't argue with the logic of the main characters, but I can argue with the logic of Daniel's father in not reporting them.
Enjoyment: Unfortunately, I was just kind of bored through this read.
Atmosphere: I wanted the atmosphere to be almost like 'Robin Hood', as the blurb did feel like the story could have been inspired by the idea of theft for the greater good. I wanted major tension in the middle of those heists, with sections where the characters were so close to getting caught and I was so invested in them not being caught. I don’t think I really got any of that tension. I think part of it was because the set-up of the heists began to make it seem like the group was doing this for money, rather than being motivated by what was morally right. Plus, I just wasn't connected to the characters so, when there would be a couple of tense scenes where they were caught or almost caught, I didn't really care much.
Writing: I think the story was well-written, but I don't think the writing achieved its intended purpose with me. I liked that the story was written in multiple POVs, but the amount it changed up and would repeat itself made me lose focus. When I look up the genre of this book, I get Crime Thriller, but I really didn't feel that when reading. The thrilling element definitely wasn't there because I didn't feel the tension in the writing that I would need to classify this as a thriller. Lastly, there was no diversity in the characters perspectives regarding their own history, or the reclaiming of this artwork. I would have liked to see some internal conflict within the group about measuring something morally right (reclaiming the stolen artwork) against something morally wrong (becoming thieves themselves), rather than the only hesitation for these characters being that they might be caught.
Plot: Unfortunately, the plot felt a bit mediocre and repetitive, especially with all the different POVs. I didn't feel that there were enough individual catalysts or moments throughout the story to keep me hooked.
Intrigue: Because of all the different POVs and my confusion around the setting of a lot of the scenes, I didn't feel intrigued by the story. Also not helped by my lack of connection to the characters.
Logic: Whilst I understand the need for characters to be motivated by more than just righteousness when stealing the artwork, I think providing the monetary motivation made some of the 'reclaiming history' intent disappear. I can't argue with the logic of the main characters, but I can argue with the logic of Daniel's father in not reporting them.
Enjoyment: Unfortunately, I was just kind of bored through this read.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book about a group of art thieves started off really strong and was quite reminiscent of Oceans Eleven. But then the middle part of the book was a bit boring and dragged out but I kept reading bc I wanted to know what happened. Overall the book wasn’t horrible but bc of the awful middle section I give this a slightly above average 3.5/5
I think I’ll probably always be a fan of a heist novel with a found family at the center of it all. And I know that I’ll always be a fan of a really sweet ending.
This book was deeply rooted in the importance of art history and the damage of colonialism, and it brought up real-life topics that focus on the ownership of art and who it all really belongs to - none of this being short of fascinating. And the fact that this is the author’s debut novel is kind of unreal.
The pacing of this story was off at points though, and the writing felt occasionally repetitive, but I still had a fun time.
There is also a chance that I sabotaged my reading experience myself, seeing as I put this book aside in the middle of reading it to reread a book I’ve read two times already. But who’s to say?
This book was deeply rooted in the importance of art history and the damage of colonialism, and it brought up real-life topics that focus on the ownership of art and who it all really belongs to - none of this being short of fascinating. And the fact that this is the author’s debut novel is kind of unreal.
The pacing of this story was off at points though, and the writing felt occasionally repetitive, but I still had a fun time.
There is also a chance that I sabotaged my reading experience myself, seeing as I put this book aside in the middle of reading it to reread a book I’ve read two times already. But who’s to say?
3.5 stars. The story is supposed to be about art heist to return Chinese art to China, but focuses more on the stories of 5 Chinese-American college students and their struggles with their identity/life/relationships.
A real slow burn. After the crackling energy set up during Will’s assembling of the team, it was hard to settle into Li’s slower pacing for the remainder of the story. The action was more spread out than I’d anticipated and the meditative scenes between became almost dreamlike, as she examined each player, experiences within the diaspora and the way they were trying to achieve the American Dream. I think it will translate really beautifully to a limited series but I found myself taking long breaks until just plowing through the (highly satisfying and unexpected) end.