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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
4.5
I think the blurb and the comp title to Ocean's Eleven really does this book a disservice in pitching it as a high-octane heist novel, when it is instead a careful examination of diaspora and identity. Yes there are heists, but their brevity shows how peripheral they are to the real story, which follows 5 Chinese-American twenty-somethings trying to figure out their place in the world.
I think this book had a lot of heart, and it's clear the author was writing from the experience of things she had grappled with herself. All of the characters had complicated relationships with the idea of home, identity, belonging, and the future, and I really appreciated seeing them grapple with these different elements while also trying to navigate the impossible task of a heist.
As someone who is the grandchild of immigrants, and doesn't really know a lot about my own family history, I found the discussions about what it means to be part of a diaspora and not really knowing what you have lost specifically, but knowing you have lost something was especially interesting to see represented on page. I also liked how each of the characters had a different relationship to China, because I think it helped show the diversity of diaspora experiences and how factors such as privilege and wealth play into this.
Having the characters be at such a pivotal point in their lives also provided the opportunity to show how culture and identity interact with decisions about futures and careers. I liked Alex's arc in this regard the most - seeing her struggle with the fact that her dreams of doing good and changing the world had somewhere along the way (through a mix of complacency and family obligation) been transformed into a seemingly life-long future as a nameless cog in a corporate machine. I did think though that the overall themes seen in all the character arcs of balancing responsibility/expectation with your own goals/dreams, realising your privilege compared to your family and not wanting to 'waste' the opportunities you have, and how a culture of things unsaid can be so isolating, were all done really well.
I think I needed a little bit more from this to be a 5-star - the last few chapters especially felt somewhat unnecessary and everything wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste - but I was surprised to enjoy this as much as I did considering it's not really something I would usually pick up. It's a shame, though, that people are going into this expecting something action-packed and are being disappointed, because I think this could definitely be a 5-star read when placed in the hands of the right audience. It reminded me a lot of my experience with [b:Everything I Never Told You|18693763|Everything I Never Told You|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386795198l/18693763._SY75_.jpg|26542311], with some Mitski 'Working for the Knife' vibes thrown in for good measure.
I think the blurb and the comp title to Ocean's Eleven really does this book a disservice in pitching it as a high-octane heist novel, when it is instead a careful examination of diaspora and identity. Yes there are heists, but their brevity shows how peripheral they are to the real story, which follows 5 Chinese-American twenty-somethings trying to figure out their place in the world.
I think this book had a lot of heart, and it's clear the author was writing from the experience of things she had grappled with herself. All of the characters had complicated relationships with the idea of home, identity, belonging, and the future, and I really appreciated seeing them grapple with these different elements while also trying to navigate the impossible task of a heist.
As someone who is the grandchild of immigrants, and doesn't really know a lot about my own family history, I found the discussions about what it means to be part of a diaspora and not really knowing what you have lost specifically, but knowing you have lost something was especially interesting to see represented on page. I also liked how each of the characters had a different relationship to China, because I think it helped show the diversity of diaspora experiences and how factors such as privilege and wealth play into this.
Having the characters be at such a pivotal point in their lives also provided the opportunity to show how culture and identity interact with decisions about futures and careers. I liked Alex's arc in this regard the most - seeing her struggle with the fact that her dreams of doing good and changing the world had somewhere along the way (through a mix of complacency and family obligation) been transformed into a seemingly life-long future as a nameless cog in a corporate machine. I did think though that the overall themes seen in all the character arcs of balancing responsibility/expectation with your own goals/dreams, realising your privilege compared to your family and not wanting to 'waste' the opportunities you have, and how a culture of things unsaid can be so isolating, were all done really well.
I think I needed a little bit more from this to be a 5-star - the last few chapters especially felt somewhat unnecessary and everything wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste - but I was surprised to enjoy this as much as I did considering it's not really something I would usually pick up. It's a shame, though, that people are going into this expecting something action-packed and are being disappointed, because I think this could definitely be a 5-star read when placed in the hands of the right audience. It reminded me a lot of my experience with [b:Everything I Never Told You|18693763|Everything I Never Told You|Celeste Ng|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386795198l/18693763._SY75_.jpg|26542311], with some Mitski 'Working for the Knife' vibes thrown in for good measure.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton. All opinions are my own.
“What’s wrong with wanting everything?”
“Nothing, as long as you know how to get it.”
Five Chinese-American students are hired to steal back five works of Chinese art from around the world to return them to the country they were looted from.
Portrait of a Thief is, in a lot of ways, less of a heist story than a story that happens to have some heists. More than anything, it’s character driven; we see all five members of the crew develop and change with each heist, we see their relationships grow and take new shapes, we see how human each one of them is. For the most part, the characters are fully fleshed out, and none of them are perfect. Each is both good and bad, not always in equal parts; there’s a point in the book for each one of them where you almost hate them, and I’ve always felt that a character I can both hate and love is a well written one.
There are moments, too, where it’s painfully clear how young they all are—all of them in their early 20s, all of them full of the self-righteous ego that often goes along with that age. Their pretentiousness and arrogance, while at times frustrating, fit both the age and the characters, who are all painted as brilliant students (or, for Alex, just brilliant). Some of their brilliance could be a bit beyond belief—Irene spoke fluent french after only learning it in high school and not using it since, for example—but, as discussed below, in the grand scheme of things a few stretched details isn’t the end of the world.
The themes of this book, too, feel much more the focus than the heists themselves. Colonialism is, of course, at the forefront; it’s the root of the motivation behind the heists in the first place. Cultural diaspora and identity also play major roles for each of the characters. In a lot of ways it felt very coming-of-age, watching all these young adults struggling to figure out who they are, what they want, and what comes next. It never felt like there was one right answer or set takeaway and I loved that open ended-ness. Grace D. Li handles all of these themes beautifully, and if it hit me this hard I can only imagine how hard it’ll hit for those who’ve lived similar experiences.
I’ll readily admit that this book asks you to suspend your disbelief pretty heavily. The main bones of the heist itself are far-fetched, and the reasons why Will and his friends were chosen for these heists aren’t the strongest. Planning a major crime through Google Docs and Zoom and all these other wildly unsecured platforms—with background narration on how thorough and careful the crew was being—was almost comical. There’s so much planning for when they’re actually carrying out the heists, then an obvious paper trail of all their planning and major gaps in their plans that are just overlooked. None of this is the end of the world, but for me personally it pulled me out of the story at times.
In addition to this, I personally wish there’d been a little more focus on the heists themselves; as I mentioned, I love how character and narrative driven Portrait of a Thief is at its heart. But I picked this up when I did because I was in the mood for a heist novel, and in the end it just didn’t scratch that itch.
Overall, Portrait of a Thief tells an exciting and heart-wrenching story full of adventure and poignant character moments. While it very much felt like a debut, and the writing could be repetitive, the story draws you in and holds you there. I loved all but one of the characters so much, and they felt so real and flawed and human. The ending underwhelmed me, but I appreciated how optimistic the last 10% or so felt. Definitely recommend, and I can’t wait to see what Grace Li does next.
“What’s wrong with wanting everything?”
“Nothing, as long as you know how to get it.”
Five Chinese-American students are hired to steal back five works of Chinese art from around the world to return them to the country they were looted from.
Portrait of a Thief is, in a lot of ways, less of a heist story than a story that happens to have some heists. More than anything, it’s character driven; we see all five members of the crew develop and change with each heist, we see their relationships grow and take new shapes, we see how human each one of them is. For the most part, the characters are fully fleshed out, and none of them are perfect. Each is both good and bad, not always in equal parts; there’s a point in the book for each one of them where you almost hate them, and I’ve always felt that a character I can both hate and love is a well written one.
There are moments, too, where it’s painfully clear how young they all are—all of them in their early 20s, all of them full of the self-righteous ego that often goes along with that age. Their pretentiousness and arrogance, while at times frustrating, fit both the age and the characters, who are all painted as brilliant students (or, for Alex, just brilliant). Some of their brilliance could be a bit beyond belief—Irene spoke fluent french after only learning it in high school and not using it since, for example—but, as discussed below, in the grand scheme of things a few stretched details isn’t the end of the world.
The themes of this book, too, feel much more the focus than the heists themselves. Colonialism is, of course, at the forefront; it’s the root of the motivation behind the heists in the first place. Cultural diaspora and identity also play major roles for each of the characters. In a lot of ways it felt very coming-of-age, watching all these young adults struggling to figure out who they are, what they want, and what comes next. It never felt like there was one right answer or set takeaway and I loved that open ended-ness. Grace D. Li handles all of these themes beautifully, and if it hit me this hard I can only imagine how hard it’ll hit for those who’ve lived similar experiences.
I’ll readily admit that this book asks you to suspend your disbelief pretty heavily. The main bones of the heist itself are far-fetched, and the reasons why Will and his friends were chosen for these heists aren’t the strongest. Planning a major crime through Google Docs and Zoom and all these other wildly unsecured platforms—with background narration on how thorough and careful the crew was being—was almost comical. There’s so much planning for when they’re actually carrying out the heists, then an obvious paper trail of all their planning and major gaps in their plans that are just overlooked. None of this is the end of the world, but for me personally it pulled me out of the story at times.
In addition to this, I personally wish there’d been a little more focus on the heists themselves; as I mentioned, I love how character and narrative driven Portrait of a Thief is at its heart. But I picked this up when I did because I was in the mood for a heist novel, and in the end it just didn’t scratch that itch.
Overall, Portrait of a Thief tells an exciting and heart-wrenching story full of adventure and poignant character moments. While it very much felt like a debut, and the writing could be repetitive, the story draws you in and holds you there. I loved all but one of the characters so much, and they felt so real and flawed and human. The ending underwhelmed me, but I appreciated how optimistic the last 10% or so felt. Definitely recommend, and I can’t wait to see what Grace Li does next.
this was so good but I was expecting a little bit more heist! (3.5 stars rounded up)
Shallow and repetitive, without much to say about either the Chinese diasporic experience or colonialism and imperialism in museums beyond the level of a 101 class. For all the characters’ hand-wringing about the various forms of their alienation from their identity, it’s telling that none of them are shown to be particularly involved in or spending their heist winnings to support their community. Despite everything, I was looking forward to the heist sections only to find they were even more hollow – unrealistic (forget everything else they somehow breezed through, they were planning on GOOGLE DOCS and ZOOM and that didn't get them caught?? Okay, kind of funny actually) and without any tension. The prose is kind of lovely at times, but most often in gratuitous environment or mood-building passages. I was also pleasantly surprised by the WLW romance , which I was hoping for early on but did not expect would actually happen.
I was uninterested in the characters or the outcome. It felt super flat to me and repetitive and boring.
adventurous
reflective
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Love the topic but just felt some of the text was really repetitive throughout the book. Could have been shorter in that sense.