Reviews with content warning for Medical content - Portrait of a Thief

I read another review, before I picked up Portrait of a Thief, that said this book is heavy, and not in a good way. The sentences are weighty. They bear down on you unceasingly. However, the lushness of this book would be well-captured on film. I partially agree with this assessment for one reason: there aren’t many ways to tell grief in writing, so the author must use words like grief, loss, hollow. There are, however, millions of ways to show grief in screenplay. This book spends a lot of time on grieving—for home, for parents, for history. I did like the way the author handled grief, but it was TOO present, both in the narrative and in the lives of the characters. There is some discussion of how Will approaches everything, especially love, as being temporary, and as I was reading, I really hoped that Li would write the temporality of grief into a bigger motif than it ended up being.

The first quarter-ish of the story is too romantic. Melancholy pervades the book, even during supposedly tense, high-action scenes like those of speed racing. This melancholy is further oppressive in the sense that it impedes Li's ability to properly develop her characters. They are distinct, but don't have enough depth. They're also, put simply, too sexy. Save for a few group-project scenes, the characters don't interact with each other like real people would (I went to school with people as exceptional as Li's characters, but I didn't find that she gave any of them the complexity, depth, and even lightheartedness they deserved).

I’m glad I stuck with this book, though. As a student of postcolonial literature and art history, I appreciated the story! I just think the target audience for this book is the ninth grade. It would be really excellent for my little sister in a few years.

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ramreadsagain's review

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I already knew this was very character-driven going into it but I still wasn’t prepared for just how little the “plot” mattered to the story. It follows five Chinese-American college students who are each dealing with their own complex feelings about their family origins. A mix of first and second generation immigrants, they each have a slightly different relationship with China and this book explores these sentiments and conflicts beautifully. It’s about feeling Chinese, feeling American, and feeling neither, all through the lens of art theft. It also deals with colonialism, art smuggling, growing up, family and friendships.

While it is very slow paced, it has to be in order to give all five main characters enough growth. I loved how friendships (and more) developed between them throughout the book. A really good read.

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laurenleigh's review

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adventurous reflective slow-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

3.5

This book was trying to be two different stories. One was successful, but the other was not. The heart of this novel centers on Chinese and Chinese American kids in their last years of undergrad. They’re trying to grapple with looming adulthood while also struggling to live up to their parents’ expectations of “the American Dream.” If Li had left it at that and used this novel to explore those identities, this could have been great. But then there’s this whole “Ocean’s 11 art theft” plot on top of everything. I found it extremely unbelievable that a bunch of high-achieving 20 year-olds would risk everything with almost zero convincing from their benefactor. Even more unbelievable that they could pull off a heist like that. It all felt gimmicky and pulled me out of what could have been a moving story about the children of immigrants.

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amandalorianxo's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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

5.0

I took my time reading this book and I am so thankful that I did. If someone had told me that this was a debut and Netflix was already in talks of producing this for streaming purposes, I wouldn’t have believed you. This novel doesn’t read like a debut. At its core, this novel centers around not just an art heist but identity, when you are pulled in a multitude of directions and aren’t sure what side you fall on. On one hand, the pride your parents have for their home country bleeds into their offspring as naturally as breathing. The rest of the country sees you as other, so why not be proud of your heritage? On the other hand, the familiarity and memories your family discusses aren’t your own, just something to hold on to. The memories you have revolve around this Western continent, all authentically yours. So when you gather five young people, all with their own personal feelings and ties towards China, and offer them a chance of a lifetime… what’s not to enjoy? Grace Li has poured so much into this book and it clearly shows. The manner in which the group works, grows and bonds is one worthy of a sequel (; I love how the nods towards the pandemic / COVID / Zoom meetings felt natural. I loved the discussions of what each character wanted out of this heist, minus the money. The internal and external pressure was evident, a smooth flow. The twists that were written were well done and kept me on my toes. Well deserved praise !

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