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A review by sarahmreads
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Will Chen is a senior art history major at Harvard, and also a witness to an art theft at the place he works. The last thing he expects is for this to spiral into him being chosen to lead a group to steal back five stolen art pieces all across the world and return them to China. The price: 50 million dollars. The Crew: Will, the leader. Lily, the getaway driver. Irene, Will's sister and people expert. Daniel, the insider. Alex, the "hacker." Will they get the job done? Or will they crack under the pressure?
I thought this book was well done. I was hooked from the first heist on, although towards the end between the second and last heist there was a lull where nothing really happens except the characters moping and coping. The stage and the stakes were set pretty early on, which I appreciated. One thing that did bug me, however, was everything but the dialogue. I loved the dialogue, it was great. But there was too little of it for me.
A majority of the story is describing what's happening or reflecting upon the characters' internal dilemmas and thoughts. As a result, a lot of common themes with characters became really repetitive, like Alex and reflecting on the fact that she is "not a hacker" and she'll never be able to leave the shell of the job she's secure under. Because of this, a lot of the impact of the characters' stories became numb, in a way, to the point where I could acknowledge that they feel a certain way, but it never really stuck with me.
The romance was interesting. Do I think the story could have gone without it? Maybe? One romance plotline I loved, the other I was really impartial to and didn't feel that it added to either of their characters. But do I think that the romance was really important to the plot? No, it wasn't.
In terms of the plot itself, I thought it was adequately paced. It took a long time to get to the first heist, and the second went a tad too quickly for me. Although looking back on it, a lot of the build-up to each heist was a tad unbelievable? They each used Zoom to call and even had a groupchat on WhatsApp, but even then how secure are either of those forms? Even when they finish the first heist, they somehow just walk away with the first zodiac head in airport security? I was absolutely baffled when that happened, because with the news dropping the next day there was no way they would have gotten away with that. Even the reveal at the end was shocking because there is no way that the museums would have retaliated like that. I get it leads to a satisfying ending and the start to trying to amend for colonialism and stealing from cultures, but I don't think it would end that satisfactory.
Portrait of a Thief is an intriguing and compelling story about the marginalized voices who are impacted by museum colonialism and what it means to claim something as yours.
I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I thought this book was well done. I was hooked from the first heist on, although towards the end between the second and last heist there was a lull where nothing really happens except the characters moping and coping. The stage and the stakes were set pretty early on, which I appreciated. One thing that did bug me, however, was everything but the dialogue. I loved the dialogue, it was great. But there was too little of it for me.
A majority of the story is describing what's happening or reflecting upon the characters' internal dilemmas and thoughts. As a result, a lot of common themes with characters became really repetitive, like Alex and reflecting on the fact that she is "not a hacker" and she'll never be able to leave the shell of the job she's secure under. Because of this, a lot of the impact of the characters' stories became numb, in a way, to the point where I could acknowledge that they feel a certain way, but it never really stuck with me.
The romance was interesting. Do I think the story could have gone without it? Maybe? One romance plotline I loved, the other I was really impartial to and didn't feel that it added to either of their characters. But do I think that the romance was really important to the plot? No, it wasn't.
In terms of the plot itself, I thought it was adequately paced. It took a long time to get to the first heist, and the second went a tad too quickly for me. Although looking back on it, a lot of the build-up to each heist was a tad unbelievable? They each used Zoom to call and even had a groupchat on WhatsApp, but even then how secure are either of those forms? Even when they finish the first heist, they somehow just walk away with the first zodiac head in airport security? I was absolutely baffled when that happened, because with the news dropping the next day there was no way they would have gotten away with that. Even the reveal at the end was shocking because there is no way that the museums would have retaliated like that. I get it leads to a satisfying ending and the start to trying to amend for colonialism and stealing from cultures, but I don't think it would end that satisfactory.
Portrait of a Thief is an intriguing and compelling story about the marginalized voices who are impacted by museum colonialism and what it means to claim something as yours.
I received a copy of this book as an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. Any and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Racism