A review by laurenleigh
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li

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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