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beth_joey 's review for:
Portrait of a Thief
by Grace D. Li
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.