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kaylielongley 's review for:
Portrait of a Thief
by Grace D. Li
This was my first "book cloob" book, and I gotta say, talking about it was more fun than reading it. Picture this: 5 college-aged Asian-Americans try to steal (back) 5 timeless pieces from museums across the globe. It's largely unbelievable, so if you take this as an entertaining read, rather than a serious one, you may have more fun.
I'm not sure who to root for, as each character is pretentious, privileged, with little development. It's hard to empathize with anyone because each voice starts to feel the same. I'm not Asian-American. I can neither relate to art being stolen, nor diaspora families constantly struggling with personal and social identities. And because each point of view starts to feel homogenous, the commentary on imperialism and reclaiming what's yours weighed down the book. Still, the pacing was quick. The plot, minimal.
Ultimately, this would probably serve better as a mini-series, with each person serving an archetype. I related most to Alex, the hacker with imposter syndrome, and the scenes with Alex, her grandma, and Irene were touching. Though author Li didn't mess with Western gender roles, I was ultimately disappointed.
I'm not sure who to root for, as each character is pretentious, privileged, with little development. It's hard to empathize with anyone because each voice starts to feel the same. I'm not Asian-American. I can neither relate to art being stolen, nor diaspora families constantly struggling with personal and social identities. And because each point of view starts to feel homogenous, the commentary on imperialism and reclaiming what's yours weighed down the book. Still, the pacing was quick. The plot, minimal.
Ultimately, this would probably serve better as a mini-series, with each person serving an archetype. I related most to Alex, the hacker with imposter syndrome, and the scenes with Alex, her grandma, and Irene were touching. Though author Li didn't mess with Western gender roles, I was ultimately disappointed.