A review by rainbowofcrazy
The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

5.0

 I’ve never been into true crime, but this got my attention. And I fricking loved it. 

This book dives into all of the details as to how Breitwieser was able to consistently steal billions of dollars worth of art, and how he did all of it just 25-30 years ago. I’m STILL trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. This story is wild. I’ve seen some reviews that didn’t love the writing, and maybe we just all have different tastes. Or maybe it’s because I have an artist bias, or maybe it’s because I listened to the audiobook and Edoardo Ballerini is a fantastic narrator, but I was thoroughly fascinated from beginning to end.

I loved not only the details of how he did it, but the whys. (You need to read the book for the whys!) Breitwieser also wasn’t alone; his girlfriend Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus helped with most of the thefts. The story follows the highs and lows of their relationship, as well as his relationship with his mother and everyone that was involved in their ultimate downfall.

An extra highlight was the acknowledgements, read by the author, detailing how much work and pure dedication he put in to researching and writing this book. I loved how he was able to interview just about every single person that was involved with these events. It’s a great listen, and a satisfying way to end the book. I highly recommend the audiobook!