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A review by moonytoast
Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
the heist society books walked so this book could... idk
changing this from 3 stars because i do feel that the characters feel more flat than i would have liked; they feel like the beginnings of an exercise in good character work but ultimately fall short of being genuinely dynamic in a way that probably would've elevated this book... given the lack of actual focus on the heist as a story element (meaning the heist operates less as the main focus and more how the characters internally navigate being a chinese-american and how they relate to china as a member of the diaspora). i don't hate the writing style, but there were moments that felt a bit too repetitive in the way they were trying to communicate certain things about certain characters or overall themes that could have been cut to avoid that problem.
also: not sure how i feel about the way that the author treats irene's sapphic identity. it's never touched on beyond her hate-to-love relationship with alex and daniel commenting on the fact that he's seen irene kiss girls, seeming to skirt up to the line of irene being a lesbian without ever actually making that clear. this isn't necessarily a critique, but it does perhaps fall into the problem of authors who aren't willing to use the word 'lesbian' when writing or discussing sapphic characters that don't have any attraction to men.
changing this from 3 stars because i do feel that the characters feel more flat than i would have liked; they feel like the beginnings of an exercise in good character work but ultimately fall short of being genuinely dynamic in a way that probably would've elevated this book... given the lack of actual focus on the heist as a story element (meaning the heist operates less as the main focus and more how the characters internally navigate being a chinese-american and how they relate to china as a member of the diaspora). i don't hate the writing style, but there were moments that felt a bit too repetitive in the way they were trying to communicate certain things about certain characters or overall themes that could have been cut to avoid that problem.
also: not sure how i feel about the way that the author treats irene's sapphic identity. it's never touched on beyond her hate-to-love relationship with alex and daniel commenting on the fact that he's seen irene kiss girls, seeming to skirt up to the line of irene being a lesbian without ever actually making that clear. this isn't necessarily a critique, but it does perhaps fall into the problem of authors who aren't willing to use the word 'lesbian' when writing or discussing sapphic characters that don't have any attraction to men.
Content Warnings
Minor: Colonisation and Xenophobia