Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Reparations Books, a division of Penguin Publishing for gifting me with an ARC of Portrait of a Thief by Grace Li. In exchange I offer my unbiased review.

I must say, the publisher’s blurb sold me on this book - a literary Ocean’s Eleven and my excitement for this debut was elevated. While I enjoyed parts of the novel, I found the overall experience disappointing. I was hoping for page turning excitement but a lot of the novel is less about the heist and more about the individuals motives. Five Chinese American college students join forces, using their unique skills to steal back Chinese art from Western museums and return it to China for large sums of money. Part of my disinterest as the book progressed is the characters lack of clear voices & identities. Likewise the prose began to feel repetitive and muddled. This falls into the #MoreMehThanYeah category but I am curious to see what Grace Li writes next.

When reading Portrait of a Thief, you can see the way Grace D. Li sees the world through her characters. You can visualize the Charles River. You can see the towers of Duke University. And most importantly, you can feel the potential. This book is a book about opportunities and hope. It's about being a college student with the whole world before you--when you're just starting to learn how much control you have over your future, and how terrifying that control might be. It's also a book about the ways that we are limited in our choices, because of our history, society's expectations, and how we can change the world for the better.

I am sure this book--and Grace Li--will have great success and find many fans, of which I am one!

Also, the cover is perfect.

Read this if you like: Ocean's eleven movies, multicultural books, multiple POV

Portrait of a Thief is the story of five Chinese American college students, each very different from the other. History is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world, museums display the spoils of war, of conquest, of colonialism: priceless pieces of art looted from other countries, kept even now. Will Chen plans to steal them back.

A senior at Harvard, Will fits comfortably in his carefully curated roles: a perfect student, an art history major and sometimes artist, the eldest son who has always been his parents’ American Dream. An anonymous benefactor comes forward and Will finds himself being the leader of a heist. His mission is to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago.

His crew is every heist archetype one can imag­ine. A con artist: Irene Chen, a public policy major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Liang, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as suturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu, an engineering major who races cars in her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Valley software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated relationship with China and the identity they’ve cultivated as Chinese Americans, but when Will asks, none of them can turn him down. Because if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars and a chance to make history. But if they fail, it will mean not just the loss of everything they’ve dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted at­tempt to take back what colonialism has stolen.

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book but wow, I really enjoy it. I love that it teaches you about Chinese culture while having some thrill. The characters are well developed. The only unlikable one to me was Irene but she grew on me. I get major Ocean's Eleven vibes. This book has everything; culture, friendship, pressures to live up to what people want you to be. I read it's going to be turned into a Netflix series and I am so excited. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Grace D. Li, and Penguin Group/Dutton for the ARC! ❤

Thoroughly enjoyed flipping through the pages of PORTRAIT OF A THIEF by Gace Li. The tone of the book was light with some really nice intersections of Chinese history and culture which I think we definitely need more of. I loved the Ocean's references and pop culture, it made the book feel really appropriate for the ages of the characters within it. There were parts for me that didn't move quick enough and slowed down the arc of the story. Would def recommend either way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!
This was immediately one of my favourites for the year. The difference in each of the characters’ relationships with the Chinese diaspora was handled deftly and the prose surrounding this often left me emotional. The pacing lulled a bit towards the middle, but was nothing the amazing character work and thrills did not make up for. The romance really worked despite being a subplot, and I can’t wait to read more from this author.

3.5/4 stars. Overall, I really liked this book. The synopsis alone had me hooked, but ultimately I think it didn't reach its full potential. I had to really overlook a lot of the inconsistencies and silliness to go along with the story. The tone would go back and forth between a fun heist and a serious critique of Western colonialism and imperialism; it didn't always flow smoothly.

The characters were intriguing, but I would have liked more depth to them. I loved that they were all first generation children of Chinese immigrants in America, and I really wanted more of that theme. I thought the strongest storyline was with Daniel and his relationship with his father.

I do think this was an interesting debut from Grace D. Li. Her writing was very engaging. I will definitely check out her future work.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

Li’s debut novel centers on five college aged young adults as they decide to steal 5 Chinese artifacts and give them back to China for a cool $10 million. The book really delves on colonialism, stereotypes, racism, Chinese Diaspora. It also makes you question whether it in fact is a theft if the artifacts in question were stolen from China.

Li creates three-dimensional characters that you feel you actually know. I’d argue this book is a lot more a statement about Western colonialism rather than an Ocean’s Twelve type novel. I went in thinking it was the latter.

I’m not sure I was a fan of the ending. The way it wraps up could have Just kind of happened from the get go. Also something happened in the book that I either missed some key passage or really was out of no where.

I’d give it a 3.5/5.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

There are references to Ocean 11 and I can see the similarities in the sense that it's an art heist. But that's about it in terms of similarities. These are college age students with a lot of life to live and plans in place. Becoming art theives was maybe serendipitous 🤔 We get to read children of immigrants not feeling quite American or Chinese but understand the importance of both identies. I thought the premise of stealing back what was taken was very interesting, very interesting. While they are learning to trust each other they plan the heist. I was invested in them getting the job done (they went big) so it build the suspense. I'm wondering since there was so much setup if this will become a series.

Touted as “Ocean’s Eleven meets The Farewell,” Portrait of a Thief is about five Chinese-American college students who stand to earn 50 million if they can successfully steal a collection of sculptures from various world-renowned museums and return them to China, where they were looted from centuries earlier. With the emphasis on heists in addition to the multi-POV structure and young adult characters, I was also hoping it would feel like Six of Crows with a dash of The Secret History’s dark academia.

I was really hoping I would enjoy this due to the way the book was marketed, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case…

My main criticism is not necessarily that the writer chose to focus more on the internal monologue as someone who does appreciate complex characters. About 40% of the way into the book with very little plot development in a book about heists, it became clear that was going to be the case. As other reviewers have mentioned, the heists themselves are also planned so haphazardly; the characters watch Ocean’s Eleven on Netflix as “research” over Zoom and brainstorm using Google Docs with no concern regarding leaving behind a digital paper trail. So the logistics behind the plotting and believability were just not there. That the writer’s intention was going to be more on characterizations should probably have been apparent to me also in the very title of the book… The title isn’t simply a pun, indicating that these are art “thieves”, but the title suggests that the writer’s goal was to focus more on crafting a “portrait” of each of our main characters.

But the problem is that it ultimately was difficult to distinguish between the voices of the five different characters; one could chock this up to them having similar feelings and shared experience as children of the Chinese diaspora, but the writing itself made their motivations, personalities, feelings, etc. all blend together. The characters didn’t feel interesting as a result. Additionally, I found their ruminations became really repetitive after a while, down to the same phrases used throughout their POV’s, often with nebulous reference to “dreams”. While I’m often a fan of poetic, reflective prose when used purposefully, this really meandered all the way through to the end of the book; I feel that the “portrait” captured of each character’s motivations for joining “the crew” was unclear.

The book does raise awareness for really important issues regarding colonialism and the art world, shedding light on the complex problem in which so many museums have clung onto artifacts taken from conquered civilizations even as their modern-day counterparts have requested their return or even offered to buy them back. And for that, it deserves some credit! I just wish that this wasn’t overshadowed by the other elements in the book that made it difficult to get through.

Delighted to include this title in the April edition of Novel Encounters, my regular column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for Zoomer magazine. (at link)

A heist steeped in history, but thin on action.

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Will, Irene, Daniel, Lily, and Alex - a prize of $50 million awaits this team of college-students-cum-art-thieves who wish to return Chinese art plundered by the West back to its rightful owners.

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: I think what did this book a great disservice was referencing Ocean’s Eleven - a slick, fast-paced, let’s-get-rich heist film. This book is NOT, that leaving expectations deflated. (Ugh… i hate when that happens!) Comparing Ocean’s to this novel (with altruistic reasons for theft and character-heavy description) left me wanting the “dazzle” and surprise that Ocean’s Eleven delivered. This is a novel about the Chinese immigrant experience and the children who are further distanced from the country their parents (or themselves as children) immigrated from, the Chinese diaspora, and how that connection affects or doesn’t affect individual characters. More serious than seriously entertaining.

This book delves into the five protagonists - their unique experiences, how they view the world, and how being Chinese (or Chinese-American) defines them, but it left me wanting… due to the “heist-hype” if you will.

Most of the book for me was a repetitive, constant rehashing of facts - where each character was from, their majors, one a commitment-phobe, another lesbian, another a street racer, etc instead of deepening the character study which was merely surface-level for me.

The first heist was the most entertaining part to read, but then I felt the prose turned dogged - dragging page to page until I wanted to skip pages to advance to the next heist where pacing quickened. I tried to delve into the characters but due to the repetitive descriptions and the college-kid-waxing-existential-whining, I lost my wonder.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Heist/Contemporary Fiction

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: I think perhaps those more enraptured by the history might find more redeeming value in the novel

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: If you expect Oceans Eleven quickness and slick, fast-paced timing

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton/Tiny Reparations Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review.

When I tell you that this is the book I've been waiting for all year - and it delivered. Right off the bat, this is an ensemble that makes sure that no one gets left behind, you get to know each member, their motivations, and their flaws deeply - which can sometimes be hard to pull off with so many characters and a plot, but it works here! The anticolonial message regarding museums, their artifacts, and power is incredibly timely and a true conversation starter - I hope that this book will bring a more widespread attention to a less western perspective on cultural artifacts in museums. I love the pacing of this book and felt like I was watching a movie.

This review will be published on our blog (www.defunktmag.com/blog) on April 4, 2022.

Portrait of a Thief Book Review

Author: Grace D. Li

Written By: Kelly Eatinger

Release Date: April 5th, 2022

Summary:
A robbery at the National Museum of Asian Art (specifically the Sackler Gallery)–and Will Chen’s impeccably-timed witnessing to the theft–sparks the opportunity of a lifetime. Will is a senior Art History major at Harvard University with a sharp eye for the beauty in the world and ambition to match. Like any college student, he’s seeking out answers to the rest of his life. And this is how they get there, with an offer from a private and elusive benefactor to steal back five Chinese sculptures from museums around the world.

Five Chinese-American college students stare down the impossible–each of them filling a heist archetype role and defying conventions of every mold they have tried to fill over the course of their lives. Alex, the software engineer who left MIT for Silicon Valley with a determination to make a better life for everyone around her; Daniel, the pre-med student with a penchant for quick hands and fast plans, while also grappling with a fractured relationship with his FBI agent father; Lily, the mechanical engineer getaway driver who flies fast to outrun the feelings of doubt; Irene, the public policy major con artist who makes sure everyone sees what they want to, yet feels as if she lives in the shadow of her brother, Will.

Then there’s Will who is as afraid as he is ready. The future before him is vast and uncertain–both with a promise of enough money to start over and to return priceless artifacts back where they belong.

They have to be ready. They’ve got to prepare to become the world’s greatest art thieves. The journey they’re taken on is as much about the thrill of the heist, as it is about cultural identity in the diaspora, the long-lasting sociocultural effects of colonialism, and the unending certainty of what it means to grow up and live through an ever-changing American landscape.

Blurbs:
“A leader. Will had spent so many years studying art and how it changed hands. His whole life—it had brought him here. Of course it had. He would be the one to sort through the art at the Drottningholm Palace, determine what they would take and what they would leave behind.
A con artist. His sister, her smile in the dark. Irene was a public policy major, had always understood people and what they wanted. She could shape the world to her will.
A thief. Daniel in a faraway palace, his hands as they skimmed over the stolen art. He would be a surgeon someday, had always known how to break things open, put them back together exactly as they were.
A hacker. Alex, who had left MIT for Silicon Valley, who had never found a problem she couldn’t solve. When they got to Sweden, she would manage their police radar, their burner phones, construct alibis for them based on location sharing and GPS.
And, finally, a getaway driver. Will thought of seeing Lily for the first time, headlights sweeping over an empty road. Beijing, the two of them on a motorcycle beneath the rising sun. When Lily drove, nothing could touch her if she did not want it to.”

A Brief-ish Review:

There is literally so much I want to say but I do not want to spoil the book and all of its wondrous rises and falls. So I will do what I can.

I utterly adore how character-centric the novel is. You really get inside of their heads and understand their motives along every single step of the way. Each chapter follows the point of view of one of the protagonists, titling the chapter with their name; and often starts it with an introduction to where they currently are in the narrative and how they fit into the story. Naturally, they all start off in their different corners of the United States–say for Lily and Irene, who are roommates at Duke University. But the story–much like the heist team–inevitably brings them together until they are impossible to detach.

The novel’s strengths undoubtedly lie within each of the character’s impossibly rich lives, and I almost wish we could have seen a little more out of each of them. But in Li’s sharp and precise narration, perhaps that’s the very point of it. We get more about their lives, their hearts, their wants and their fears, as each of the five learns to open up and let down their defenses with one another. Daniel’s story in particular with his father, a widower FBI agent from Beijing who is in charge of handling art crimes, gripped me by offering a delicate but unafraid portrayal of cultural conflict and grief between father and son.

And yes, there are plenty of heist capers and rivalries and impossible feats that make more and more sense both in their successes and shortcomings, such as with learning the inner workings of Will, Irene, Lily, Alex, and Daniel.

I was pleasantly surprised with how subtle but poignant Li’s portrayal of a post-pandemic world was. Again, there are little things that I found myself maybe asking one too many questions about the logistics, which weren’t the point, but we get to see how living through this particular era affected them. There is a clear expression of grief for the way things once were, as much as there is a complex grief and pride in their ties (or lack of sometimes) to their Chinese heritage.

The romances–which I will again not spoil–had me hooked. While not the main point of the story, they do not detract from the narrative’s purpose for each of them, and instead offer a compelling look into their lives outside of becoming a heist team. Trust me on this–there is an effortlessly done rivals-to-lovers in here that almost had me convinced it wasn’t true until it hits you point-blank.

In terms of critique: At first, the pacing was a bit difficult for me. There were certain parts that felt hesitant, and sometimes repetitive in thought as each of them contemplates very similar notions, but Li finds her stride with the call to action in Act One, and much like the characters’ drive, it takes off running and never looks back. I was also curious about the weight of consequence in the story and would be interested in getting a closer look into the climactic conflicts of interest in both Acts Two and Three.

I’m really eager to see what she might do next. It seems like Portrait of a Thief already has a bright future, with it having been optioned for TV by Netflix last year.

Overall:

Ultimately, the extreme heart of the story and the excellent use of narrative surprise and detail to tie every thread in won me over. A good heist story pulls you in with surprises and thrills; a great heist story is the one where you want them to win no matter how high they rise or how hard they fall. Portrait of a Thief evolves from the tropes it starts off with – about change, adventure, risk and reward – into an exciting and profoundly personal coming-of-age tale that dares to defy any and all genre limitations.

Until next time–make sure you pick up a copy of Portrait of a Thief, officially out on April 5th, 2022. You won’t regret it!

”What’s wrong with wanting everything?”

With a heist story that’s very slow to start as a means of getting better acquainted with an interesting cast of characters, I’m left very confused by very particular plot choices and in love with the lyrical prose of the work.

It’s beautifully written and brings an unexpected sense of drama and poetry. There were many lines that felt like a punch to the gut scattered throughout this reading experience, especially as these characters explore their struggles within their cultural diaspora. Although I’m not Chinese or Chinese American, sentiments relating to those born and raised away from their cultural “home land” and not feeling ______ enough deeply resonated with me. There are complex familial relationships explored in a way that felt very meaningful and important to the author.

With all that I loved about the book, however, there were so many other elements to the book that bothered me. Something that frustrated me from the beginning was in the author not creating distinct enough voices, personalities, or narration styles for each of the characters- something incredibly necessary when we’re jumping between five perspectives constantly and very quickly.

I dreaded having to read from Irene’s perspective. Purposely vague and impulsively risking the heist’s success because she’s desperate for attention and feeling superior over other completely unprovoked, Irene was the main source of conflict and didn’t need to exist at all. With her character also functioning as a way to draw a parallel between a Black Lives Matter protest and this group’s heist- a heist that is established numerous times to be fueled by a desire to return stolen cultural items AND get rich- I feel that she was incredibly distracting in every facet.

The romantic subplots also felt very unnecessary as they were all underdeveloped at various stages, especially the author’s attempt at a sapphic romance- a “romance” built one woman taking every chance she gets to be a condescending and belittling bully to a mopey pushover. And on the topic of the sapphic representation: due to the author (for whatever reason) being scared of words like “lesbian” or “bisexual” or literally any other clarifying term, we get to experience a super fun plot moment that makes Irene either a lesbian who likes to flirt with her guy best friend for fun despite knowing he’s madly in love her OR a vaguely queer woman who is a attracted to men but has a preference for women and likes to flirt with her guy best friend for fun. Regardless, it’s made explicitly clear she feels nothing for him and strings him along for no established reason. How fun!

This was a fine debut with gorgeous prose, an ok heist and very flat characters. I feel that this could’ve benefited from a few more drafts.

this contemporary chinese-american diaspora heist from li was an enjoyable debut getting its themes of effects of colonization in taking back what belongs to one's country and assimilation yet still connecting to one's roots, across. following a group of immigrant kids in their 20's with each distinct characterizations and problems with the weight on their shoulders on living up to either what their parents or in supporting the family. particularly will and irene's sibling dynamic was the one that i was most focused on, seeing both of them going through their memories of their lives shared with the other and the internal constant comparing both didn't think the other had. though li's writing is strong with writing an atmosphere of what it feels to be in your twenties and still trying to figure things out, there was just something lacking in the story overall personally. regardless loving to see each character's individual perspectives but it just felt like every chapter always ends abruptly with a hopeful feeling when there was definitely more depth that could've been given to each individual along with the heists themselves devoid of a feeling of thrill though i understand there's more of the realistic feel to it as the group has so much to lose with daniel's fbi dad and all of their college/work futures. nonetheless, this was still a pleasant debut from li that's rarely seen in the ya contemporary genre with its aspect of heists with the deeper meaning behind it of struggles of belonging to either america or one's home or parent's home country and doing what one feels like needs to be done in order to belong.

"Portrait of a Thief" tells the story of five Chinese American college students — each very different from the other. When faced with an opportunity to steal back spoils of war that rightfully belong to China will be caught up in dilemmas that will define their future.

When I first heard of this book I was looking forward to a frenzied plot that went over the heists. But that part is quite minimal and sometimes out of place in the story, making the narrative either too fast or too slow at times. The book mostly focuses on its cast and their personal lives and relationships, and the very important, special, and complicated way they each view themselves when it comes to their cultural heritage. Li has an amazing way of writing characters, setting them apart into what seems like real-life individuals. The conversations and thoughts they have throughout the book are very meaningful and amazing to read.

It is a great debut novel from the author, and definitely one to keep an eye on.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the e-ARC in return for an honest review.

This is the story of a heist to retrieve Chinese art that was taken during colonialization to be returned to China. and a character driven plot and a coming of age story, as all of the characters are in college. There are themes of friendship, loyalty, sibling rivalry, the pressures to meet the expectations of your family and your culture. The characters are attractive and intelligent and yes there were some subtle sexual tension in this group. This is going to be made into a Netflicks series and I have high hopes that it will be awesome. I can't wait to see the cast. It could be an exciting story told in the visual element of a series made for television. I look forward to it!

ever since learning about this book, i had been dying to read it. in the past year, i have learned so much about museums and artifacts stolen from countries during colonial eras. and i'm such a sucker for heist books that i was so insanely excited to read this.

for the most part, it did not disappoint. the asian representation made me (as an asian living in America) so, so happy. it touches on nuances that i usually seldom see in books. i felt so seen, and grace li is a brilliant author for portraying such heavy topics with such eloquence. the way she pulls in history of colonial rule and juxtaposes it against the main characters' struggles regarding identity and disapora.

i actually liked that the heist part felt very not-thought-out to me. although i would have appreciated a bit more ocean eleven-y heist storylines, the writing and introspection/narrative surrounding the immigrant experience was so strong that i didn't mind that the heist part felt a bit flimsy.

all in all, such a solid novel.

Can five college students pull off heists in five major museums? Will, Lily, Alex, Daniel, and Irene are going to try, lured by the promise of $10 million for five priceless Chinese sculptures. Will, a senior at Harvard is present during a theft and one of the thieves, who sees him palm a tiny object, passes him a card. He recruits his sister Irene, who is at Duke with Lily, and then Daniel, who is preparing to apply to med school and then Alex, who dropped out of MIT to work in Silicon Valley. All five are Chinese American with varying degrees of affiliation with China itself- are they committed to repatriating the artworks to the money or to the thrill? Oh and add in that Daniel's father is an art theft expert for the FBI. Li has done a good job creating five distinct characters, from Lily's speed demon to Alex's conflicted daughter and all of the rest. Yes, it's extremely unlikely anyone, much less this band, could pull this off but I found myself caught up in the story. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. No spoilers from me.

What a beautiful story of loss, family, finding yourself, and finding your way back to what matters the most. A wonderful novel for fans of art, history, and for anyone who is looking for their place in this world.