I normally love books about art heists and I was really looking forward to Portrait of a Thief, but found it slightly lacking. It was more of a character-driven story than one that focused on the action of an art heist, which isn't a bad thing. Just not what I was expecting. The descriptions of China and all its culture and history were interesting, but the heists themselves seemed very unrealistic and not well researched.

Though a truly intriguing premise, I found this story would likely appeal more to a YA audience although the characters are of an age where new adult themes should be actualized. Could not read the book past its second chapter.

Thank you to Tiny Reparations Books and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Will Chen gets together a group of Chinese American students (and one ex-student) to pull together a group of museum heists to take back Chinese artifacts. What they'll gain is enough money to set them up for quite awhile, but along the way they learn a lot more about what they're really looking for in this mission.

Although Portrait of a Thief is being compared to Ocean's Eleven, it's about so much more. Portrait of a Thief is more a character analysis, in my opinion, on each character finding their own footing on their heritage and its meaning. Some of the characters have very little knowledge of their Chinese heritage whereas others spent a lot of time in China and long to shed the American identities they have, but know they can't. Portrait of a Thief also touches on the fact that America doesn't treat Asian Americans well and hasn't for decades, which is a well documented fact. I also enjoyed the discussion of who actually owns the right to museum artifacts when they are "taken" from other countries. Should they be the property of the country of origin or should the museum be the owner to help educate the public for the sake of history?

Although I understand the comparison to Ocean's Eleven for marketing purposes and trying to make it sound like a thriller, that component made me go into the novel with different expectations that weren't met. Although I enjoyed the novel it was for different reasons. This will be a novel I'll be thinking about for awhile.
Portrait of a Thief is Grace D. Li's debut novel and I can't wait to see what she writes in the future. Rating: 3.5 stars.

This was a lovely, fun YA heist novel that examines the history of colonialism and cultural theft. Can you steal what has already been stolen? And if it belongs to you more than it belongs to the owner, are you just taking it back? Portrait of a Thief strikes a natural balance between well-developed characters and an intriguing plot. The heists themselves lean a bit over-the-top, but who really needs realism when enacting a contemporary generational fantasy.

This has such a great concept and the book really follows that through to the end. But I felt like the book took everything extremely seriously, I wanted a bit more lightness and fun from it but it never came.

Will is a senior at Harvard. As the eldest son of Chinese parents, he has always done his best to live up to their expectations of him. When he receives an illegal offer to steal historical Chinese sculptures from an American museum in a bid to repatriate them to China, Will sees it as an opportunity to make history and gain connection with his culture. However, he can't succeed alone, and to pull off the heist, he recruits a hacker, a thief, a con artist, and a getaway driver to secure the priceless artifacts, and each of his recruits is committed, not just for the money, but also because they desire genuine cultural connection as well. This is their heist, to take back a piece of their culture, to find connection far away from the home their parents left, and if they succeed and don't go to prison in the endeavor, they'll come out fifty million dollars richer at the end of it.

I was interested in the premise and enthused for the opportunity to read a story that examined the cross-section of history, art, and war in relation to stolen artifacts, and how those stolen artifacts relate to the culture's diaspora. Essentially, I wanted something ambitious with plenty of depth, hopefully paired with interesting characters and a solid plot, and while the ambition and characters are there, a fair bit of the rest didn't quite make it. Not only did the writing style fall into repetition of ideas and descriptions midway through, but that repetition also robbed the proceedings of the depth I craved from this topic.

I feel like it is important that historical works stolen from their original home be returned if and when they are recognized and asked for. At the same time, there is nuance and complexity not only in the art world, but also in the idea that part of the diaspora would take great personal risk to reclaim a piece of their culture and homeland. Unfortunately, while the premise and initial conveyance of ideas and themes were beautiful, once these were conveyed, much of the rest suffered from superficial repetition. Portrait of a Thief is the story of a Chinese American seeking to restore pieces of his heritage to their rightful place at great personal risk, while recruiting others to do the same. While this story did not meet my own expectations, I recommend it for readers interested in the Chinese diaspora, issues surrounding stolen artifacts and their intersection with war, and stories about the art world and museums that examine their ethical and moral responsibilities.

Can you really steal what was already stolen?

A heist book but so much more than simply a book about an international art heist. I think at its core, it is first a book about diaspora, specifically Chinese diaspora (a topic I have *some* first-hand knowledge about) and the ramifications of colonialism. All around the world, museums are filled with artifacts pillaged and taken from cultures who have felt the grasping hands of colonial (and imperial) rule.

Loosely inspired by real instances of Chinese art being boldly stolen from museums around the globe, Li weaves an engrossing tale of reclaiming art taken in the sacking of the Old Summer Palace (by British and French troops in 1860 during the Second Opium War). Li perfectly captured the emotional complexity of being diaspora; Chinese but not quite Chinese enough, American but not truly belonging. As said in the book by Will, "I want to think that I'm Chinese and American both, but depending on the country, I feel like I'm not enough of either."

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Incredibly immersive - while appearing to be a book about art heists, this novel is way more about the first and second generation immigrant experience (specifically Chinese immigrants) along with the theft of culture throughout history. The characters were well developed and interesting, especially their developing bonds with each other.

Portrait of a Thief was very hyped, and the topics covered in this story are all interesting - the diaspora, western museums profiting from art raided through colonial practices, creation of fake art, heists - all great stuff. The first 50 pages of this book, had me pretty excited for the rest. Unfortunately, we then descend into endless repetition from the characters, withCindy's review really lays out the repetition better than I can, but each chapter begins to feel like a time loop - we have so many POV characters, and they all sound exactly the same.
Separate from each character reading as exactly the same, the heist planning is so stupid it hurts. Like, it could work if this were an early 2000s made for tv Disney movie - but I can't imagine the day that I would embark onto a life of international criminality rewatching Ocean's 11 and the Fast and Furious movies.
Portrait of a Thief is a long book that raises great questions, but lacks the depth to really engage with the subject matter.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc for review

this is the most fun I've had in a while reading a book. Everyone should read this the writing was good the worldbuilding and the social issues were great. Grace D. Li is now an author I will instantly buy any new book from.

I absolutely loved this book. The writing was amazing, I loved the in-depth look into each character's state of mind, the commentary on diaspora and being an immigrant and colonialism in art, etc. was fascinating. The heists were a bit unbelievable but I was here for the ride. Five stars, highly recommend.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Me before when requesting the ARC: Y'all...it's a HEIST! An ART HEIST! We're stealing back the ART from the MUSEUMS. Let's gooooooo. Heist! Heist! Heist!
Me after reading: this is a decent book that includes heists...but a heist book, this is not.

I'm not mad but I am disappointed.

A lot of that's on me. Pretty much everything I was hearing from people was, "Clear your expectations because it will not be what you're expecting." So that's neither good nor bad, but it was overwhelmingly unhelpful for curbing my enthusiasm for a heist. And then everyone was right, I guess, because it definitely wasn't what I expected. Honestly? I think it was more contemporary fiction than thriller, which is kind of a bummer when you're vibrating with anticipation for a thrilling heist story about a ragtag team of Chinese college students reclaiming art stolen by colonizers.

I was impressed with how she portrayed the invisible pressure and burden of expectation that falls on immigrant children (specifically here, Chinese immigrant children) and the generational disconnect that I'm sure happens when you have families with different degrees of connection to two different countries and two different cultures. I think Grace D. Li's storytelling was strongest when she was delving into those themes of identity and cultural connection.

So, I guess my real issue is with the marketing? It's not a bad book but it's not what I wanted or expected based on what I was told it would be. Definitely literary, and not a lot of thriller. I don't often enjoy multiple POVs in general and I don't think this book benefitted from all those perspectives. I think it slowed down an already fairly slow-paced novel. Overall, the writing is good if a bit repetitive sometimes. The story itself, more seriously, felt weirdly disconnected to me. Like the author squished two different stories together and those stories were more loosely connected than actually cohesive.

I do appreciate what Grace D. Li is trying to do here, but I think it missed the mark in a lot of ways.

Thank you muchly to NetGalley and Dutton for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have tried on now 6 separate occasions to pick up and get through this book. It has been one of my most anticipated books since I heard the synopsis, I mean come on, a group of potential thieves stealing back historic artwork. 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.
Together they are going to steal back what has been stolen from Beijing.
I'm giving this book 5 stars even though I ~technically~ haven't had the attention span to finish it because I know with a capital KNOW that it is an important, thrilling story that I'm going to love and recommend to everyone.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were all intriguing and the descriptive writing was beautiful. My main issue was that it didn’t feel like a “thriller” to me.

A great concept that made for interesting discussions, but I fear a case of poor marketing set this book up to not be as successful. It's about heists, but it's not really a heist story.

I didn't hate this book. It was enjoyable and at times really captivating, but there was just way too much going on that nothing got enough attention. Same with the multiple POVs, just too many cooks in the kitchen. We follow all five of our characters, and while I get why, I think the book may have been better served being just two of them or in 3rd person instead of first.

Likewise, I think this book got stuck between markets (pls publishing just give us New Adult!). I think college kids and even high school students could really like this one, but I think it's been pegged as literary, when I actually think it reads quite casually.

That being said, I think this will translate amazingly to film/tv as I really did love the base of the story and the characters.

Portrait of a Theif is both an art heist book and a tale of second-generation children of Chinese Immigrants coming of age in their later college years. I loved the premise of the story, stealing back art from prominent museums around the world that was originally stolen from China, our protagonists on a grand mission to win something back for a country and culture they aren't always sure belongs to them.

The writing in this novel is gorgeous. It's filled with vivid imagery and wistful musings. I found myself highlighting sections in my kindle because there were many descriptions of cities, of sunrise and sunsets, and insightful interior thoughts about what it means to be Chinese American to each of these young adults.

I typically am drawn to faster-paced books and wouldn't describe this as a page-turner, but rather a long walk thinking about your past and what your future may bring.

Portrait of a Thief is the story of five college students who have been tasked with executing five major art heists. Throughout the novel, we learn about each character and their motivation for participating in these heists. This was one of my most anticipated books of the year; I love a good novel about art.

I enjoyed the themes of this novel. Li's commentary on what it means to be Chinese American, who art belongs to, the ripple effects of colonialism, and familial duty were interesting and had promise.

Unfortunately, this novel wasn't for me. I felt the execution of those themes fell flat. I was expecting a literary fiction novel and I think the writing was a bit too repetitive and clunky to fall into that category. The novel also didn't quite fall into the thriller category, which left is awkwardly hanging in the middle for me.

I think it will make a great movie! The premise will lend itself to a very fun screen adaptation, so I look forward to seeing how that goes.

I adored this book! The story has so much to it, and I was captivated by everyone's perspectives. While the plot does follow a heist, and the planning of more, the book is about so much more than that and each piece had me totally invested and compelled.

I love the way the cultural diaspora these characters feel is explored, discussed, grappled with, and felt deeply by each one. The other themes of friendship, family expectation, personal feelings of self worth and ability, the very upfront confrontation of the history of museum collections, art history, what belongs to someone when it is stolen art, all this and more, I was so impressed.

I have been thinking about this one a lot since finishing it, which is a great sign of a wonderful book, and to be able to present ideas and information that sticks with the reader while also delivering a compelling story, I can't laud this novel enough. Every time I step foot into a museum in the future I will be thinking about these characters, about where the pieces in the museum come from, and the origins of things much more than I did before. I can't wait to see what Li writes next, this is such a great read.

To start with the positive, I enjoyed the diverse cast of characters and the romance between two of the women. The heist sections were fast paced and fun to read. That being said, I found the continued references to the color of the sky as a metaphor over used. There was a tendency to over-explain the character’s motivation and background to where it felt demeaning to a reader’s intelligence. The book has an odd shift in pace where it felt hard to get through the last third of the book because it felt so slow. The bones of this book has so much potential, I really wish I enjoyed it more.

Holy moly, I think this is going to be one of my top books for 2022! Everything about it has exceeded my expectations in all the best ways.

Portrait of a Thief was both a wild ride and deeply intimate. The reader gets so close to all of the characters, each one incredibly complex and nuanced. They're bursting with real humanity, the good and the ugly, both as individuals and in the complexity of the relationships between them. You encounter the whole range of connections: siblings, best friends, lovers, parent-to-child. The story really takes place more between them and in their minds than anything else and I loved that. I can't even pick a favorite character. Each one has such depth that it seems impossible to do so.

The prose is wonderfully written, engaging and relatable without being too casual. The descriptions of art in particular are really beautiful. I was regularly surprised by the events of the plot with many unexpected but perfectly-laid scenes which was a real joy. I love being surprised because I'm one of those readers that's obsessed with guessing what's next. My expectations were passed by in such better ways than I could've guessed!

I have no critiques, no complaints. I can't think of a single reader friend who wouldn't enjoy this book so I'm confident in recommending it to any reader. It's such a great book, I can't believe it's a debut! I can't wait to see what comes from this author in the future.

Note: I received a free electronic edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank them, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to do so.