Portrait of a Thief: A Novel
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
An Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
Named a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022
Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *Washington Post* *Vulture* *NBC News* *Buzzfeed* *Veranda* *PopSugar* *Paste* *The Millions* *Bustle* *Crimereads* Goodreads* *Bookbub* *Boston.com* and more!
"The thefts are engaging and surprising, and the narrative brims with international intrigue. Li, however, has delivered more than a straight thriller here, especially in the parts that depict the despair Will and his pals feel at being displaced, overlooked, underestimated, and discriminated against. This is as much a novel as a reckoning."
--New York Times Book Review Ocean's Eleven meets The Farewell in Portrait of a Thief, a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums; about diaspora, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity 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. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reaches out with an impossible--and illegal--job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago. His crew is every heist archetype one can imagine--or at least, the closest he can get. 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. Equal parts beautiful, thoughtful, and thrilling, Portrait of a Thief is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary critique of the lingering effects of colonialism.
An Edgar Award Nominee for Best First Novel
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
Named a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022
Named A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *Washington Post* *Vulture* *NBC News* *Buzzfeed* *Veranda* *PopSugar* *Paste* *The Millions* *Bustle* *Crimereads* Goodreads* *Bookbub* *Boston.com* and more!
"The thefts are engaging and surprising, and the narrative brims with international intrigue. Li, however, has delivered more than a straight thriller here, especially in the parts that depict the despair Will and his pals feel at being displaced, overlooked, underestimated, and discriminated against. This is as much a novel as a reckoning."
--New York Times Book Review Ocean's Eleven meets The Farewell in Portrait of a Thief, a lush, lyrical heist novel inspired by the true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums; about diaspora, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity 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. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reaches out with an impossible--and illegal--job offer, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five priceless Chinese sculptures, looted from Beijing centuries ago. His crew is every heist archetype one can imagine--or at least, the closest he can get. 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. Equal parts beautiful, thoughtful, and thrilling, Portrait of a Thief is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity, as well as a necessary critique of the lingering effects of colonialism.
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Community Reviews
“And for the first time, it felt like enough.”
Finally finished reading Portrait of a Thief by Grace D Li and I’m glad I got around to it.
It’s not your typical heist story. The crew aren’t seasoned criminals. They all have different pasts and different reasons for going into the heist business, but they come together wonderfully.
This story was an interesting perspective, especially for me, a white American. More thought provoking than I expected, Li provided an excellent and still entertaining addition to the conversation on diaspora and imperialism.
While I didn’t feel able to relate and fully understand the character’s motivations when it came to their feelings about China and the art, I found myself resonating with the characters when it came to their personal issues with family, school, work, etc. That definitely helped bridge the gap.
And for the record the heist aspect was fantastic. Especially unique because it was a bunch of newbie criminals taking their IRL skills and turning them to the dark side.
This book has a heist story shell but there are a lot more layers inside. It’s definitely worth a read!
Finally finished reading Portrait of a Thief by Grace D Li and I’m glad I got around to it.
It’s not your typical heist story. The crew aren’t seasoned criminals. They all have different pasts and different reasons for going into the heist business, but they come together wonderfully.
This story was an interesting perspective, especially for me, a white American. More thought provoking than I expected, Li provided an excellent and still entertaining addition to the conversation on diaspora and imperialism.
While I didn’t feel able to relate and fully understand the character’s motivations when it came to their feelings about China and the art, I found myself resonating with the characters when it came to their personal issues with family, school, work, etc. That definitely helped bridge the gap.
And for the record the heist aspect was fantastic. Especially unique because it was a bunch of newbie criminals taking their IRL skills and turning them to the dark side.
This book has a heist story shell but there are a lot more layers inside. It’s definitely worth a read!
I had mixed feelings because on the one hand I really enjoyed the premise of the book (heists??? hello???and the whole idea of bringing art back to the place it really belongs sounded AMAZING) but the whole group was characterized in a very similar way? I felt like I was reading a book about one person? Which is really sad, because the book held so much potential.
Um. Holy hell.
Before reading this, I took the time to read some reviews, because this type of book has a danger of being a hit or miss. And I understand the criticism. It's repetitive, it's unrealistic, yes. But I think the insanity of it all is kinda the point. It's supposed to be unbelievable. It's fiction. And, personally, it's less about the heists than the characters.
They're all people with ambitions, with flaws, with problems, with character development. They're all Chinese-American diaspora kids and have different connections to their identity. And, frankly, all of these characters are going to have a special place in my hear. It's impressive, how Li did this, because while I disliked some of these characters actions, some of their words, they're all my favourite.
The writing is great as well-- it's poetic in a way it makes sense, not confusing, and I think the author has some good thoughts on ambition, familial pressure, and the immigrant experience in general, as well as for American immigrants specifically.
But it's also just a fun heist novel. Like I said, the point seems to be more about the characters, especially with less descriptions and details of the heist itself. These are five 20-something year olds, making plans to rob the most significant museums through Zoom. And through Whatsapp. And, more than once, they succeeded. It's unrealistic. It's stupid. It's great. I can't wait to see what Li has in store.
I love this book. I think I may even reread this in the future. I usually rate based on my feelings because I am rating for myself. With that in mind:
True Rating: 4.5
Before reading this, I took the time to read some reviews, because this type of book has a danger of being a hit or miss. And I understand the criticism. It's repetitive, it's unrealistic, yes. But I think the insanity of it all is kinda the point. It's supposed to be unbelievable. It's fiction. And, personally, it's less about the heists than the characters.
They're all people with ambitions, with flaws, with problems, with character development. They're all Chinese-American diaspora kids and have different connections to their identity. And, frankly, all of these characters are going to have a special place in my hear. It's impressive, how Li did this, because while I disliked some of these characters actions, some of their words, they're all my favourite.
The writing is great as well-- it's poetic in a way it makes sense, not confusing, and I think the author has some good thoughts on ambition, familial pressure, and the immigrant experience in general, as well as for American immigrants specifically.
But it's also just a fun heist novel. Like I said, the point seems to be more about the characters, especially with less descriptions and details of the heist itself. These are five 20-something year olds, making plans to rob the most significant museums through Zoom. And through Whatsapp. And, more than once, they succeeded. It's unrealistic. It's stupid. It's great. I can't wait to see what Li has in store.
I love this book. I think I may even reread this in the future. I usually rate based on my feelings because I am rating for myself. With that in mind:
True Rating: 4.5
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