Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. LiMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A thrilling and utterly fascinating story of five college students who are hired to reclaim five sculptures originally stolen from the Beijing Summer Palace years ago. These sculptures are now housed in five separate art museums throughout the world. The story is told from each of the five participant's points of view in different chapters, so we get insight into each of the characters, their backgrounds, and their motivations. It brings together many different facets: the heist, the Chinese American experience and what it means to different people, parental expectations, and art history. The writing and imagery are beautiful, almost bordering on literary fiction, juxtaposed with page-turning, edge-of-your seat reading about the actual heist!
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