INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERAn Edgar Award Nominee for Best First NovelLonglisted for the
Center for Fiction's First Novel PrizeNamed a New York Times Best Crime Novel of 2022Named 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 ReviewOcean'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
identityHistory 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.
