Alexa’s - Portrait of a Thief
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.
Portrait of a Thief is a thrilling heist and luxury beyond belief . Though I picked it up for the action, which was totally delivered, I was shocked by how emotionally twisted this story made me feel. It’s difficult to examine your people’s own part in the past and to decide what needs to be done to create the future you want. Each character was beautifully flawed and desperately searching for a place in the world. I couldn’t guess any of the twists and turns this story would take, and as each character is pushed to their breaking point, they find within themselves a strength that I intend to learn from.
“Art was many things, but in the end it was a question asked: What do you want to be remembered for?”
One of the best aspects of this story is the detail in which each of the main characters are created. When given the opportunity to make history-changing heists and take back stolen Chinese art, each character comes to their own conclusion and has their own need to stay. For Will, art is an escape; a dream he knows he can’t achieve. A goal that somehow feels so close but so distant. I was immediately drawn to his character because of my own artistic background. Feeling the sense of urgency; the time to live your dreams passing you by can be heartbreaking at times. To me, art is a way to help people. To bring difficult topics into the forefront has always been a goal of mine as an actor, but I have also always felt like my acting career was uniquely mine. Will, living as the eldest son of immigrants, with a sister who moves through life with an impossible ease, searches within his art for something that can be his own. Anyone can relate to the feeling of your whole life being spread before you with absolutely no clue what to do with it.
“The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible”
I wholeheartedly believe that art has the power to shape civilization. Technology creates, but art explains what we are supposed to do with our innovations. This quote speaks volumes to me about the desperation with which these college students fought to return art stolen from China. It’s about the acknowledgement of history, which is often dulled by the conqueror. This also calls to my mind the fact that many dictators go out of their way to sensor the art seen and created. The power to influence the masses is a beautiful, but dangerous thing in the wrong hands. This book leaned into the idea that art and power can be one and the same. Though it's uncomfortable, it is necessary to look honestly at our own histories of violence and conquest to understand our global roles today. “Who could determine what counted as theft when museums and countries and civilizations saw the spoils of conquest as rightfully earned.” Who is in the right when it comes to war?
“But history was bigger than the West… she thought of China and its own legacy of imperialism, how it could take, and take, and take.”
History is bigger than the West. It’s easy to forget this when American history is told to us so often. It’s even easier to forget that what we are taught isn’t necessarily the truth. As Americans, we often think of ourselves as leaders on the world stage. But, America is only in its infancy compared to China or Great Britain. The history of war and conquest and loss is a tale as old as time and we simply inherited the traits and ideals of other world powers in many ways. However, this quote isn’t talking about America. Grace D. Li effortlessly paints the world in clear light. She gives notice about all world powers by choosing 5 different museums in 5 different countries to heist. Li includes China’s, and some Chinese billionaire’s, power imbalance as well. While these five college students risk their futures for the sake of a country they don’t even fully call their own, the Chinese elites use their power and influence to keep China’s hands clean. And once again, art changes hands, changes the narrative, and exposes secrets that may have otherwise stayed hidden.
“We’re children of the diaspora, all we’ve ever known is loss.”
The definition of Diaspora is “a dispersion or spread of a people from their homeland.” Dispersion by the hands of others and the natural spread of peoples are both causes, but the feeling remains the same. The feeling is loss. Li talks through her characters about the experience of not knowing your parent’s home; not knowing your parent’s history. As children of the diaspora, Will, Irene, Alex, Lily, and Daniel each face individual struggles between their own American and Chinese identities. For some, China will always be home. But for others, they know nothing about the culture they are so often told they come from. My family moved from Poland generations ago and built a life for themselves in the US. I have never known anything but America- exactly like these characters. But I can imagine how lonely it must be to be told you don’t belong either place. It makes me question sometimes the life that my Ashkenazi heritage could have created for me if Jewish people weren’t forcibly separated. It makes me wonder if I’ve lost something, too.
“... But diaspora was this, too: two cultures that could both be his, history that was waiting to be made.”
This book exemplifies the journey from pain to pride and the reclamation of an identity. While the beginning of the story shows the incredible distance between the truth of their lives and their dreams of the future; the crew eventually find within themselves the courage to accept all aspects of their lives and histories. By returning this art to China, righting a wrong that’s been generations in the making, the team makes peace with their complicated relationship to “home.” There is always a part of you that feels out of place, or people who will tell you that you don’t belong. But, you don’t have to listen. You can fill yourself up and take up space; you can make history!
