TARGET CONSUMER: For fans of contemporary, millennial perspectives and of authors such as Susie Yang, Charles Yu, Nancy Jooyoun Kim, and Kevin Kwan. Pitched as The Farewell meets Ocean's Eleven, PORTRAIT OF A THIEF is a lyrically written heist novel based on a true story of Chinese art vanishing from Western museums; about diaspora, unlikely friendships, the colonization of art, and the complexity of the Chinese American identity.Will Chen, a Chinese American art history major at Harvard, has spent most of his life learning about the West—its art, its culture, all that it has taken and called its own. Despite this, he believes art belongs with its creators, so when a Chinese corporation offers him a (very illegal) chance to reclaim five priceless sculptures China lost centuries ago, it’s surprisingly easy to say yes. Will’s crew, fellow students chosen out of his boundless optimism for their skills and loyalty, aren’t exactly the experienced criminals from Ocean’s Ele
