Portrait of a Thief

A heist novel that explores colonialism and the Chinese diaspora

In her debut novel Lu successfully blends a heist novel with an introspective literary take on the Chinese diaspora, colonialism, and art. When art history student Nathan Chen is recruited to steal five priceless pieces looted from the Imperial Palace, he gathers an archetypical crew—con artist, driver, hacker, and thief—each with their own complicated relationship with China, their families, and each other. Can a group of Chinese-American twenty-somethings pull this off? It’s definitely worth finding out.