lydiasee's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I have no idea how that ended or who all these people are. I liked many aspects of the book (and know I’m in the minority when I say I liked the pretentious art history lectures and especially the Isabella Stewart Gardener connection.. that was a nice *wink wink*)
BUT the author tried to do way too much with way too many characters with not enough character development or denouement (see Noah Charney, I’m smart because I dropped in a French word!).
I felt the storyline was obvious and expected while simultaneously being … unnecessarily confusing.
Nonetheless, a good easy “beach read” type of book for the art history / heist / forgeries set. If you liked the show “White Collar” you’d like this. But for a more challenging real life nonfiction take - try Boser’s “The Gardner Heist”
BUT the author tried to do way too much with way too many characters with not enough character development or denouement (see Noah Charney, I’m smart because I dropped in a French word!).
I felt the storyline was obvious and expected while simultaneously being … unnecessarily confusing.
Nonetheless, a good easy “beach read” type of book for the art history / heist / forgeries set. If you liked the show “White Collar” you’d like this. But for a more challenging real life nonfiction take - try Boser’s “The Gardner Heist”
adaora_ble's review
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
northstar's review
2.0
This art-theft mystery earned mixed reviews but I liked it. The plot revolves around stolen paintings and paintings hidden under paintings, and the author does a pretty good job with twists and turns. Some readers complained about the mini-lectures on art history but I enjoyed them and I am not knowledgeable about art at all. I think the problem with this book is the author is trying to do too many things--a caper, a whodunit, and a Da Vinci Code-esque cryptic--all while building literary characters. I liked some of the characters but there are too many for a 300-page book and we don't really get to know them in depth. Charney also tries to tie everything together at the end via long speeches by characters and a few decent scenes, but he expects you to remember too many tiny details and I am still not sure of exactly what happened.
The author is a young art historian and student of art crime, and based on the interview and the annoying French and Italian sentences in the book, it appears he thinks highly of himself. I would pick up a second book by him but would hope he builds on his talent to create a tighter story that allows his characters more space.
The author is a young art historian and student of art crime, and based on the interview and the annoying French and Italian sentences in the book, it appears he thinks highly of himself. I would pick up a second book by him but would hope he builds on his talent to create a tighter story that allows his characters more space.
neftzger's review
3.0
There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this book, especially the theme of iconography and its influence on art. I also liked the mystery aspect of the book and trying to figure out who did it and why (figuring out the motive was half the mystery). However, the ending of the book was less than I had hoped. I admit that I was looking for something more complex and that was right in front of me the whole time. I love it when an author puts one over on me, and I suddenly discover at the end that all the clues had been clearly presented to me, but I happened to overlook them. Nevertheless, I did enjoy this book the way you'd enjoy a good candy bar - a simple read with the right elements to momentarily entertain me.
If you like art and mysteries this may be a fun read for you. I enjoyed the read even if I felt as if the ending could have been stronger.
If you like art and mysteries this may be a fun read for you. I enjoyed the read even if I felt as if the ending could have been stronger.
bookwormmichelle's review
2.0
Obviously not smart enough for this book. I never really got to like any of the characters, am pretty confused by the ending, and too irritated at the foul language to backtrack and try to figure out what the heck happened. Apparently I'm just not hip and edgy enough for this one.
clambook's review
1.0
Awful. Ham-handed writing, cliched characters. Another example of first-time writer trying to fashion a mystery out of something he got his PhD in. DNF.
tachyondecay's review
1.0
Noah Charney knows a lot about art. His writing, however, leaves much to be desired.
The book improved much throughout the course of the story. It started out as an uninteresting, rather dull story with disparate characters. Charney employs some rather unusual metaphors and descriptive phrases. At the very end of the story, when all is revealed and the mystery solved, one can look back and say, "Oh yes, this all comes together, how interesting."
Unfortunately, in order to get to that point, the reader must first slog through several chapters' worth of art history and Da Vinci-code-style puzzle pieces. Now, don't get me wrong. I like art, and I like art history. Charney clearly knows what he's talking about, but that's the problem--he is so passionate about his subject that he lectures, through his characters, far too much. While I normally enjoy learning fun facts from fiction, in this case, it breaks up the pacing of the story.
And what was with the random French and Italian sprinkled among the conversations? Yes, it is very nice that you know French and Italian (or know people who can help you translate it). But I already feel like you're bludgeoning me with a pretentious headstone of knowledge. This multilingual dialogue is just too much.
The Art Thief is a satisfactory mystery if you can stomach the ultra-intellectual cruft packed around the nugget of story goodness. If you are more into mysteries--or even art--than I am, you may enjoy it more. I wouldn't rush out to buy it though.
The book improved much throughout the course of the story. It started out as an uninteresting, rather dull story with disparate characters. Charney employs some rather unusual metaphors and descriptive phrases. At the very end of the story, when all is revealed and the mystery solved, one can look back and say, "Oh yes, this all comes together, how interesting."
Unfortunately, in order to get to that point, the reader must first slog through several chapters' worth of art history and Da Vinci-code-style puzzle pieces. Now, don't get me wrong. I like art, and I like art history. Charney clearly knows what he's talking about, but that's the problem--he is so passionate about his subject that he lectures, through his characters, far too much. While I normally enjoy learning fun facts from fiction, in this case, it breaks up the pacing of the story.
And what was with the random French and Italian sprinkled among the conversations? Yes, it is very nice that you know French and Italian (or know people who can help you translate it). But I already feel like you're bludgeoning me with a pretentious headstone of knowledge. This multilingual dialogue is just too much.
The Art Thief is a satisfactory mystery if you can stomach the ultra-intellectual cruft packed around the nugget of story goodness. If you are more into mysteries--or even art--than I am, you may enjoy it more. I wouldn't rush out to buy it though.