The book I’m reviewing today is The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.
I read the paperback for book club at Rakestraw Books, and I have to admit that I don’t think I would have picked it up without the nudge. It’s a true crime story about one of the most prolific art thieves to ever exist.
The setting takes place across Europe from 1991 to about 2005. As others have said, this story is “stranger than fiction!” I brought it everywhere with me this week and had to force myself not to google how it all ended.
The author does a fantastic job with structure – short chapters and sentences – and the length of the book was perfect. The paperback was just over 200 pages. I can tell that every single word was carefully crafted. Finkel also takes care of the reader by reminding us of what we have already learned in earlier chapters. (When the main character is constantly stealing art, it can be confusing to keep track of the museums and cities from which he stole.)
There are three main characters that were so well developed that I started to understand why they did what they did. While reading, you may find yourself asking the question, “who does art actually belong to?”
Don’t forget to read the section at the end called “A Note on the Reporting” to get even more out of the experience.
This is a great book for fans of The Art Forger by BA Paris and the show, White Collar. If you know of similar books, let me know in the comments!
I finished the book while eating lunch at Prologue Coffee located in the Walnut Creek Library!
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