Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Li< /strong>
\n\nHistory is told by the conquerors. Across the Western world\ , museums display the spoils of war\, of conquest\, of colonialism: pricel ess pieces of art looted from other countries\, kept even now. \;Will Chen plans to steal them back.
\nA senior at Harvard\, Will fits com fortably in his \;carefully curated roles: a perfect student\, an art history major and sometimes artist\, the eldest son who has always been hi s parents' American Dream. But when a mysterious Chinese benefactor reache s out with an impossible&mdash\;and illegal&mdash\;job offer\, Will finds himself something else as well: the leader of a heist to steal back five p riceless Chinese sculptures\, looted from Beijing centuries ago. \;
\nHis crew is every heist archetype one can imag\;ine&mdash\;or at
least\, the closest he can get. A con artist: Irene Chen\, a public polic
y major at Duke who can talk her way out of anything. A thief: Daniel Lian
g\, a premed student with steady hands just as capable of lockpicking as s
uturing. A getaway driver: Lily Wu\, an engineering major who races cars i
n her free time. A hacker: Alex Huang\, an MIT dropout turned Silicon Vall
ey software engineer. Each member of his crew has their own complicated re
lationship with China and the identity they've cultivated as Chinese Ameri
cans\, but when Will asks\, none of them can turn him down. \;
Be
cause if they succeed? They earn fifty million dollars&mdash\;and a chance
to make history. But if they fail\, it will mean not just the loss of eve
rything they've dreamed for themselves but yet another thwarted at\;te
mpt to take back what colonialism has stolen.
Equal parts beautifu l\, thoughtful\, and thrilling\, \;Portrait of a Thief \; is a cultural heist and an examination of Chinese American identity\, as w ell as a necessary cri\;tique of the lingering effects of colonialism.
\nPatron Sai nts Brewery \;is a West Toledo nano-brewery crafting a wi de variety of beer styles. The brewery \;is a small\, 2 man operation& nbsp\;founded after countless late nights home brewing in the driveway.
\nBooks on Tap \;is presented in partnership by&n bsp\;Toledo Lucas County Public Library\, \;Destination Toledo\, \;419 Ale Trail\, and host breweries.
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