Li, was published in the United States in early April this year. (ECNS) - 'Portrait of a Thief,' the debut novel by Stanford Medical student Grace D. Will Chen, a Chinese American art history student 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.-Exclusive interview with Chinese American writer Grace Li

Even in this back room, dust catching the slant of golden, late-afternoon light, Will could hear the sirens. This was how things began: Boston on the cusp of fall, the Sackler Museum robbed of 23 pieces of priceless Chinese art. Dawson, New York Times bestselling author of The Violence 'A lyrical and action-packed tale of yearning, connection, self-discovery, and righting wrongs, Portrait of a Thief is a unique vision of what it means to come home.' Roselle Lim, author of Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune 'A beautiful examination of identity as children of the diaspora This fast-paced heist leaves you clutching the pages and rooting for the thieves.' Here's a story that offers not just adventure or a reprieve from the everyday, but big dreams, big hearts, enduring friendships, and the multitudes of identities that can exist within each one of us.' 'In this slick, dazzling, debut, the stakes are high and the writing elegant.

Lauren Wilkinson, New York Times bestselling author of American Spy Li is a virtuosic storyteller the most exciting debut I've read this year an intelligent page-turner that will keep you hooked until the very end.'

The writing felt close and intimate and the characters felt like portraits themselves, bursting with life and delicately human.'

'Portrait of a Thief was everything I imagined and more. Brilliantly twisty and yet so contemplative this book will continue to haunt you long after you've reached the end.' So too are the emotional struggles the crew endure as they try to balance duty to family with their love for China and the need to understand their own personalities.' Literary Review 'This is as much a novel as a reckoning.' New York Times 'A remarkably assured debut' Sunday Times A cinematic, entertaining and fast-paced debut novel that is part- Ocean's Eleven, part- The Social Network and part- Crazy Rich Asians, Portrait of a Thief is an addictive mix of heist and unlikely friendships by way of the politics of colonization.

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