Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - The Art Thief

Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Art Thief by Michael Finkel

11 reviews

rosa_lina96's review

adventurous informative fast-paced

3.25

Pacing of the book was a bit too fast for me to fully immerse myself in it, but I appreciated the looks into Stéphane's psyche and what might have motivated him to steal so many priceless bits of art. While I can't say that I entirely understand his need and want to--have a closer relationship with the art than that of a casual observer? Point out the flaws in security within museums? I don't think a definitive reasoning for his theft was ever fully established--it was still easy to attempt to sympathize with him at certain points, even if a good hundred or so of the pieces he stole are still unaccounted for to this day (though that's almost entirely his mother's fault, or so the book implies). It also taught me that large pieces of exhibition art are....apparently frighteningly easy to steal if you know what you're doing.

Overall, it's a bit of a quick jaunt into the psychology of someone who made thievery his way of life for so many years, so despite a few flaws it was enough to hold my attention.

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moond4ncer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative tense medium-paced

3.0

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lectora21's review

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adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

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agw622's review

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challenging dark sad fast-paced

4.75

A very enjoyable book. The tale is certainly crazy, and it's hard to imagine how crazy real life can be. The writing style comes off more story like that fact relying and it feels like some things were filled in more than can be accurately said. However, I really enjoy the story, and it's one heck of a ride.

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thesvnthsense's review against another edition

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informative tense medium-paced

4.0

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saltycoffee's review

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adventurous informative sad medium-paced

4.25

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dizzymisslizzy's review against another edition

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adventurous informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.0

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rupanjali's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

4.25

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citybookspgh's review against another edition

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adventurous informative tense fast-paced

4.0

This true story gets more & more shocking with every page. Fast read, impossible to put down.

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sarahweyand's review against another edition

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informative fast-paced

3.75

I enjoyed listening to this book and thought the narrator did a good job overall. The story this follows is very interesting and I enjoyed how the events and hard facts were expanded upon to create a more detailed story and better flow and atmosphere. I think that was a good choice here even though this book is nonfiction and may come across to some as reducing credibility.

I can tell the author did a lot of research and interviews to write this book, and I wish it was longer. The pacing felt too fast at times, and I have to wonder how much of Finkel's interview and research time went underutilized. If this report was already slightly dramatized to give a more novelistic approach, I wish it had been taken further to give us more depth on the tension during the crimes, or the relationship between Stéphane and Anne-Catherine (arguably one of the most compelling plot threads).

Don't get me wrong, I really liked this book and got through it quickly. I just wish there had been more.

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