Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - The Art Thief

Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

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.

Content Warnings