I always thought True Crime wasn’t for me, until I read The Feather Thief last year. It turns out, I just don’t want to read about serial killers. Give me a book about a weird little guy stealing things, and I’m all in. So since this past summer, I’ve read The Feather Thief, The Orchid Thief, The Falcon Thief, and now The Art Thief by Michael Finkel.
All of these books have a lot in common. They’re all about a guy — it’s always a guy* — who has an obsession. This guy is usually brilliant but a little weird. He’s probably very good at something related to this obsession, but maybe he struggled in school. He might not quite fit in with his peers. Chances are these guys are somewhere on the spectrum, although The Feather Thief was the only book that specifically explored this angle. Oh, and of course, they all end up stealing something related to their obsession.
This book’s weird little guy is Stéphane Breitwieser. Stéphane is obsessed with art, with a special interest in Renaissance art. Pretty much all of us have been in a museum or gallery and thought to ourselves “I wish I could have this in my home and look at it every day”, then we sigh wistfully and see if we can find a postcard or other replica of it in the gift shop. Breitwieser, on the other hand, straight up stole the items he loved. For about 8 years. To the tune of 200 items worth millions if not billions of dollars. He stole from museums, galleries, and auctions, and displayed it all in his mother’s attic, where he and his girlfriend lived.
Of all the “The ____ Thief” books I’ve read, I felt like this was the weakest. Part of this is because in the other three, the authors inserted themselves into the narration, explaining why they were drawn to the story, talking about their interviews with the central figure, etc. Finkel opts to leave himself out of the narration, only chiming in for an afterward about his experience interviewing Breitwieser and other people connected to the story.
Additionally, Breitwieser’s crime spree took place in the late 90s to early 00s, and this book was written recently, so it all feels very distant, almost more like a historic story than something ripped from the headlines. And look, as an elder millennial, I know how hard it is to hear the 90s and 00s described as “history”, but as the author was talking about what Breitwieser and his girlfriend were doing in 2000 and ’01, all I could think of were the Y2K scare and 9/11. These crimes happened during a pre-smart phone, pre-social media, pre-Trump presidency, pre-pandemic world, and it feels like it was forever ago now.
The audiobook narrator for this book was fine, not noteworthy in any way.
All in all, this one is probably worth a read (or listen) if you share my love of these more low-stakes, weird true crime stories.
*Seriously. It’s always a guy. As far as I can tell, a cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied, white guy. Because I’m not a gender essentialist, I don’t think there’s something inherent to men that makes them more prone to do these sort of crimes. I think it has everything to do with how people who have hit most if not all of the jackpots in the privilege lottery feel entitled to take what they want.
CWs and TWs: There’s crime and some bad things happen to art. There’s also brief mention of abortion and domestic violence.
Format and Source: Audiobook borrowed from Seattle Public Library.
Book Bingo Prompts
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): Keeping Secrets. Imagine having your own secret gallery of artwork in your bedroom. Breitwieser and his girlfriend never had anyone over to their home; they couldn’t talk about a lot of their weekends and vacations, because they were at museums doing crimes. It seems likely that his mother knew they were up to something, but allegedly she didn’t realize her attic was full of priceless artwork until her son was arrested. That’s a pretty dang big secret to keep for 8 years.
Brick & Mortar: About the Arts. Ok, this is about stealing art, not making art, or understanding art. But I think it can inspire some pretty interesting conversations about artwork. Does art belong in private collections or museums? How can museums and galleries balance the security and preservation of artwork against the public’s ability to view it up close? Are Breitwieser’s crimes worse, better, or equally bad than the sort of state-sanctioned looting, smuggling, and other misdeeds that allow certain artifacts and artwork to hang in prestigious museums around the world?
Current Bingo Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 5 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 4 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Brick & Mortar: 14 out of 25 prompts complete. 1 bingo.
(And with this review, I am caught up with the Book Bingo Project through January! Now, on to February!)