Today's Featured Book:
The Art Thief:
A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
by Michael Finkel
Genre: Nonfiction
Published: May 8, 2012
Page Count: 242 pages
Summary:
Stéphane Bréitwieser is the most prolific art thief of all time.
He pulled off more than 200 heists, often in crowded museums in broad daylight.
His girlfriend served as his accomplice.
His collection was worth an estimated $2 billion.
He never sold a piece, displaying his stolen art in his attic bedroom.
He felt like a king.
Until everything came to a shocking end.
In this spellbinding portrait of obsession and flawed genius, Michael Finkel gives us one of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of our times, a riveting story of art, theft, love, and an insatiable hunger to possess beauty at any cost.
Approaching the museum, ready to hunt, Stéphane Bréitwieser clasps hands with his girlfriend, Anne-Catherine Kleinklaus, and together they stroll to the front desk and say hello, a cute couple. Then they purchase two tickets with cash and walk in.
It's lunchtime, stealing time, on a busy Sunday in Antwerp, Belgium, in February 1997.
THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky.
Maintaining his strict back-to-the-camera position, he stiffly shuffles a few steps to his left, sliding the work horizontally along the wall until he's out of range of the lens.
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The Art Thief is our book club read for this month. We will be discussing it in two weeks. It also has only 242 pages, perfect for Shorty September.
The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.
Which book do you think deserves more love but flies under the radar? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer
Many of my favorite books fly under the radar. Have you read any of these books? I feel pretty sure that they are not commonly on people's lists of favorite books.
Working by Studs Terkel; Civility by Stephen L. Carter; My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim PotokT; Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli; I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen; The Common Good by Robert Reich; The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim; The Gold Bug Variations by Richard Powers; Mrs. Bridge by Evan S. Connell.
He sounds brilliant and the book excellent, but eventually everyone slips up along the way.
ReplyDeleteSounds a crafty and clever couple.
ReplyDeleteCan't say I know any of the books you mention! I was tempted to talk about some of my classic crime novels, because some of them are so unjustly forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThe Art Thief sounds absolutely amazing!
ReplyDeleteI've wanted to read this. I hope it is as good as the description!
ReplyDeleteI liked The Art Thief quite a bit and am looking forward to reading Michael Finkel's nonfiction The Stranger in the Woods.
ReplyDeleteHoping this comment goes through today. Blogger was misbehaving all day yesterday! You, Susan, and Tina have all got me curious about The Art Thief.
ReplyDeleteStargirl is a wonderful book, isn't it? I'm still planning (someday!) to read The Enchanted April. I tried it many years ago, but maybe it will work for me now.
Well that weird. Two days of not being able to make comments. I’m sure you’ve noted the changed for next week. See you then. New name new logo same URL. // I was fascinated by the Art Thief. It still makes me angry to think what he did.
ReplyDeleteWhat fascinated me about "The Art Thief" was how he thought it was absolutely his right to steal all of these artifacts. What goes on in a head like that? And the ending ... it made me so mad.
ReplyDelete