Sacred Art of Stealing, The
Brookmyre, Christopher
The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel. The plot centres around the relationships between a likeable thief, Zal Innez, and Angelique d'Xavia, the Asian-Scottish detective whose job it is to catch him. The crime is a bank robbery, and the thieves are smart. Typical Brookmyre black humour and frequent use of strong language, as well as hilarious observations and remarks. [Larger font]
Comments from Groups
This generated much discussion - a masterfully written novel. A very funny and clever book, with strong characterisation. Some members did not like the language, but we enjoyed the Glasgow setting and the rivalry between soccer clubs. The twists and turns in the plot keep the reader guessing. We highly recommend to other book groups.Papamoa 001 In spite of the initial shock at the prologue, most people persisted and enjoyed it; a lively discussion ensued. Plimmerton 001 We either loved or hated it! Most of us loved it. A very funny but very intelligent story. Paihia 001 Those who persevered really liked this book. Great characters, humour and a well-developed plot. We would like BDS to stock more of his titles! Whangarei 008 This book was thoroughly enjoyed. Don't be put off by the prologue would be our advice - as the notes suggested. Wellington 071 All of us enjoyed the book - a rare thing! Chch 099
Pages
410
410
Year
2002
2002
Reviews
03-06-2022
Mixed opinions. All found the epilogue crude, tacky, misogynistic, off-putting and not really necessary. We felt it needed editing in that the epilogue and the first chapter could've been summed up in 2 pages rather than taking 58! The ones who actually finished the whole book (only 4 out of 9 readers) enjoyed the clever plot and thought it might make a good movie. The author's attempts to deceive the reader came across as a bit "arrogant and sanctimonious". We found it an odd choice for inclusion by the BDS team as your typical book clubbers are probably not the author's target audience.
25-03-2022
There were a wide range of ratings for this book. This was partly a result of the very "earthy" language and activities described putting some readers off. However all thought that it was an interesting plot and had some good use of language. On many occasions it seemed as if the author was saying 'the jokes on you' after leading the reader along a line of thought.
15-03-2022
The book brought out very differing opinions. Some didn't like it, especially the language, others didn't mind the language and were impressed with the cleverness of the plot, which kept people engaged and guessing right till the end. It also gave a no holds bar impression of the importance of soccer/religion of living in Glasgow and how it pigeon holes you.