Interesting, but too long and digressive.

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	• The Rescue Artist : A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece Edward Dolnick, 2005 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 18 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A good, really fast read

The Rescue artist is a swift and exciting book that revolves around Charlie Hill, an unforgettable (and quite real) detective on the hunt for missing masterpieces, in this case Edvard Munch's classic "Scream" stolen from a museum in Oslo, Norway. Dolnick writes crisp, well-turned sentences that pull the reader along. I felt like I was reading a good, long magazine article, like in the New Yorker. At times the story jumps and shifts around too much, and I had to backtrack a couple times to pick up what was going on, but this is really good stuff, entertaining as can be. Highly recommend.

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A good romp

Edward Dolnick has turned the story of the theft of Edvard Munch's famous painting "Scream" from a museum on Oslo into a great character study of the English detective who gets it back. Two mystery men steal a ladder, climb a wall, break a window, and make off with the poorly-defended painting.

Detective Charlie Hill uses his half-English, half-American upbringing to impersonate an employee of California's Getty Museum interested in ransoming the painting. James Bond-type intrigue ensues - missed connections, interfering local police, thuggish bodyguards, aimless drives through the middle of the night, fistfights, etc. etc.

Dolnick writes with humor and verve; the story moves speedily and only occasional descends to cliche. The greatest strength of the book is its some heroic depiction of Hill and some sidekick characters. My only slight disappointment was that the "whodunnit" revelations at the end seem like an offhand afterthought. The motivations, plans, and intentions of the actual thieves are given minimal space; I was left feeling a bit teased (teased, but satisfied).

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Interesting, but too long and digressive.

If the reader is interested in a fast pace and action, then this book will not satisfy. The basic story is not a lengthy one. The digressions into background matters provide useful peeks into assorted issues, such as thievery, forgery and the art world, but go on for too long and should have been condensed. I found myself impatient for the story to move forward. The sheer number of delays and digressions bordered on comical.

I'll never look at art the same...

This was a fascinating look at the world of Art theft and those responsible for recovering the masterpieces. While the book's central focus is on the theft and recovery of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" (taken from the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway on February 12, 1994), it also managed to pack in true stories of solved and unresolved thefts of some of the worlds most beloved paintings.

I have been to some of the world's most renowned museums and have seen original Van Gogh's, Renoir's, DaVinci's and Rembrandt's, etc., and on each occasion the place always seemed so secure. Not so according to this book. Evidently museums are lacking the funds in their budget to beef up security, making it a sitting duck. What's worse is that the criminals, if caught, face very little penalties for stealing these items. It's outrageous if you think about it.

Excellent book that was well worth my time.

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Informative but tedious at points

Starting out with a detailed recounting of the 1994 theft of Edvard Munch's iconic painting entitled "Scream," the book ends with its recovery. Sandwiched in the middle is a lumbering tale about Dolnick's hero, a Scotland Yard cop of American British lineage, who specializes in art recovery. Dolnick is a fine writer; his dialogue flows and his descriptions are colorful and paint a good scene. His research and grasp of the art theft world and its motley crew is complete. He enthuses so much over his hero that it weighs down the story to the point where the structure of the book compares to a canoe; sharp at the ends and bulging out in the middle.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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