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37th out of 175 books
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33 voters
The Sacred Art of Stealing (Angelique De Xavier #2)
Let us prey …
The press tend to talk about bank robberies as being daring, ingenious and audacious. They don’t describe many as Dadaist, even the ones who know what ‘Dadaist’ means. But how else does one explain choreographed dancing gunmen in Buchanan Street, or the surreal methods they use to stay one step ahead of the cops?
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is...more
The press tend to talk about bank robberies as being daring, ingenious and audacious. They don’t describe many as Dadaist, even the ones who know what ‘Dadaist’ means. But how else does one explain choreographed dancing gunmen in Buchanan Street, or the surreal methods they use to stay one step ahead of the cops?
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is...more
Paperback, 410 pages
Published
September 4th 2003
by Abacus (Little,Brown)
(first published 2002)
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Oh, this was great! Paul recommended it, but warned that many of the Scottish cultural references would go over my head. Sure enough, I think I missed about half of it (resulting in a late-night karate lecture on the Celtics vs. Rangers issues) but I really loved the book anyway, and I think Zal is now my favorite fictional character. I can't wait to read the upcoming sequel! (Okay, it's out in the UK, but I can't seem to get my hands on a copy.)
This is a sequel to _A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away...more
This is a sequel to _A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away...more
I really enjoyed this book. It was light but not shallow, funny, engaging and intelligent. Brookmyre has mixed the genres of crime, thriller, romance and satire and added a large dollop of humour to make a great read. Just don't be put off by the prologue which is written in a completely different style to the rest of the book.
A daring and bizarrely surealist daylight bank robbery takes place in Glasgow. Enter Angelique de Xavia, terrorist busting cop who happens to be turning 30; Zal Innez, hig...more
A daring and bizarrely surealist daylight bank robbery takes place in Glasgow. Enter Angelique de Xavia, terrorist busting cop who happens to be turning 30; Zal Innez, hig...more
The press tends to talk about bankrobberies as daring, ingenious or audacious, never as "Dadaist" even the ones who know what "Dadaist" means. But how else does one explain choreographed dancing gunmen in Buchanan Street, or the surreal methods they use to stay one step ahead of the cops?
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is a connoisseur of crooks, and she's sure that this heist isn't the work of the usual sawn-offs-and black-tights criminal. It's her job to hunt this unique species o...more
Angelique de Xavia is no art critic, but she is a connoisseur of crooks, and she's sure that this heist isn't the work of the usual sawn-offs-and black-tights criminal. It's her job to hunt this unique species o...more
The Sacred Art of Stealing = (Arty clowns + Incompetent gangsters) x (Arty clowns + Gullible Glasca polis)
Quite a few people recommended this Brookmyre to me, stating it was their favourite, so it had a lot to live up to. It wasn't anything better than other Brookmyre books, but it's still a Brookmyre book, which means it's still really bloody good.
Clowns robbing a bank? The fact that this clown robbery lasts for the first half of the book? Awesome. And then the things I don't want to spoil that...more
Quite a few people recommended this Brookmyre to me, stating it was their favourite, so it had a lot to live up to. It wasn't anything better than other Brookmyre books, but it's still a Brookmyre book, which means it's still really bloody good.
Clowns robbing a bank? The fact that this clown robbery lasts for the first half of the book? Awesome. And then the things I don't want to spoil that...more
Mar 12, 2013
Margaret
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
thriller-mystery-suspense,
audio-books
A fun, intricate, well-written book that put me in mind (sort of) of Donald Westlake's "The Hot Rock," as in colorful-band-of-characters-stealing-things in a clever / humorous kind of way. This unabridged recording is expertly read by Lesley Mackie and Terry Wale - I give their names so as to give credit where credit is due - and they perfectly bring Christopher Bookmyre's terrific novel to life. As with the other books that I've read (actually, listened to) by this author, the book is set, most...more
The last copy of this winked at me in Fopp, and for £2 i wasn't going to let it be left on the shelf like an Old Maid.
Brookmyre is on form in this book, the writing fizzes along, with his usual acerbic one liners and dissections of modern life.
de Xavia is a strong female lead, without appearing like a superhero: she's flawed and clearly has self doubts at the forefront of her mind.
The plot twists and turns like a python on coals, pulling you along,and making for a very quick read. Like most Brr...more
Brookmyre is on form in this book, the writing fizzes along, with his usual acerbic one liners and dissections of modern life.
de Xavia is a strong female lead, without appearing like a superhero: she's flawed and clearly has self doubts at the forefront of her mind.
The plot twists and turns like a python on coals, pulling you along,and making for a very quick read. Like most Brr...more
Clever, clever book. (well I susppose I mean clever clever author). I love Christopher Brookmyre and have been listening to a few oh his superb narratives as audiobooks. (Totally recommend that as well - listening to these words in a right Scottish accent makes the words even funnier!).
The language is flawless, funny, subtle, to the point, complex, rude, considered and utterly brilliant.
I expect that Mr Brookmyre will not be to everyone's taste - and seriously, it always takes a while to "get in...more
The language is flawless, funny, subtle, to the point, complex, rude, considered and utterly brilliant.
I expect that Mr Brookmyre will not be to everyone's taste - and seriously, it always takes a while to "get in...more
Inizio un po' spesso, si riprende nella parte centrale dove i 2 protagonisti, attratti dai mondi diversi e contrastanti, si conoscono e la descrizione dell'educazione del ladro (non sono io il cattivo solo perché porto le armi) trattata come una forma di "interrogatorio" da Angelique, che è lo stesso dell'inizio di ogni storia. Tanti mondi a confronto tra loro, il mondo della polizia con i suoi metodi convenzionali che non accettano altre opzioni di quelle previste dai vari manuali, quello del l...more
The Sacred Art of Stealing is a real find. It was recommended to me by a backgammon buddy. Everything about this book is wonderful. The pacing is at times a little off. But everything ties together with no waste. It is the magician’s crime novel. And I don’t like crime novels.
The language is sometimes difficult for an American, as it is written with local Scott slang. But it was well worth reading through that. Everything about this book didn’t feel American. I truly liked it. Yes, it is not one...more
The language is sometimes difficult for an American, as it is written with local Scott slang. But it was well worth reading through that. Everything about this book didn’t feel American. I truly liked it. Yes, it is not one...more
If you want to avoid raw sexual bluntness and crude language, then avoid this book. The very first sentence will insult your sensibilities. Still, Harry’s essay on sexual transactions, in the first chapters is incontrovertible! ;)
Stuart and Angelique’s relationship was cleverly unveiled in small moments at a time. (view spoiler)...more
Stuart and Angelique’s relationship was cleverly unveiled in small moments at a time. (view spoiler)...more
This is, loosely, a follow-on from A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away. Same locale, and the focus here in on the wonderfully named Angelique de Xavia, who played a large part in the previous book.
Do you need to have read Big Boy to get everything here? No, you'd be able to piece together the necessary inferences about what happened, but it would somewhat spoil things should you then want to go back and read the prequel.
Anyway, what I wrote in my review of that book still stands.
Do you need to have read Big Boy to get everything here? No, you'd be able to piece together the necessary inferences about what happened, but it would somewhat spoil things should you then want to go back and read the prequel.
Anyway, what I wrote in my review of that book still stands.
Quite the high adventu...more
Be warned, this book contains language and humour. This is a continuation of A Big Boy Did it and Ran Away - if Brookmyre does one thing well, he does do a good title. If you are thinking of reading this it might be a good idea to read that one first - although this is by far the better of the two books.
This novel is probably my favourite of all of his books - but only just and they are mostly all so much fun and such page turners that it is hard to really pick between them.
Another warning is th...more
This novel is probably my favourite of all of his books - but only just and they are mostly all so much fun and such page turners that it is hard to really pick between them.
Another warning is th...more
9/7/12: Re-read this book for the first time in a few years because I saw it in the op shop. It's possibly even more brilliant than I remember. Obvs Brookmyre doesn't want to let you think he might be getting soft by writing about very polite, non-violent, art-school bank robbers, so the book starts with an extended meditation on prostitution, gang enforcement and shithole Mexican industrial towns, quickly followed by a super-gory crime scene before moving on to the main attraction - the bank ro...more
I'd never read any of Brookmyre's books and I picked this up at the airport as I was going on holiday. He has a great sense of character and place. His Asian female detective is fabulous and very unconventional. And the baddy...He's also great. It's one of the few books that made me laugh out loud very early on.
I've read some of his other books and he never fails to be entertaining and create interesting and quirky characters and situations.
I've read some of his other books and he never fails to be entertaining and create interesting and quirky characters and situations.
This is one of my favourite Christopher Brookmyre books. It has a kickass heroine (he's one of the few male authors to manage that convincingly and sympathetically) but it also has a fair amount of gory violence and unromantic sex. And card tricks. And bank robberies. I read and reread his books because they are so funny, so fast, so full of spot on rants, and so amazingly clever. And very Scottish. And very humane as well, despite the crime, violence and sex.
Immaginatevi questo libro come una tavola imbandita di tutti i piatti che preferite, già ve li state gustando con gli occhi, ma man mano che li assaggiate, vi accorgete che manca un ingrediente fondamentale e che senza quello ogni piatto rimane sì mangiabile, ma nulla di più. Ecco, questa è l'impressione che mi ha lasciato la lettura del libro di Brookmyre; gli elementi per una buona storia ci sono tutti (trama, intreccio, personaggi, dialoghi), ma è come se mancasse quel "qualcosa" che poteva c...more
For lovers of pulp fiction it would be appealing. I didn't care much for the characters at the end, and in fact didn't offer any more than what I had already seen in countless bank robber films. The story was easily read and in parts funny, but I'm not in any rush to pick up another Brookmyre publication.
Gentleman thief plots and schemes to get his own back on the drug lord who killed his father, and on the way gets involved in lovely gun-toting police officer. But it's more than that. Let me sum up... Rated M for adult themes, violence, frequent coarse language. 3.5/5
I loved this - Brookmyre does not disappoint. Hilarious and human, but I thought the ending was a bit compressed. I do have to be careful to space him out as the books have such a distinctive style it can be a bit repetitive. Must reread Waiting for Godot soon.
OK, so you probably need a Scottish heritage to get the best out of this book -
but I found it a fun read ; I particularly liked the very different angle on the bank Robbers,
and connection with the main police/woman. I found it clever and entertaining.
but I found it a fun read ; I particularly liked the very different angle on the bank Robbers,
and connection with the main police/woman. I found it clever and entertaining.
This is the one where Agent X meets her match in an absurdist bank robber in Glasgow. It's a love story.
Trademark wit combined with heroics and derring-do. Brookmyre writes arrogant characters that are pretty awesome.
Trademark wit combined with heroics and derring-do. Brookmyre writes arrogant characters that are pretty awesome.
This was the first book of CB's that I read (on the beach on my honeymoon!) and I hunted out more of his after this. All very dark but very funny. Some of his other books are hit and miss, some very entertaining.
This is quite possibly my favourite book. I adore Brookmyre's style of writing in all of his books, but the story in this one clinches it.
It takes the time to relate the events to wider culture, and to explain characters and despite this the story progresses rapidly and excitingly.
The art and criminal scenes intertwine beautifully together making this a beautiful book, which flows with hard, harsh, realistic cultural undertones throughout.
I love Zal's character best of all, which is exactly th...more
It takes the time to relate the events to wider culture, and to explain characters and despite this the story progresses rapidly and excitingly.
The art and criminal scenes intertwine beautifully together making this a beautiful book, which flows with hard, harsh, realistic cultural undertones throughout.
I love Zal's character best of all, which is exactly th...more
I always look out for CB books as they're full of black humour, fallible characters and twisted plots. This is one of my favourites as I thoroughly enjoyed the dangerous relationship between Angelique and Zal.
One of Brookmyre's best. The return of D.I. DeXavia in another episode that could only take place in the west of Scotland. He effortlessly captures the black humour of the institutional and societal racism of Glasgow. More twists and turns than a diving forward in an old firm match.
Great characters, a novel plot that keeps you guessing, some great glesga humour and references, but it keeps losing the plot from time to time. Love the references to Neil Young!
Aug 03, 2011
Simon Parsons
added it
This was my first introduction to Christopher Brookmyre and I thought it was great. A good mix of crime thriller and humour - made me want to read more of his work.
Starts off with a blow job and ends with a bouquet. Only reason it doesn't get 5 stars is the questionable morality - though it is Brookmyre so what did I expect?
More laughs than Rankin while still cutting a good crime story. Brookmyre has a more light hearted approach which lets the story move at reasonable pace.
Made me sit in Buchanan Street, gazing down the road imagining everything happening. Couldn't walk down Buchanan Street again without reliving the story.
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Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels mix politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning, and subsequent works have included One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night, which he said "was just the sort of book he needed to write before he turned 30", and All Fun and Games unti...more
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“Was there anything quite so under-rated in this shallow, plastic, global-corporate, tall-skinny-late, kiddy-meal-and-free-toy, united-colours-of-fuck-you-too world, than a good old-fashioned, no-frills, retail blow-job?”
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