The Sacred Art of Stealing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Christopher Brookmyre |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Satire, Crime, heist, detective, black humour |
| Publisher | Abacus |
| Released | 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & (Paperback) |
| Pages | 416 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-349-11490-0 (paperback edition) |
| Preceded by | A Big Boy did it and Ran Away |
| Followed by | Be My Enemy |
The Sacred Art of Stealing is a satirical crime novel by the Scottish writer Christopher Brookmyre. It is the author's seventh book and is a stand alone sequel to A Big Boy did it and Ran Away.
The book is a tale of the unusual romance between likable thief Zal Innez and D.I. Angelique Di Xavia, the police officer whose job it is to catch him. The book uses a blend of typical Brookmyre black humour, strong language, violence and references to literary and artistic works such as Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.
[edit] Plot summary
The plot of The Sacred Art of Stealing tells the tale of the American Zal Innez, the witty and intellectual art-loving thief, who is under pressure from crime boss Alessandro Estabol to do one last job for him. Zal and his team of fellow failed artists (all named after absurdist writers and painters) use unorthodox methods such as firing skin irritants at armed police, staging plays and drawing for hostages and carrying fake guns to rob a Glasgow bank. It is during this robbery that Zal falls for Angelique Di Xavia, heroine of Brookmyre's previous novel, and expert police officer who is under-appreciated by her bosses.
A link is formed between them, and a relationship is eventually formed, despite the fact that Zal is fully aware Angelique is after him, going as far as to actually use this knowledge to complete his final job.
[edit] Characters
- Detective Inspector Angleique Di Xavia - Glaswegian police officer and loyal Rangers F.C. supporter, despite the fact her brother is a Celtic F.C fan who feels isolated as a female Asian police officer. Angelique is justifiably annoyed with the attitudes of her senior colleagues who believe her previous heroics were unjustified. When she is held hostage by Zal, the spark of a relationship is created between them and throughout the rest of the book she faces the difficulties of pursuing him while at the same time sympathising with his plight.
- Zal Innez, Machiavellian former artist and bank robber who, having previously screwed Alessandro Estobal, finds himself working for him under Estobal's threat to kill his friend, and guardian in prison, Parnell. Zal is a likeable American, who is drawn to Glasgow for reasons other than the job in hand and combines wit with a vast literary and artistic knowledge and appreciation.
- Alessandro Estobal - heir to the venerable Estobal crime family. Alsessandro is a young hothead, whose rash methods are frowned on by the rest of the organisation. Alessandro holds a grudge against Zal and his friends who rejected him when he tried to join their crowd, he then had them steal several paintings under the threat of killing Zal's father. Zal intentionally messed the job up to land in jail and as a result Alessandro killed his father. Upon Zal's release from prison Alessandro attempts to coerce him into another robbery, this time by threatening to kill Parnell, a prisoner who helped Zal toughen up both mentally and physically while behind bars.
- "American" Harry Arthur - Real name Javier Arture, big-time American gangster and assassin who works for the Estabol family. Harry is very cynical about Alessandro, and believes that he is not up to the job of being the head of the family. As a result he questions many of Alessandro's plans, including his use of Innez, who Harry (correctly) believes cannot be trusted by them. His nickname is derived from his Mexican origins which Harry appears to be ashamed of, and his desire to put himself across as being 100% American.
