The Art Forger

By: B. A. Shapiro

Narrated by: Xe Sands

Length: 10 hrs

Publisher's summary

On March 18, 1990, thirteen works of art, today worth over $500 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. It remains the largest unsolved art heist in history, and Claire Roth, a struggling young artist, is about to discover that there's more to this crime than meets the eye.

Making a living reproducing famous artworks for a popular online retailer and desperate to improve her situation, Claire is lured into a Faustian bargain with Aiden Markel, a powerful gallery owner. She agrees to forge a painting - a Degas masterpiece stolen from the Gardner Museum - in exchange for a one-woman show in his renowned gallery. But when that very same long-missing Degas painting is delivered to Claire's studio, she begins to suspect that it may itself be a forgery.

Her desperate search for the truth leads Claire into a labyrinth of deceit where secrets hidden since the late 19th century may be the only evidence that can now save her life.

©2012 Barbara Shapiro (P)2012 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"A clever, twisty novel about art, authenticity, love, and betrayal. B. A. Shapiro knows about Degas, and she knows about art theft and forgery, and she also knows how to tell a gripping story." (Tom Perrotta)

Loved every minute

Not very often that I get an audible book where I literally cannot wait until next time I climb into my car. This'd fed was one of those books. I have a half an hour in each direction to work and home and during the day getting back to it was one of the happy thoughts of my day.

great read

What made the experience of listening to The Art Forger the most enjoyable?

I loved the book, I thought it was entertaining and exciting...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes the plot was very suspenseful!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Neither...it was just enjoyable from start to finish!

the art forger made me want to paint

very well written and entertaining.. made me wish I could smell and feel what was being described

Very uneven.

Some of the story was slow and sappy some of it well paced and exciting. Not a great reader; it was occasionally difficult to discern when she changed characters. Overall worthwhile if you are interested in the art scene

Worth the Effort, but Some Effort is Required

To be clear, this is a good audiobook. Xe's performance and obvious talent bring every conversation in the book to life. It's certainly a pleasant read, and one that goes by fast, with quick chapters and thoroughly engaging plot points every few minutes.

That being said, this is a book about the art world, and that means it includes all the painfully high-minded, vague idealism and abstraction one would expect from a cast of art school students and professors. There are long stretches of internal monologue, exposition, history lessons, and how-to's that just don't make for good reading. Throw in the protagonist's tendency toward cliche descriptions of everything that she goes through (e.g., "the silence was deafening.") , and you end up with solidly 25-40% of the book tough to sit through. Plus, the cast of minor characters never contribute quite enough to fully build out Claire's world. It can feel more than a little solipsistic at times, but perhaps that's just Claire's nature.

I'm being overly critical here because this isn't my typical fare. There is more than enough here--an enveloping plot, an interesting protagonist, obscure art facts, and two stories, 3 years apart, intertwined-- to make it your monthly listen, or to dive into a world you might not much about. Forgery is certainly never something I would have expected to be interesting, and this book manages to do the subject justice throughout, with plenty of humanity and drama in between.

The Narrator Makes it a Hard Listen

OK story, interesting premise that could have been told faster.
The narrator makes the main character unbelievably whiney and difficult to sympathize with. The male voices all sound the same and are equally whiney. Save your credit and buy the actually book - it might make the story better.

Worth a sale credit - listen to a sample first

Here's what I liked about this book: There weren't a lot of coincidences, not a lot of aha moments, and not a very forgiving attitude toward the main character.

Here's what I didn't like: The main character, the story's lack of depth, and the narration.

Regarding the narration: I felt the narrator's voice was too old for the character, too shaky, too verge-of-tears at all times. For someone who is neither an artist nor a collector, I needed to care about the characters to care about the story, and the narration left me wishing for a younger, hipper, and (while notably wronged and weak after her experiences) savvier person to take me through the processes.

Very Entertaining Art and Crime Story

Any additional comments?

Not a towering literary feat, but a good strong story that I thoroughly enjoyed. Wonderful writing about impressionist art and forgery techniques. Art lovers will particularly like this book, but even if you don't think of yourself as an art love you might want to try this---it could well turn you into a fan of the impressionists. Highly recommended.

Mixed Bag

While parts of this book were quite interesting, the narration was not very good. All of Ms. Sands' male characters sounded the same, like they had strep throat as well as a hangover. The big surprise at the end was pretty obvious for the last three hours of the book.

Great Great

Great story I loved all the references to original works and artists. the reader was ok..didnt like her "man" voice. sounded like they were waking up from a nap or trying to sound sexy. but over all she was good