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)

fun and entertaining

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes,, kept my interest the entire book. I was sorry it had to end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Art Forger?

If I tell you it would ruin reading the book

Have you listened to any of Xe Sands’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

no

Who was the most memorable character of The Art Forger and why?

Obviously, the main character. It was written in the first person

Any additional comments?

Great read. Full of suspense. I found myself rooting for the heroine

Meh

I find the story fascinating, but the main character boring. Also weak. I am tired of opulence being so blinded by love that they make so many careless mistakes. She definitely wasn't a character to get behind. The narrator sounded like she was high.

Artfully written.

The narrator's male characters all sounded the same - like sleepy drunks. Still enjoyed it.

a real winnerc

I was sorry to have it end. Engaging story with a lot of real information. Well paced. Highly reccommend

ENJOY!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Art Forger to be better than the print version?

I liked the print better.

What did you like best about this story?

It moved quickly and kept me interested

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Any additional comments?

A friend had suggested this book and I am so glad she did!

Great read

Loved it, kept me engrossed, like The Goldfinch. The subject is fascinating and author did a wonderful job making the world of working artists real.

Perhaps a different narrator?

Wasn't sure whether Claire, the main character, was already whiney, or if it was the narrator making her seem so. Likely it's both, tho she also sometimes surprisingly showed grit and determination. I had trouble liking Claire for that reason, plus her petty and supposedly non-petty reasons for suddenly divulging big secrets, which invariably put her in a bad light.It was also hard to trust the gallery owner who brought her the Degas. And I never really knew why she kept it a secret from him that she thought it too was a forgery.

That said, the world of artists was compelling, and some parts of the plot were interesting.

The narrator did do a good job in some parts, like the letters from Belle.

Great story, Perfect narration

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this to anyone. I listen while I work out and this excellent book proved to be a great motivator

What other book might you compare The Art Forger to and why?

The Geographer. A wonderful combination of detailed (but not boring) technical information and superb storytelling.

Which character – as performed by Xe Sands – was your favorite?

Clearly the protagonist Claire, but the narrator did a great job with all characters.... across genders. I prefer a single talented narrator to audio "theater" with many voices.

Who was the most memorable character of The Art Forger and why?

They were all multidimensional. Claire's logical pursuit of a "real" mystery was very intriguing. And, the complication of her personal backstory and relationships were perfect.

Any additional comments?

This is a good book. You don't need to care about art. You don't need to care about mysteries, though this is both. It's just a good story, well done.

Glimpse into the rarefied world of art and museums

This is an interesting story with twists and turns about the art world and how it operates. It can be absolutely cut-throat and mean-spirited. I learned a lot about forgery techniques, and, most interesting, how stolen, unrecovered works of art (like those still missing as a result of the Gardner Museum heist in 1990) are used as collateral by drug dealers, terrorists, etc. Who knew!?

However, be advised that the characters in this book are not terribly likable, and serially make poor choices. The main character, a 30-something female with an MFA (so, highly educated) ends up hoist by her own petard as a result of such a series of poor, stupid, short-sighted choices, and when called to account turns into the emotional equivalent of a 4-year-old child, blubbering, terrified and barely incoherent. I expected the very next thing would be that she would wet herself. The most likable character turns out to be ... wait for it ... a lawyer. Hmmmm.

I would recommend this book to someone interested in the rarefied world of art and forgery and museums - but I would recommend the hardcopy book rather than this narration. The voice of the narrator used here - Xe Sands - is excruciatingly difficult to listen to, suffering, as she does, from a severe case of what linguists refer to as "vocal fry", so common to the young women of today. The ENTIRE STORY is told using a series of these creaky, awful voices. (I actually went and researched Xe Sands and interestingly - she appears to have won narrative awards - so I listened to several (5 in total) other narrations by her, and ALL of them displayed this chosen tendency, so it was not a technique that she employed as an artistic choice for this narration - it's just How. She. Talks.) And it's simply ghastly - truly the vocal equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. I frequently listen to books I have purchased on Audible multiple times, but not with this purchase. I will never listen to this book again, and I will never purchase another book read by this narrator.

Good story, but poorly executed.

What did you like best about The Art Forger? What did you like least?

This is an interesting story, chock full of facts about artists, art and forgery, but the writing is amateurish, at best, and the narrator sounds as though she is about to burst into tears every paragraph.