Big Books of Spring
Counterfeit

Questions About Counterfeit

by Kirstin Chen (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (9)

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Stephanie I wondered if it was embellished for the Detective since Ava was really trying to make the detective feel bad for her and hammer home the sob story. M…moreI wondered if it was embellished for the Detective since Ava was really trying to make the detective feel bad for her and hammer home the sob story. Maybe in real life it was just a phase he grew out of.(less)
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Why didn’t Winnie and Ava just sell the fake bags directly online? If they were good enough to dupe sales associates, presumably they were good enough to dupe online buyers…what was the benefit of taking the extra risk of using shoppers to return a fake bag for a real one? Did I completely miss it in the book where this is explained?!
Judith In the department store scam, they get an authentic bag for free, which they can mix-in with their superfakes online to establish authenticity. It wor…moreIn the department store scam, they get an authentic bag for free, which they can mix-in with their superfakes online to establish authenticity. It worked for a long time because department stores have busy clerks, big inventories, & strict customer service policies. They don't want to alienate rich customers with receipts, so transactions take place quickly, usually with no questions asked, as opposed to online purchasers who are already hyper-suspicious & have time to check things out.(less)
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Is anyone else not going to read this book because it doesn’t use quotation marks? A friend told me about it. It’s not the first book with this stupid quirk. I absolutely refuse to read any book written that way. It offends my professional editor’s soul.
Judith I'm an old-school retired English teacher, but I had no problem reading this book & I actually love this trend! In my opinion, "said" is dead, & it's…more I'm an old-school retired English teacher, but I had no problem reading this book & I actually love this trend! In my opinion, "said" is dead, & it's time to rethink quote-clutter. Readers already use anticipatory skills to follow conversations, so speeding up dialogue without interruption makes it more realistic. Don't know why this would offend you...I would call it innovative, rather than a "stupid quirk!" (less)
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Do you believe the designer handbag psychology presented in this book? What kind of people would pay $14,000 for a purse, & why?
Linh Things like designer handbags can be signifiers of a certain economic class or social status. As Winne says in the beginning, people are more respectf…moreThings like designer handbags can be signifiers of a certain economic class or social status. As Winne says in the beginning, people are more respectful of her when she wears a bag: they ask her fewer questions and inherently trust her more. The opposite is true as well; sometimes people are treated poorly if they're dressed cheaply or drive a broken-down car or whatever. So some people pay to have a status symbol, to communicate to the world that they belong to an elite club and deserve the privileges that come with it. I think one of the themes of the book is that from an outsider's perspective, it's easy to see how commodities get tied to people's self-worth and perception in the US and that can leave people open to being exploited. (less)
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Anyone else care to discuss the ending/epilogue?
Allison
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