The Art Forger question

The descriptions of the artist's internal thought processes and joy in colors and the process of making art reminded me of Blindspot by jane Kamensky. Blindspot has an historical setting, and it's not so much a mystery - but I found it pretty captivating.

And, I'm currently reading Clara and Mr. Tiffany which is about a woman who worked in Louis c. tiffany's studio where they made the lovely stained glass pieces. I'm about 1/2 finished, and it's pretty good. Susan Vreeland is the author and she's written several other historical novels with art as a setting for her characters......

I read this book recently. Though I enjoyed the plot, I wasn't happy with how it was written. The beginning of this book didn't grasp me as much and while reading it I was thinking of dropping this book. But yet, I continued on and finished it. I found the book to be interesting at the end. I really wish the author worked a bit more with this story as well as the characters. This book was lacking in so many ways.

This book just stretched fiction to its limits.The protagonist, Claire Roth, comes off as a bit of a simpleton. I didn’t experience the mystery, the romance or anything else. It was a dud.

I loved The Art Forger and considered it a mystery. Here is my review of it:

The Art Forger by Barbara Shapiro is an intriguing thriller concerning the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. This mystery gives an exciting glimpse into the art world. It is a fictionalized account of the unsolved 1990 art heist at the museum. If you love impressionist art, more specifically Degas, combined with a great story, I highly recommend this book.

Susan Bernhardt

Robin, i agree--i thought the letters were the weakest part of the book. Personally, i wondered why, if she completely meddled in the niece's life, jacked things up with her artist boyfriend, and shoehorned her into a marriage with a dude she didn't care as much for, why THEN would she later trust her with info like, "tee hee, totes modeled nude for Degas last night shhh lol."

And where did they come from? Why were we as readers even privy to them? I kept expecting Claire to find them in the heir's archival boxes of documents, as an explanation for why they even existed as part of the book.

If the Gardner sections were necessary to advance the plot (which i'm not sure they were), the info in the letters could have been revealed in other ways that rang less false.

My book group just read this and it was a good adjunct to The Goldfinch. I liked the story of Claire and her ability to paint in the different ways and what it took, the techniques of painting, etc. I did not like the letters made up to be from Isabella Gardner. They were an example of a pet peeve I have in historical fiction, when a letter (or journal or diary) goes like this

"Today I was with (famous person A) and (famous person B). I will now write a complete transcript of the conversation, including quotation marks. Oh, and don't forget to burn this after you read it!" No one in the history of the world has ever written a letter like that! I think it is possible to create a more convincing letter, but authors are too lazy to do it.

Yes I am a man and still liked The Art Forger. Even though it included a crying jag!

Folks, if you liked this a lot, you may like Caveat Emptor by Ken Perenyi. This is non-fiction and this is the real world of art fraud.

R Felini
author of Chicago Style

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

I visited the Gardner just before I read this book - maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. I liked the Gardner - Degas plot line.

I read this book for my monthly book club. I really enjoyed the description of restoring painting, and forging artwork. I enjoyed reading this book.

Susan, you may be interested in my take of Shapiro's novel. I found it a pleasant but overcrowded blending of fact and fiction in the fine art world of collectors, dealers and forgers...and not much of a literary thriller. Read my review of THE ART FORGER at

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R2C0CS...


Shapiro's novel is definitely not a rehash of the Gardner heist. And I hardly believe that Bostonians were pleased with the book...which proposes that their own Isabella Stewart Gardner had an affair with Edgar Degas!

Read about the Gardner heist in The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft

I loved the book when I read it last year. I am currently taking a four week course on it. I never dreamt there was so much information in it. So far, among other topics, we've discussed why there are so many forgeries and why museums and individuals won't admit having any, why there is so little description of Claire, and how much of the story fits into Isabelle's actual story especially by comparing her letters to what was really happening to her at that time. Another point is that because her will stipulated nothing could be changed, none of the pictures in her museum could be fakes because she bought and verified all of them and there were no further acquisitions.

I loved this book! The combination of historical fiction with a great story about art is fantastic. Other great books about art/artists? I've read some Susan Vreeland, The Agony and the Ecstasy, Girl With a Pearl Earring, and I'm currently reading The Painted Kiss. I also enjoy books about the Nazi art heist - The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History was a favorite! Does anyone have any other books to recommend with art as the subject matter?

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/art...

I enjoyed the book, however, I found it a little hard to believe.

I liked the details and the story line of this book. Interesting exposure to the artworld and it's intrigues.

I found the technical details fascinating and the story pretty good. I just finished "A Nearly Perfect Copy" by Allison Amend. It is a similar in theme...a deal with the devil but the writing isn't as good and the characters not as well developed. But entertaining nonetheless.

I enjoyed this book. I loved the artistic elements and they way Claire describes the artwork and technique is alluring in a way. Markel bothered me a bit. The ending was just too tied up for the weight of this book. I didn't buy that Markel loved her. I thought he was going to be deceitful from the beginning.

I found this book last month and loved it. I agree, there was something "missing" but I'm not sure exactly what it is. I also liked the detail re: reproduction process. I liked that it was based on a real event (the theft from the museum) and extrapolated what the rest of the story might be.

I enjoyed the book, too. I liked the inside 'peek' at the world of art reproduction and as well as learning more about the Gardner heist. I thought the author did a good job of interweaving her fiction with the existing facts.

I thought it was a great book. It reminded me of the movie "The Thomas Crowne Affair" a little bit.

I loved this book as did my entire book group!

I have this on my "to read" list but so many still left to read, so can't comment further just yet :)

Loved this book. I was in the mood for a mystery story and my book club chose this one to read. What a treat!

I read this a few monthes ago. I think the mystery was top notch. I don't read many. I learned about the world of art forgery, and the Gardner heist. I didn't perdict the ending. I found the book intellgent and nicely understated. posting from Guam