About this title: Chaz Wilmot's father is a famous illustration artist, in the vein of Norman Rockwell. Chaz has not only inherited his skill but has surpassed him and is in fact, an artistic genius. With a very ill son and an estranged wife whom he still loves but cannot provide for financially, Chaz accepts a commission to 'restore' an antique fresco in a European castle. When he gets there, he discovers there's very little left to restore and the job is more of a 're-creation'; some would call it a forgery. And he does it brilliantly. His forgery is so good it leads to other opportunities. Backed by the son ...
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Description: Good. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Purchasing this item supports Pierce County libraries. Thriftbooks and PCL have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: HarperLuxe
Date Published: 2008-05-01
ISBN-13:9780061469039ISBN:0061469033
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Description: Good. 0060874481 Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
"What an interesting concept. An unsuccessful,dissatisfied New York artist takes part in a drug trial and goes back in time to become one of the greatest artists of Europe. The kind of novel I love to read - imaginative, complex, and well-written. Michael Gruber has just become one of my newest favorite authors."
"If memory defines identity of self and our sensory input provides us with place and time, who are we when these things change and shift about when we attempt to use them? Is Charles Wilmont an artistically unfulfilled commercial illustrator with all of the baggage of an unhappy lifetime or is he Don Diego de Silva y Velazquez, court favorite of the King of Spain in the sixteenth century ? He's not certain and you'll be equally undecided until the very end of this intriguing tale. This is a rich and complex story that is convincingly written and one that continually keeps the reader guessing. It made me a Gruber fan."
"I figure I have to read any book that Ali gives five stars.
Based on the little I read about it, I was expecting a very different book. Words like "thriller", "suspense", and "mystery" are bandied about on the Amazon review snippets, but they don't really apply.
This is more of a rumination on authenticity and identity, especially as they relate to art.
I think I would've enjoyed it more if I'd known anything at all about visual art. Maybe someday someone will write a book about forging a lost Pavement album. I'll be all over that one."
"This could almost be considered a fantasy - or maybe it really is a bona fide fantasy. After all, an immensely talented artist (who refuses to truckle to the masses or pander to art critics or basically do anything but be true to himself - but he doesn't know who he is) keeps having extremely realistic fantasies that he is Velasquez (the famous Spanish painter of yore), to the point that he knows details of V.'s life that he couldn't possibly know unless he really was experiencing some kind of wild soul-transference. Mix this with an over-the-top plot involving powerful, rich, and scary businessmen who deal in art forgeries, and you have the stuff of a good story. I had two major problems, though - I hated the "I am narrating this whole story on tape" device, which is always ludicrous when the narration doesn't sound verbal but is quite writerly instead. Also, while our "hero" Charles Wilmot Jr. is sorta likable despite also being hugely irritating in his inexplicable unhappiness, it's hard to get to know him. It's never clear who he is or why folks like him (or dislike him) - which I suppose is sort of the point, as he not only thinks he's V. half the time, but also suffers from amnesia. Or does he?? So - a slightly high-toned artistic pot-boiler."
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