(6/19/2006)
Theft is everything I yearn for in a book. It is beautifully, lyrically written in first person and more amazingly for serious fiction, not serious -- not even a little depressing. Open the covers and you fall immediately into the bizarre modern world of art scamming, set in Australia, no less. Carey's Butcher boys tell a tale. That tale involves tragically broken metatarsals, burned down high schools, missing 1 1/2" from great art masterpieces, Japanese art buyers of dubious character, secret apartments in Manhattan. Throughout the Bones boys take turns telling their version, a Laurel and Hardy of great literature. The flavor of it lingers deliciously afterward.I can't wait to recommend it to my book club.