What readers think of The Art Forger, plus links to write your own review.

B.A. Shapiro's "The Art Forger" was a very enjoyable read. A couple of plot twists kept me going right through to the end! The detail of the methods of copying master artists and forging famous old works of art were amazing. Book clubs would enjoy this especially if the clubs are interested in finding out about a subject in detail while they are reading a novel. Like Dick Francis's Proof, which taught me all about making whiskey, and Alex Haley's Money, which taught me all about banking, The Art Forger informs while telling a good murder mystery. Some of the story is based on actual events and people which always enhances a mystery for me.
And there is a strong, undaunted female lead!

I found this book to be very enjoyable. I am not an artist, but a lover of art, so the details about how a masterpiece was reproduced were of great interest to me. Also the twists and turns that the story took kept me reading into the night. The author certainly knew or researched all aspects of the art world. I think book clubs would like this book ad would find a lot to discuss.

I loved this book! From the moment I started reading I was absorbed in the story and I could not put the book down! I was eager to learn the secrets of Claire's past and see how that past played a role in the choices she struggled to make as the mystery of the art forgery unfolded. The author has also instilled in me a new appreciation and interest in art. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to the next offering from Shapiro.

There is alot of information regarding the art world both original and forgeries. But there was something about the story and the mystery that got be going from the first page. An enjoyable read.

Perception is not always reality and getting it right sometimes is less important than keeping face, especially if you belong to the upper echelon of the art world. Claire Roth has a real artistic talent but also a stubborn streak that won't let the truth hide even if it costs what she most wants. Can she afford the price?

The book pulls the reader into the world of art, only some of it is not pretty. But it is a page turner. Not a mystery per se but certainly suspenseful.

I'm an art fan and spent wonderful hours with Shapiro's explanations of the business of art forgeries, how they are perfected, how they are unmasked, and how they've made dealers rich - or incarcerated. On that score, I highly recommend the book and confess i enjoyed it all the way through. It is, however, a novel, so demands a story. As a thread tying together the more interesting facts about artists, especially Degas, and the forgery business, it's good enough to fool the reader into feeling like it's a summer read but, on its own - not so good. I turned the last page without feeling I knew the characters, or that they were worth knowing. But who cared? Somehow, as a whole, it's a book I'll pass along to friends, and I salute Shapiro for working fascinating knowledge into soap opera. One frustration: because so much of the story is based on fact, I spent a lot of time on the internet trying to separate truth from fiction - and maybe that's not such a bad thing either.

I love books that start with a well-known and accurate historical fact and then create a piece of fiction around that fact. B. A. Shapiro did just that in her book, The Art Forger. In 1990, various pieces of artwork were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Three of the missing pieces were drawings from Degas. From this we are drawn into a world of stolen art and forgeries.

The main character, Clair, is an artist, who has been maligned in the cutthroat art world. She is skilled at copying specific artists and wants to show her own paintings. Claire is asked to paint/forge a copy of one of the stolen works from the Gardner Museum in trade for a one-woman show of her work. This decision leads her to a search through history and time about the artist, Degas and Isabella Gardner. Is the painting After Bath by Degas an original or a forgery? The plot continues to unfold highlighting the controversial missing painting.

The main character, Claire, as an artist, was easily be led by her desire for exposure for her art, which can be universal in most people's desires. The unfolding of the plot does, at times, slow and then speeds up as in real life where nothing happens and then a waterfall of events occur almost simultaneously. The book does come to a head with a couple of surprises.

The book was an enjoyable read. There was a lot of information about painting styles and materials as well as historical information about paintings. The story did not rush to an ending and did seemingly meander at times going back and forth in time as the story unfolded.

In 1990 the largest unsolved art theft occurred in Boston at the Isabella Stewart Museum: thirteen works of art worth more than $500 million in today's economy. "The Art Forger" is a novel that is tied to this theft. Claire Roth, a struggling artist, is the primary character.

The writer knows her subject matter. She is extremely knowledgeable regarding the art world---descriptions of the details of various paintings are fascinating: brushstrokes; thickness of paints; color saturation; etc. The descriptions of forgers and their "works" are effective additions to the story. In addition, there are descriptions of the tests to determine the authenticity of classical paintings and conversely how forgers can duplicate those test results.

But the book is uneven at times---continuous flashbacks; entire chapters that are unnecessary and add little or nothing to the novel.

In summary: I really wanted to like this book and did enjoy part of it. However, for me it's an average read.