The Art Forger
B.A. Shapiro
B. A. Shapiro’s novel draws you into a world of conspiracy and high-class art, revolving around a real-life 1990 art heist from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In a very Da Vinci Code-esque plot the novel follows a trail of forgery left undiscovered for over a century. And at the very center is a stolen masterpiece by Edgar Degas.
Shapiro is a master at capturing the beauty of paintings with her words. Her writing certainly helped a novice art enthusiast like myself to appreciate the depth and labour which goes into creating a painting. In fact she’s so good at describing the process of both creating and forging a piece of art, it wouldn’t surprise me to discover on the evening news that she’s been moonlighting as an art forger.
The only downside I found to the novel was the protagonist, Claire Roth. Shapiro gets bogged down in describing Claire’s self-doubt and pity, which takes away from the suspense of the plot. But I would highly recommend this novel to any art enthusiast or fan of thrillers.
- Andrew Cruickshank
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