A quick reader with enough fodder to sustain discussion.

Loved this book and learned a little bit about art along the way!

THE ART FORGER by B.A. Shapiro

This book will have you thinking about ALL the times you (or others) are influenced by what you EXPECT rather than what you actually see or hear or experience.
Although Shapiro uses real artist’s names and works, the novel is only loosely – very loosely – based on an actual robbery. Claire has been blackballed because of art work she has done that was attributed to another and hailed as a masterpiece. Now she is asked to copy (forge?) a masterpiece by Degas that is part of the well-known heist of artwork from the Gardner Museum. I enjoyed learning the “art’ of forgery as much as I enjoyed the plot of the novel. Claire is believable and likeable. The work of the artist is written so that even artistic ignoramuses (like me) can understand the process.
The plot is engrossing and keeps your attention even through the art process sections. Book groups will have a field day with self-fulfilling prophecy, ethics in the work place, art appreciation, collecting objects (especially valuable ones from other cultures), family secrets, black balling, stolen art and over reaching police. A visit to an art museum, especially one with several Degas works, would be a great introduction or wrap-up for this novel. A corollary discussion might be our attitudes towards novels by “best-selling” authors.

I thought it was just ok. Some interesting facts in the story but not the best writing.

Wonderful! Great book for group discussions. Every, yes every member of our club enjoyed this selection.

Very interesting. A great book for discussion.

The author does a great job of shedding light on the scruples of the art world and forgeries. Sent many bookclub members straight to google to verify. The author poses some interesting ethical questions regarding the things done in the name of love, trust and awe.

I was pleasantly surprised that most of the women in the book club found the book intriguing and believable. While I studied art in college, I found the process of forgery fascinating. Others in our book group came away with a new appreciation for art and artistic ability. However, I thought that many of the story lines, characters, and the descriptions of events were unconvincing.

Perhaps Shapiro tried to create too much of the story herself instead of incorporating historical facts into the storyline. While I know the book isn\\\'t labeled as historical fiction, the book was inspired by the actual robbery of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. As a former resident of Cambridge, I\\\'d hoped to conjure up more descriptive pictures of the Boston. I hoped to learn more about Isabella in the process as well, but it seems most of the events in the book that involved her were fictional. I think the book is unconvincing because it lacks so much in historical fact.

I picked up the book hoping that it would be a great read about art and the art world. However, after our book club discussions I think it was perhaps more a book based on Shapiro\\\'s history as a Sociologist. When reading about how she was rejected from many publicists on the basis of the book not really being in a certain category or genre, I now understand why. While I enjoyed the book, it wasn\\\'t what I expected when I chose it to read. I wish she would have been persuaded to base the book more in reality than fiction, less on sociology and deviant behaviors, and more in a place of further informing the reader about the history surrounding Degas and art during his time.

enjoyed the main character and the dillema she faced as well as her insecurities. Interesting informative description of art reproduction

good interesting mystery

Tons of great insights into how the art world works behind the scenes with forgeries and stolen paintings. Fun characters and a few twists make this a great beach read with a point

Though there were some improbable plot twists, the depiction of the art world and the art of forgery were fascinating. Creative people are not regular people, as pointed out in the book.

Especially fun for people who know Boston and the Gardener Museum

It channeled our inner artist...We loved learning about the art world and it\\\'s mysteries.
Our book club is so excited and can\\\'t wait to go explore the Boston\\\'s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum!!!

The plot, built around the unsolved art theft from the Isabella Gardner museum in Boston and Shapiro\\\\\\\'s embellished tales of the eccentric Isabella Gardner, concerns a struggling artist, Claire, who is asked to \\\\\\\"copy\\\\\\\" a Degas masterpiece. Most of our club found the plot predictable; but that did not keep our members from reading the book. Claire\\\\\\\'s involvement with the forgery raised questions of morality, cognitive dissonance, and the effects of the beauty of art on individuals. Detailed descriptions of the process of art forgery and the actual Gardener museum in Boston were also interesting.

I love a well researched, well written story that gets the details right. There's nothing not to love about this book. While the characters are flawed & make some seriously morally & ethically challenged choices, they aren't truly despicable or evil. They are quite simply flawed human beings. The passages relative to the details of painting were fascinating & added depth to story. This was a great read.

We had a great discussion headed by our art teacher member. Historical information and the painting information to those of us with no idea what is involved was very interesting. Much research put into the book and I'd read the author again.

This review of THE ART FORGER contradicts most other reviews of the book. Honestly, though, more than half of it is boring unless the reader is an artist or art historian. For the rest of us, it is too full of details about composing a painting, a copy of a painting, and a forgery of a painting.

Half of the second half is interesting, but it still isn't a page turner. Claire, the main character, is an artist whose ambition has gotten her involved in the forgery of a painting she knows to be a forgery, not the original. Things have now come down to her lover being jailed for stealing the original and Claire's search for the original to prove that the (illegal) forgery is really a (legal) copy.

The other half of the second half (the last quarter of the book) is a page turner. So, considering that three quarters of the book is just ho hum, I can't say I liked it.

The rest of the members in my book club, however, said they did like it, so I gave it a thumb's up for that reason. They found it informative and interesting.

3.54 a good fast read.

Well crafted classy mystery novel. Entertaining mix of fact and fiction employing the famous unsolved art theft from the Gardner Museum in Boston at the center of the plot. First chapter starts off a bit too mystery- novel- by- the- numbers, but the story quickly picks up. Characters are well drawn and the plot has a nice amount of twists and turns which for the most part will keep you guessing till the end, or at least close to the end. The author does a good job of setting the story in its Boston locale and lots of very interesting details about the how tos of forging a painting. The book also explores the dilemma of what is great art, who is qualified to judge it and is an artist’s work worth high prices because of talent, infamy or both. The ending won’t disappoint.

I found the book boring and redundant and a pretty unbelievable situation. I couldn't bring myself to finish it (I read about 2/3) as I prefer to spend my time reading a story that interests me. This did not.

Very entertaining and a good read. I liked the peek into the Art World and how paintings are sold, stolen. and counterfited.

Worth reading for the information on forgeries in the field of art and on how the forger does the forgery. The story itself is a little short on substance sometimes, and a bit unbelievable at others, but still worth the read and the discussion

This book delves into the dark and mysterious world of art forgeries. Combined with characters who are conflicted by circumstances, the story weaves a world of mystery, romance, ethical dilemmas, and art facts into a delightful read.

I can't believe I've had this in my Nook library for over a year and never read it. I found this story engaging and informative on the world of art. I'd never given much thought to the world of forgery in the art community but am still pondering the recurring theme that there are likely tons of art hanging in museums today that are actually forgeries.

Claire is a painter -- a good painter, in fact, an exceptional painter. Years ago her boyfriend, also an artist, is suffering from the equivalent of writer's block. To help jump start his creative mind working, she starts a painting for him. His lack of enthusiasm lies dormant and she continues working on the canvas. The end result is a masterpiece that he eventually claims as his own. When he dumps her at the onset of his renewed success, she claims she is the real artist and becomes blacklisted among the art world.

Making a living creating reproductions of famous art, she is given a chance to create a duplicate of what she is told is an original late 1800 painting that was stolen some 21 years ago with many other works of art that have yet to surface. It is there the real story begins and Claire is torn between seeking the truth, knowing the truth and divulging the truth. Who can she trust and how far can she afford to twist the truth in the name of fame and recognition?

A forger's life relies on knowing that most times the eyes see what they want to see so the goal is to perfect the art of deception. But secrets, shame and cover-ups have plagued 3 generations of one family with ties to the art theft and window of truth is slowing closing.

You must look closely at all characters in this story because beauty isn't also in the eye of the beholder.

It was so interesting to see the other side of the art world and how the author developed the characters. Even though a work of fiction, the main focus was based on an actual event made it even more intriguing. It makes me want to visit the Isabella Gardner Museum and look for the empty frames of the stolen works of art.