The Art Forger: A Novel

I would probably give this book 3.5 stars due to the art education I gleaned! As an art lover, I found this book rather intriguing. I liked learning more about the techniques in copying old masterpieces - such as baking a canvas in between each applied layer of paint, or painting varnish on top to age or yellow the painting, etc. Now I'm still not inclined to change hobbies or careers since I don't have ANY artistic abilities when it comes to painting itself (HA!), and I highly doubt I would be of any use in discovering a forgery either, but I still enjoyed discovering tricks of the trade and the history of art forgeries within these pages. I found it rather compelling.

Now the plot and romance that developed in the story was predictable and less brilliant than the "nerdy" art details that I found so fascinating, but overall, it was an enjoyable read.

I read this for book club and while at times it was a bit tedious describing various art processes, and other times a bit sophomoric going into the protagonist's love life, in the ends it is the overlapping story arcs and delightful twists that led me to this book's 4-star review.

RS gave 3 stars

Could not put it down until the end.