Features
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 336 pages
- Published by: William Morrow April 1, 2008
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0060874481
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060874483
-
Book Dimensions:
9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
- Weighs: 10.4 ounces
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bestseller Gruber (
The Book of Air and Shadows) probes the boundaries between sanity and madness in his outstanding sixth novel. Talented Chaz Wilmot, who makes a modest living as a commercial artist in
New York City, can't say no when Mark Slade, his former Columbia roommate who now owns a downtown gallery, offers him $150,000 to fix a ruined Tiepolo ceiling in a Venetian palazzo (the ceiling had essentially collapsed, so it wasn't a restoration job exactly but more like a reproducing job). Once abroad, Wilmot gets sucked into an increasingly bizarre world where his own identity is confused and the art he produces may be a forgery but is genuinely awesome. Is Wilmot crazy or is he being manipulated in a grandiose scheme linked to unrecovered art stolen by the Nazis? Gruber writes passionately and knowledgeably about art and its history—and he writes brilliantly about the shadowy lines that blur reality and unreality. Fans of intelligent, literate thrillers will be well rewarded.
(Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"Irrisistible. Fast, Frightening and, as usual, richly imagined."
Reader Reviews
Michael Gruber is a fine writer. I have read all of his published work with the exception of "The Witch's Boy". The omission is not for a specific reason; I simply have not gotten to that work as of yet. Just as he did with "The Book Of Air And Shadows" he provides the reader with the background that is necessary for the enjoyment of this work. You did not need to be a scholar of Shakespeare to enjoy his last book and you need not be an art history major any more than you need a degree in psychiatry or medicine to enjoy his offering this time through. This book is about reality and various characters perception of it. The views of events are made more complex because of the history of the main character and those around him who witnessed his bizarre and destructive behavior. Perception of experience in general and events in particular make for fascinating discussion with sober minds and witnesses with integrity. The author has given us a protagonist who is at once gifted and terribly self-destructive. His recreational drug use suggests he has the constitution of a lab rat. When sober he then becomes a voluntary test subject for mind-altering drugs in a clinical study. Once this begins things get a bit too muddled. We don't need a Nazi playing the role of resident evil and the cast of characters ready to exploit the main character regardless of the damage to him is remarkable for these are not all strangers. Mr. Gruber gives us acquaintances of varying degree to demonstrate how horrible we can be to one another. I also felt the debates between characters in the book about what is real truly was about what is expedient. Self-interest trumps insight in this tale. I really enjoy this author and I look forward to what he will bring next. Despite some bits I found annoying I like the central character in this work and would happily enjoy reading of him again. Mr. Gruber has written multiple books with the same characters in the past, I hope he does so once more.
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