Fake
“The life I had been leading since that first night at Lenny’s was not my own. I couldn’t afford it if I worked one hundred lifetimes. It was pretend, make-believe. Fake.”
Let’s talk about Fake by Erica Katz. I wasn’t familiar with Katz’s previous work before I came across this one, but I did hear a few spoiler free reviews of this one before I picked it up. I’m really glad I did because this was a different book than I would’ve thought based on its marketing campaign. If you’re expecting a heist novel or a thriller, this isn’t it.
I would categorize this book more as a contemporary novel because while there is a mystery with a twist, that’s not the main focus of the book. Was I fooled by the twist(s) in this book? No. Did I care? Not really because I was more interested by the inside look into art collecting and forgery.
Emma Caan is an aspiring artist who is trying to make a living in NYC by copying famous works of art. If you’re thinking this is a forgery thriller, it’s not. She does this legally and is commissioned by the Met and super wealthy art collectors to help them protect the originals. Her life is completely turned around when she meets Leonard Sobetsky, a billionaire art collector who takes Emma under his wing and introduces her to the art world she’s been dreaming of. After accepting an offer at a gallery and getting a taste of NYC’s high society life, Emma also begins to see the dark underbelly of Leonard’s world.
This book is really for people who love the art world and are fascinated by the behind the scenes of how galleries and auctions are run. I went into it knowing next to nothing about art collecting, so I was intrigued by everything I was learning about this unseen side of the industry.
“It would be simply too tragic to be mediocre at copying somebody else’s work, even if I had already resigned myself to the fact that my own paintings were unexceptional. Technically superior. Emotionally detached.”
I also enjoyed watching Emma’s character growth throughout the story. As she begins to achieve everything she’s ever wanted, she realizes that her dream life is completely different than she expected, and nothing about it is genuine and real. She also grapples with her own dark past, and while I thought that part of the plot was pretty extreme and not fully necessary, I liked how Katz came back to the theme of “real” versus “fake,” both in the paintings themselves and glamorous city life that many people dream of entering. Over all, I appreciated that Emma was given a full character arch that was both messy and satisfying in the end.
I recommend this to anyone who is fascinated by the NYC art world but also to anyone who has every wondered what would happen if they actually achieved their wildest dreams…only to find out that it looks a lot different than they’d thought it would. If you like a contemporary novel with a twist, this could be the book for you.
What To Read Next:
If you’re interested in another book about the fates of ordinary people when they are thrust into the spotlight, I recommend The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close. While Fake focused on the art world, this one dives into U.S. politics, and our main character learns that there is a lot more to government than policy.
A book that more directly dives into white collar scams is Cover Story by Susan Rigetti. This book follows an NYU student who dreams of working for a magazine. She finds a way into the door through a contributing editor at Elle, but she soon learns that her new mentor has some shady intentions.
Another book I’ve read that dabbles in the art scene is The Idea of You by Robinne Lee. The main character owns a gallery, but honestly the art references end there once she meets a young pop star and they start getting to know each other. This book is a romance, so it’s significantly less dark than Fake, but it also doesn’t shy away from some difficult conversations, especially considering the age difference between the main characters.
