When I decided to read Theft, I thought it would be about theft in the metaphorical sense. And it is, but Theft is also about theft in the literal sense – art theft, identity theft and authorship theft. It is somewhere between love story and thriller, exposing a seedy underbelly of the art world and the moral grey area involved in authorship, ownership and creativity.
The story begins in the middle of nowhere, Australia, as the painter Michael Boone is getting back on his feet (creatively and financially) after a messy divorce. His brother Hugh is forever in his care, and the novel is narrated from both brothers’ perspective. The beautiful Marlene enters their lives, leading them into dark side of the art world through her involvement in authenticating the work of a deceased painter. The adventure is compelling, the love story is believable and the characters very real. I haven’t read Peter Carey before, but will certainly do so in the future.
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