Forgery

The spellbinding new novel from the award-winning author of The Caprices and A Carnivore's Inquiry transports us to a mysterious world of deception, political intrigue, and desire. In the summer of 1963, American Rupert Brigg travels to Greece to collect classical pieces for his Uncle William's art collection. Rupert's first discovery, however, is that Athens is a shadowy place that hides a tangle of fork-tongued diplomacy and duplicitous women, a city of replicas and composites that, like a hall of mirrors, calls to question what is real and what is false. Journeying to the secluded island of Aspros, among a circle of artists and aristocrats each with their own secrets, Rupert finds the very pieces he's searching for, but can he escape the tragedy that ended his brief marriage? As beautiful as Rupert's discoveries are, beneath the surface lurk rumors of insurrection, fabrication, and even murder. Seductive, compelling, and sly, Forgery is a sophisticated book about the value and meaning of art, love and the corrosive power of grief.

"Murray's latest, following the PEN/Faulkner Award — winning The Caprices (2002) and A Carnivore's Inquiry (2005), opens in the summer of 1963, as art and antiquities dealer Rupert Brigg travels to Athens to scout out ancient artifacts on behalf of his millionaire uncle, William. Rupert, who narrates icily in sharp contrast to his garrulous personality, connects with Steve Kelly, a canny journalist with deep contacts. The scene shifts to the island of Aspros, where Rupert encounters a coterie of expatriates that includes the sculptor Jack Weldon, who, despite art world recognition, spends most of his time faking up Achilles and Diomedes, and Rupert's romantic interest, the withering, erratic Olivia. Just as Rupert is deciding whether or not he has come up with the archeological find of the century — a spurious second century A.D. torso dredged up in a zucchini field — the offstage murder of a prominent character is phoned in by Steve Kelly. One by one, Rupert's own secrets (a stifled childhood, a spectacularly failed marriage) are slowly revealed, showcasing Murray's narrative cunning, and setting the narrative's pulse racing. Rupert's true identity is the book's parallel mystery, and Murray has one believing that discretion may be the soul of fraudulence until the ambiguous dnouement, which leaves readers to re-evaluate the pieces of plot for authenticity. (June)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"In some ways, Sabina Murray's fourth book...reads like a screenplay for a smart thriller, built on a number of exciting and mysterious plot points and involving a large cast of international characters who all converge on sun-soaked Greece." Chicago Tribune

"With assurance and style, Murray plumbs issues of identity and provenance. She plays with notions of deceit and of rebellion on levels ranging from personal to political." Seattle Times

"Murray does a lovely job of transporting us to mid-1960s Greece....Forgery is a deeply complex, emotionally and intellectually rewarding novel about the lengths people can go to to make themselves into the people they wish they were." Booklist

Sabina Murray grew up in Australia and the Philippines and is a member of the MFA faculty at the University of Massachusetts. She is the author of Slow Burn, A Carnivore's Inquiry, and The Caprices, which won the 2003 PEN/Faulkner award for fiction.