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Fake Like Me
- Author
- Barbara Bourland
- Narrator
- Xe Sands
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Publish Date
- 11 July 2019
- Run Time
- 10 hours 47 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
She was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol.
FAKE
I was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world.
LIKE
When she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, by
ME
Everything that gets created destroys something else.
When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat.
Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self.
The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero?
With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts.
(P) 2019 Hachette Audio
Critics Review
-
A ridiculously propulsive page turner. Barbara Bourland has written a 'du Maurier-esque' literary thriller about sexual jealousy and artistic legacy, a gorgeously scathing critique of the New York art scene, and a warning about the deadly consequences of stifling female expression. Could. Not. Put. It. Down.
Lisa Gabriele, author of The Winters
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In Bourland's decadent twist on the classic campus novel, a group of struggling artists succeed beyond their wildest dreams, but at what cost? Gloriously mordant, and just the right amount of rococo, you have to start your summer with this glittering new read.
Courtney Maum, author of I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You
-
I love Fake Like Me. It's the perfect smart-thriller paradox: you'll be driven to finish the twisting plot, but you will not want the narrator's insightful observations to end. Drop everything to follow Bourland's brilliant young painter to Pine City, the upstate artist colony with its crumbling camp buildings and secret histories. You will not see the art world - or a woman's place in it - the same way again.
Maria Hummel, author of Still Lives
-
With her trademark flair and razor-sharp attention to detail, Barbara Bourland offers the reader an incisive exploration of the tension between the desire to make art and the desire to make money. Fake Like Me is satirical, brilliantly realised, and has a twist you simply won't see coming
Louise O'Neill, bestselling author of Asking For It
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
A satirical take on the contemporary art scene - smart, witty and eye-opening. This gripping tale throws back the curtain on a world of secrets and intrigue
Liv Constantine, author of The Last Mrs Parrish
-
A menacing, swirling, hypnotic dance of parties, art, sex, and, ultimately, startling revelations. Readers eager for a glimpse into the New York art scene will be enthralled . . . A haunting, dizzying meditation on identity and the blurred lines between life and art
Kirkus, starred review
-
The narrator tells the glitteringly compelling tale of her fevered summer and wisely reveals meaningful intersections of class, gender, and making art.
Booklist (starred review)
-
Exceptional thriller . . . Bourland expertly shines a light on the nature of female ambition and desire and the often dark heart of inspiration. Readers fascinated with the blood, sweat, and tears of creating art will be especially rewarded.
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
Bourland has an astonishing ability to write viscerally about art, culture, class, and landscape, for a work that's bound to be one of the summer's biggest crime/literary crossovers.
LitHub
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An impressively intelligent thriller set in the art world . . . Expect insightful paragraphs about the creative process sprinkled among the propulsive mystery.
Refinery29
-
Meet "art satire thriller," your new favorite genre
HelloGiggles
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Funny, blistering and unapologetic critique of the art scene
Magic Radio
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A convincing account of the tension between the artistic process and the deadly perils of pretension
Daily Mail
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This excellent and suspenseful novel shows how easily art makes people see what suits them
Strong Words
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Bourland gets to the heart of why people create, the impetus within that drives the art and artist forward...Fake Like Me... marks Bourland out as a writer to watch - inventive, colourful and with plenty to say for herself
Irish Times
-
Incredibly vivid and absorbing
Sunday Independent
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Beautiful novel about making art, living art and finding your way in the world
cool panda universal 2026-06-18
Details
- Author
- Barbara Bourland
- Narrator
- Xe Sands
- Duration
- 10 hours 47 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 July 2019
- ISBN
- 9781529403909
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Quercus
- Genre
- Crime and / or mystery fiction
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
CAREY LOGANShe was the genius wild child of the New York art scene, and my idol.FAKEI was a no-name painter from the Florida backwater, clawing my way into their world.LIKEWhen she died, she left a space that couldn't be filled. Except, maybe, byMEEverything that gets created destroys something else.When a fire rips through her studio and burns the seven enormous paintings for her next exhibition, a young, no-name painter is left with an impossible task: recreate her art in just three months - or ruin her fledgling career. Thirty-four, single and homeless, she desperately secures a place at an exclusive upstate retreat. Brimming with creative history and set on a sparkling black lake, Pine City and its founders - a notorious collective of successful artists - is what she's idolized all her life. She's dreamt of the parties, the celebrities, the privilege. What she finds is a ghost of its former self.The recent suicide of founding member Carey Logan haunts everyone, lurking beneath the surface like a shipwreck. And one thought begins to shadow her every move - what really happened to her hero?With a flair for sensational detail and acidic wit, Barbara Bourland delivers a darkly satirical thriller about art, money and identity with a twist so sharp it cuts.(P) 2019 Hachette Audio
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