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Theft: A Love Story
Michael Boone is an ex–"really famous" painter acting as caretaker for his younger brother, a damaged man of childlike emotional volatility. When a mysterious woman comes into their lives, she upsets their delicate equilibrium sets in motion a chain of events that could be the making—or the ruin—of them all.
From the two-time Booker Prize–winning author and recipient of the Commonwealth Prize comes this new novel about obsession, deception, and redemption, at once an engrossing psychological suspense story and a work of highly charged, fiendishly funny literary fiction.
Michael—a.k.a. "Butcher"—Boone is an ex–"really famous" painter: opinionated, furious, brilliant, and now reduced to living in the remote country house of his biggest collector and acting as caretaker for his younger brother, Hugh, a damaged man of imposing physicality and childlike emotional volatility. Alone together they’ve forged a delicate and shifting equilibrium, a balance instantly destroyed when a mysterious young woman named Marlene walks out of a rainstorm and into their lives on three-inch Manolo Blahnik heels. Beautiful, smart, and ambitious, she’s also the daughter-in-law of the late great painter Jacques Liebovitz, one of Butcher’s earliest influences. She’s sweet to Hugh and falls in love with Butcher, and they reciprocate in kind. And she sets in motion a chain of events that could be the making—or the ruin—of them all.
Told through the alternating points of view of the brothers—Butcher’s urbane, intelligent, caustic observations contrasting with Hugh’s bizarre, frequently poetic, utterly unique voice—Theft reminds us once again of Peter Carey’s remarkable gift for creating indelible, fascinating characters and a narrative as gripping as it is deliriously surprising.
From the two-time Booker Prize–winning author and recipient of the Commonwealth Prize comes this new novel about obsession, deception, and redemption, at once an engrossing psychological suspense story and a work of highly charged, fiendishly funny literary fiction.
Michael—a.k.a. "Butcher"—Boone is an ex–"really famous" painter: opinionated, furious, brilliant, and now reduced to living in the remote country house of his biggest collector and acting as caretaker for his younger brother, Hugh, a damaged man of imposing physicality and childlike emotional volatility. Alone together they’ve forged a delicate and shifting equilibrium, a balance instantly destroyed when a mysterious young woman named Marlene walks out of a rainstorm and into their lives on three-inch Manolo Blahnik heels. Beautiful, smart, and ambitious, she’s also the daughter-in-law of the late great painter Jacques Liebovitz, one of Butcher’s earliest influences. She’s sweet to Hugh and falls in love with Butcher, and they reciprocate in kind. And she sets in motion a chain of events that could be the making—or the ruin—of them all.
Told through the alternating points of view of the brothers—Butcher’s urbane, intelligent, caustic observations contrasting with Hugh’s bizarre, frequently poetic, utterly unique voice—Theft reminds us once again of Peter Carey’s remarkable gift for creating indelible, fascinating characters and a narrative as gripping as it is deliriously surprising.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Peter Carey
98 books990 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Peter Carey was born in Australia in 1943.
He was educated at the local state school until the age of eleven and then became a boarder at Geelong Grammar School. He was a student there between 1954 and 1960 — after Rupert Murdoch had graduated and before Prince Charles arrived.
In 1961 he studied science for a single unsuccessful year at Monash University. He was then employed by an advertising agency where he began to receive his literary education, meeting Faulkner, Joyce, Kerouac and other writers he had previously been unaware of. He was nineteen.
For the next thirteen years he wrote fiction at night and weekends, working in many advertising agencies in Melbourne, London and Sydney.
After four novels had been written and rejected The Fat Man in History — a short story collection — was published in 1974. This slim book made him an overnight success.
From 1976 Carey worked one week a month for Grey Advertising, then, in 1981 he established a small business where his generous partner required him to work only two afternoons a week. Thus between 1976 and 1990, he was able to pursue literature obsessively. It was during this period that he wrote War Crimes, Bliss, Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda. Illywhacker was short listed for the Booker Prize. Oscar and Lucinda won it. Uncomfortable with this success he began work on The Tax Inspector.
In 1990 he moved to New York where he completed The Tax Inspector. He taught at NYU one night a week. Later he would have similar jobs at Princeton, The New School and Barnard College. During these years he wrote The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, Jack Maggs, and True History of the Kelly Gang for which he won his second Booker Prize.
He collaborated on the screenplay of the film Until the End of the World with Wim Wenders.
In 2003 he joined Hunter College as the Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing. In the years since he has written My Life as a Fake, Theft, His Illegal Self and Parrot and Oliver in America (shortlisted for 2010 Man Booker Prize).
Peter Carey was born in Australia in 1943.
He was educated at the local state school until the age of eleven and then became a boarder at Geelong Grammar School. He was a student there between 1954 and 1960 — after Rupert Murdoch had graduated and before Prince Charles arrived.
In 1961 he studied science for a single unsuccessful year at Monash University. He was then employed by an advertising agency where he began to receive his literary education, meeting Faulkner, Joyce, Kerouac and other writers he had previously been unaware of. He was nineteen.
For the next thirteen years he wrote fiction at night and weekends, working in many advertising agencies in Melbourne, London and Sydney.
After four novels had been written and rejected The Fat Man in History — a short story collection — was published in 1974. This slim book made him an overnight success.
From 1976 Carey worked one week a month for Grey Advertising, then, in 1981 he established a small business where his generous partner required him to work only two afternoons a week. Thus between 1976 and 1990, he was able to pursue literature obsessively. It was during this period that he wrote War Crimes, Bliss, Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda. Illywhacker was short listed for the Booker Prize. Oscar and Lucinda won it. Uncomfortable with this success he began work on The Tax Inspector.
In 1990 he moved to New York where he completed The Tax Inspector. He taught at NYU one night a week. Later he would have similar jobs at Princeton, The New School and Barnard College. During these years he wrote The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith, Jack Maggs, and True History of the Kelly Gang for which he won his second Booker Prize.
He collaborated on the screenplay of the film Until the End of the World with Wim Wenders.
In 2003 he joined Hunter College as the Director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing. In the years since he has written My Life as a Fake, Theft, His Illegal Self and Parrot and Oliver in America (shortlisted for 2010 Man Booker Prize).
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March 12, 2022
Theft: A Love Story, Peter Carey
Theft: A Love Story is a novel, by Australian writer Peter Carey. It won the 2006 Vance Palmer Prize, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award prize for fiction.
Theft is the story of Michael "Butcher" Boone, an Australian artist, whose career is having an early, and comprehensive twilight. He is guardian, babysitter and caretaker for his "damaged two hundred and twenty pound brother", Hugh.
As the novel opens, Butcher is fresh out of jail for robbing his ex-wife of his own paintings, paintings that became hers when the marriage ended. Exiled to a remote house owned by a fussy former patron, Butcher is trying to get his career back on track, avoid his creditors and manage Hugh. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایرانی: «داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت»؛ «سرقت: یک داستان عاشقانه»؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز چهاردهم ماه آگوست سال2016میلادی
عنوان: داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ مترجم: مجتبی ویسی؛ تهران: افق، سال1394؛ در374ص؛ شابک9789643698997؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان استرالیا - سده21م
عنوان: سرقت: یک داستان عاشقانه؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ مترجم: محمدصادق رئيسی؛ تهران، انتشارات روزگار، سال1395؛ در366ص؛ شابک9789643744823؛
دو برادر، یکی نقاشی ورشکسته، و آن دیگری برادر کندذهن همان نقاش، با همدیگر زندگی میکنند؛ نقاش، برای ربودن تابلوهای خودش، از همسر پیشین خویش، زمانی را در زندان به سر برده، و اکنون در روستایی دورافتاده، به عنوان تبعیدگاه، از برادر خویش نگهداری میکند؛ داستان از زبان نقاش بازگو میشود، و گاهی نیز روایت از زبان برادر کندذهن است؛
چکیده: «مایکل بون»، که با نام «بوچر (قصاب)» هم نامیده میشود، در بگذشته ها نقاش بسیار نامدار، خود رأی، روانپریش، و درخشان بوده؛ اما اکنون وادار شده، تا در خانه ی بزرگترین گردآورنده ی آثار خود، که در حومه ی شهر است، زندگی، و از برادرش، «هیو» نیز، نگهداری کند؛ «هیو»، مردی کند ذهن، درشت اندام با احساساتی دمدمی، و بچگانه است؛ این دو در زندگی با یکدیگر، به تعادل و آرامشی دلپذیر و باورمند رسیده اند؛ آرامشی که با ورود «مارلین»، زنی جوان و اسرارآمیز، به زندگیشان به هم میخورد؛ «مارلین»، زیبا، باهوش، بلندپرواز و همچنین، عروس نقاشی بزرگ، و یکی از الگوهای نخستین «بوچر» است؛ او با «هیو» رفتاری مهربانانه دارد، و به «بوچر» ابراز عشق میکند؛ آن دو برادر هم رفتاری دوستانه از خود نشان میدهند؛ «مارلین»، رویدادهایی را رقم میزند، که شاید سازنده و یا نابود کننده ی زندگی هر سه شخصیت باشد؛ داستان از نگاه گوناگون دو برادر بازگو میشود؛ بینش گزنده، خردمندانه، و متمدنانه ی «بوچر»، رودروی دیدگاه ناباورانه، بیشتر شعرگونه، و یگانه ی «هیو» قرار دارد؛ رمان «داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت»، توانایی کم همانند «پیتر کری» را، برای آفرینش شخصیتهایی ماندگار، و شگفت انگیز، و نیز داستانی دل انگیز را بار دیگر به رخ خوانشگران خویش میکشد
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 17/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 20/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
Theft: A Love Story is a novel, by Australian writer Peter Carey. It won the 2006 Vance Palmer Prize, the Victorian Premier's Literary Award prize for fiction.
Theft is the story of Michael "Butcher" Boone, an Australian artist, whose career is having an early, and comprehensive twilight. He is guardian, babysitter and caretaker for his "damaged two hundred and twenty pound brother", Hugh.
As the novel opens, Butcher is fresh out of jail for robbing his ex-wife of his own paintings, paintings that became hers when the marriage ended. Exiled to a remote house owned by a fussy former patron, Butcher is trying to get his career back on track, avoid his creditors and manage Hugh. ...
عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایرانی: «داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت»؛ «سرقت: یک داستان عاشقانه»؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش روز چهاردهم ماه آگوست سال2016میلادی
عنوان: داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ مترجم: مجتبی ویسی؛ تهران: افق، سال1394؛ در374ص؛ شابک9789643698997؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان استرالیا - سده21م
عنوان: سرقت: یک داستان عاشقانه؛ نویسنده: پیتر کری؛ مترجم: محمدصادق رئيسی؛ تهران، انتشارات روزگار، سال1395؛ در366ص؛ شابک9789643744823؛
دو برادر، یکی نقاشی ورشکسته، و آن دیگری برادر کندذهن همان نقاش، با همدیگر زندگی میکنند؛ نقاش، برای ربودن تابلوهای خودش، از همسر پیشین خویش، زمانی را در زندان به سر برده، و اکنون در روستایی دورافتاده، به عنوان تبعیدگاه، از برادر خویش نگهداری میکند؛ داستان از زبان نقاش بازگو میشود، و گاهی نیز روایت از زبان برادر کندذهن است؛
چکیده: «مایکل بون»، که با نام «بوچر (قصاب)» هم نامیده میشود، در بگذشته ها نقاش بسیار نامدار، خود رأی، روانپریش، و درخشان بوده؛ اما اکنون وادار شده، تا در خانه ی بزرگترین گردآورنده ی آثار خود، که در حومه ی شهر است، زندگی، و از برادرش، «هیو» نیز، نگهداری کند؛ «هیو»، مردی کند ذهن، درشت اندام با احساساتی دمدمی، و بچگانه است؛ این دو در زندگی با یکدیگر، به تعادل و آرامشی دلپذیر و باورمند رسیده اند؛ آرامشی که با ورود «مارلین»، زنی جوان و اسرارآمیز، به زندگیشان به هم میخورد؛ «مارلین»، زیبا، باهوش، بلندپرواز و همچنین، عروس نقاشی بزرگ، و یکی از الگوهای نخستین «بوچر» است؛ او با «هیو» رفتاری مهربانانه دارد، و به «بوچر» ابراز عشق میکند؛ آن دو برادر هم رفتاری دوستانه از خود نشان میدهند؛ «مارلین»، رویدادهایی را رقم میزند، که شاید سازنده و یا نابود کننده ی زندگی هر سه شخصیت باشد؛ داستان از نگاه گوناگون دو برادر بازگو میشود؛ بینش گزنده، خردمندانه، و متمدنانه ی «بوچر»، رودروی دیدگاه ناباورانه، بیشتر شعرگونه، و یگانه ی «هیو» قرار دارد؛ رمان «داستان عاشقانه ی سرقت»، توانایی کم همانند «پیتر کری» را، برای آفرینش شخصیتهایی ماندگار، و شگفت انگیز، و نیز داستانی دل انگیز را بار دیگر به رخ خوانشگران خویش میکشد
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 17/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 20/12/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
October 3, 2011
I'm a Peter Carey junkie, slowly coming down again from the wild rush that his books give me. There's hardly a writer whose books are just so much damned FUN. This is another example of his versatility and originality, especially obvious in the two narrative voices of the two brothers, so different at the beginning of the book, but that seem to approach each other more and more. It becomes clearer and clearer that Butcher Bones is the less reliable of the two, his 'damaged' brother Hugh, the 'idiot savant' really is much more perceptive and astute than his brother gives him credit for. The plot roars and lurches along, the people come leaping and bounding into the imagination, the intricacies of the trickery and subterfuge keep your mind racing, and the whole thing rounds out to a hugely satisfying ending that shows that the true love story was that of the two brothers, tied together like the two halves of a double helix.
And just as much fun the second time around.
And just as much fun the second time around.
August 1, 2017
Sometimes character voice makes the story, sometimes it overwhelms it. In this case, Carey writes characters that have such powerful voices, they make the plot tertiary. And unfortunately, the characters were rather pushy and domineering and that made them annoying.
This is my sixth Peter Carey book, and I've usually loved him. This time, he got on my nerves. Theft: A Love Story is about two brothers in Australia, one is an arrogant, short-tempered artist who was once successful and building a prominent reputation until his divorce ruined him. And boy is he bitter. The other is special needs—it's never named, but he seems to fall into the autistic spectrum. A third character, the seductress, enters the story and begins to rebuild the artist's career. The story (for what it's worth) centers around art theft, art authentication, and art fraud. These characters are caught up in it, and frankly I just didn't care what happened to them.
I'm disappointed in Carey, he seemed to let this story get away from him. A little too enamored with the character voices. The artist's obsession with the artistic process could have been interesting in a more sympathetic character, but he was too much of an asshole. I just didn't want to listen to him. And the autistic brother, the other voice in the book, was also kind of "loud" and aggressive so the book as a whole seemed too shouty tonally.
Theft: A Love Story wasn't so much a who-dunnit as a who-cares-eh. (Sorry.)
This is my sixth Peter Carey book, and I've usually loved him. This time, he got on my nerves. Theft: A Love Story is about two brothers in Australia, one is an arrogant, short-tempered artist who was once successful and building a prominent reputation until his divorce ruined him. And boy is he bitter. The other is special needs—it's never named, but he seems to fall into the autistic spectrum. A third character, the seductress, enters the story and begins to rebuild the artist's career. The story (for what it's worth) centers around art theft, art authentication, and art fraud. These characters are caught up in it, and frankly I just didn't care what happened to them.
I'm disappointed in Carey, he seemed to let this story get away from him. A little too enamored with the character voices. The artist's obsession with the artistic process could have been interesting in a more sympathetic character, but he was too much of an asshole. I just didn't want to listen to him. And the autistic brother, the other voice in the book, was also kind of "loud" and aggressive so the book as a whole seemed too shouty tonally.
Theft: A Love Story wasn't so much a who-dunnit as a who-cares-eh. (Sorry.)
November 11, 2021
You get the feeling Carey came up with the idea of writing this after watching BBC's Fake or Fortune, one of my favourite TV programmes. The discovery of a mysterious painting and the challenge of attributing it to an artist and establishing a provenance. It's a compelling journey. Carey's two narrators are a painter and his backward brother from the Australian outback. Embraced and then spat out by the Sydney art world, Butcher Bones is down on his luck at the beginning of the novel. Then a young woman enters his life who leads him into the world of art forgery.
Sometimes the backstory to the invented artist is overly complicated - it's problematical to add an imaginary painter to art history. But the novel has all the attributes which make Carey such a fabulous novelist.
Sometimes the backstory to the invented artist is overly complicated - it's problematical to add an imaginary painter to art history. But the novel has all the attributes which make Carey such a fabulous novelist.
November 14, 2017
Ne dopada mi se....poslednjih 70 strana ne mogu ni da se nakanim da pročitam.
Nisam osetila emociju, nisam osetila likove. Čitam a ne znam ni šta čitam.
Od Kerija sam pročitala "Moj krivotvoreni život" i pamtim da mi se dopala ...(a i piše, ocena 4)
Sa Krađom se nisam snašla, možda je do mene ;)
Nisam osetila emociju, nisam osetila likove. Čitam a ne znam ni šta čitam.
Od Kerija sam pročitala "Moj krivotvoreni život" i pamtim da mi se dopala ...(a i piše, ocena 4)
Sa Krađom se nisam snašla, možda je do mene ;)
January 6, 2022
My penultimate book from the 2006 Booker longlist is very enjoyable, but a little lightweight compared with Carey's best work.
It is a comic novel which explores Australia's part in the art world through the characters of its main narrator "Butcher Bones", a talented artist, and his idiot savant brother Hugh, whose alternative view accounts for about a third of the book and much of its humour. Neither narrator is reliable. The other main character is the femme fatale Marlene, who has also escaped humble beginnings in rural Australia to become an art expert, and the main narrative explores how the brothers get drawn into her fraudulent scheming, following her to Japan and New York.
It is a comic novel which explores Australia's part in the art world through the characters of its main narrator "Butcher Bones", a talented artist, and his idiot savant brother Hugh, whose alternative view accounts for about a third of the book and much of its humour. Neither narrator is reliable. The other main character is the femme fatale Marlene, who has also escaped humble beginnings in rural Australia to become an art expert, and the main narrative explores how the brothers get drawn into her fraudulent scheming, following her to Japan and New York.
November 17, 2023
Michael Boone is an Australian artist whose artwork is considered out of fashion. He is the legal guardian of his savant brother, Hugh. He is recently divorced, has lost custody of his son, and his art has been declared marital property, so he is broke. He and his brother are living in and taking care of a rural house in New South Wales, owned by Michael’s patron. One rainy night they meet Marlene, wife of Oliver Leibowitz. She is in the area to authenticate an artwork by Oliver’s father, Jacques Leibowitz, a famous artist (now deceased). The work is stolen a few days later, and Michael becomes the police's primary suspect. Michael gets involved with Marlene, and the storyline follows them from Australia to Tokyo to New York, combining elements of crime, romance, and art commentary.
The reader will pick up right away that something strange is going on, and the dramatic tension is driven by the mystery of who is conning whom, and why? Told in alternating perspectives between Michael and Hugh, two unreliable narrators, it is a humorous over-the-top story about the world of art – who gets to decide what constitutes high quality art, the lengths that some people will go to acquire “priceless” pieces, the temptations that result in forgeries, and the glamor and prestige bestowed on the artists (until they are declared “out of style.”) The novel delves into themes of authenticity, artistic integrity, the commodification of art, and the nature of creativity. I think the reader needs to be keenly interested in art to fully enjoy this book.
3.5
The reader will pick up right away that something strange is going on, and the dramatic tension is driven by the mystery of who is conning whom, and why? Told in alternating perspectives between Michael and Hugh, two unreliable narrators, it is a humorous over-the-top story about the world of art – who gets to decide what constitutes high quality art, the lengths that some people will go to acquire “priceless” pieces, the temptations that result in forgeries, and the glamor and prestige bestowed on the artists (until they are declared “out of style.”) The novel delves into themes of authenticity, artistic integrity, the commodification of art, and the nature of creativity. I think the reader needs to be keenly interested in art to fully enjoy this book.
3.5
January 8, 2022
ერთი 3 წლის წინ ფერწერაზე რომ გადავირიე, ავიკვიატე, ყველა ცნობილი თუ არაცნობილი მხატვრის ბიოგრაფია ვქექე და უაზრო თუ აზრიანი დეტალებით გამოვიტენე ტვინი, ის პერიოდი ამომიტივტივა.
სასიამოვნო საკითხავი იყო, ჩემთვის განსაკუთრებით, კუნინგების, ლიხტენშტეინის, ჩემი საყვარელი მაქს ბეკმანის, კოროს და კიდევ რამდენი ძვირფასი მხატვრის ხსენება, თან თავისებურად ლამაზად რომაა ყველაფერი ჩაქსოვილი.
ხო, ბუჩი და ჰიუ უზომოდ შემიყვარდნენ. მიყვარს მათი ტკბილ-მწარე ურთიერთობა, ძმობა და უწყვეტი კავშირი.
იცით რა? ამბავიც საინტერესოა, რამდენიმეჯერ მომბეზრდა, გამეწელა, რომ არ დავმალო მომყირჭდა, მაგრამ ეგეც არაფერი, არაჩვეულებრივად წერს, თავისებური ხელწერა აქვს, ტყუილად არ აქვს ნამდვილად მიღებული ორი ბუკერის პრემია.
დიდი იმედი მაქვს კიდევ თარგმნიან.
სასიამოვნო საკითხავი იყო, ჩემთვის განსაკუთრებით, კუნინგების, ლიხტენშტეინის, ჩემი საყვარელი მაქს ბეკმანის, კოროს და კიდევ რამდენი ძვირფასი მხატვრის ხსენება, თან თავისებურად ლამაზად რომაა ყველაფერი ჩაქსოვილი.
ხო, ბუჩი და ჰიუ უზომოდ შემიყვარდნენ. მიყვარს მათი ტკბილ-მწარე ურთიერთობა, ძმობა და უწყვეტი კავშირი.
იცით რა? ამბავიც საინტერესოა, რამდენიმეჯერ მომბეზრდა, გამეწელა, რომ არ დავმალო მომყირჭდა, მაგრამ ეგეც არაფერი, არაჩვეულებრივად წერს, თავისებური ხელწერა აქვს, ტყუილად არ აქვს ნამდვილად მიღებული ორი ბუკერის პრემია.
დიდი იმედი მაქვს კიდევ თარგმნიან.
May 12, 2016
You could say one difference between what is termed literary fiction and commercial fiction is often simply the imaginative depth with which the author animates his or her characters. You get the sense throughout Theft that Carey knows his characters as well as he knows himself. As if he has access to every corner of their memory; knows every leap and retraction of their heart. This imaginative reach makes them tremendously engaging.
Theft is narrated alternatively by two brothers. Michael "Butcher" Boone is an Australian artist whose career is on the decline after a brief period of success. He has just been released from prison for robbing his ex-wife of his own paintings, paintings that became hers as part of an acrimonious divorce settlement. He is also the custodian of his huge mentally damaged brother, Hugh. You might say Michael tells the story and Hugh reinterprets it. As usual with Carey the plot is labyrinthine and slippery. But his brilliant talent for storytelling and creating unique voices is yet again much in evidence.
One of my favourite tv programmes is Fake or Fortune and more than once I’ve thought a particular episode would make a great subject for a novel. Carey seems to have taken two episodes and combined them – one when a Van Dyke picture had been painted over and lay hidden beneath another painting and another when a Monet was destroyed because the owner couldn’t prove its provenance sufficiently to convince the committee who held the power of droit moral.
The novel is motored by the arrival of the beautiful but shifty Marlene who is married to the son of a famous French painter and arrives on the scene to authenticate Michael’s neighbour’s Liebovitz painting. (Liebovitz is the father of her husband.) The irony is there’s little that’s authentic about Marlene. Hugh is probably the authentic voice in the novel and it’s he who authenticates (or debunks) what we’re told in the narrative. The novel is then a high energy romp of forgery, theft, dubious authenticating, detective work, national identity dilemmas and love. At times I felt Carey didn’t quite have full mastery of his material – he’s so excitable as a novelist and easily gets carried away and there were some loose threads here and there which is why I’ve deducted a star. I suspect whether or not you enjoy this novel will depend on how much you enjoy Carey’s prose style. Take this for example:
“Our father Blue Bones was much the same and we brothers cowered before his fury when TRACKED-IN SAND was detected on the carpets of the VAUXHALL CRESTA and then there were such threats of whippings with razor strops, electric flex, greenhide belts, God save us, he had that mouth, cruel as a cut across his skin. As a boy I could never understand why nice clean sand would cause such terror in my dad’s bloodshot eyes, but I had never seen an hourglass and did not know that I would die. None shall be spared, and when my father’s hour was come then the eternal sand-filled wind blew inside his guts and ripped him raw, God forgive him for his sins. He could never know peace in life or even death, never understood what it might be to become a grain of sand, falling whispering with the grace of multitudes, through the fingers of the Lord.”
Ultimately it’s a novel about the slippery nature of authenticity and value. Who decides what is authentic and what isn’t? Who decides what anything is worth?
Theft is narrated alternatively by two brothers. Michael "Butcher" Boone is an Australian artist whose career is on the decline after a brief period of success. He has just been released from prison for robbing his ex-wife of his own paintings, paintings that became hers as part of an acrimonious divorce settlement. He is also the custodian of his huge mentally damaged brother, Hugh. You might say Michael tells the story and Hugh reinterprets it. As usual with Carey the plot is labyrinthine and slippery. But his brilliant talent for storytelling and creating unique voices is yet again much in evidence.
One of my favourite tv programmes is Fake or Fortune and more than once I’ve thought a particular episode would make a great subject for a novel. Carey seems to have taken two episodes and combined them – one when a Van Dyke picture had been painted over and lay hidden beneath another painting and another when a Monet was destroyed because the owner couldn’t prove its provenance sufficiently to convince the committee who held the power of droit moral.
The novel is motored by the arrival of the beautiful but shifty Marlene who is married to the son of a famous French painter and arrives on the scene to authenticate Michael’s neighbour’s Liebovitz painting. (Liebovitz is the father of her husband.) The irony is there’s little that’s authentic about Marlene. Hugh is probably the authentic voice in the novel and it’s he who authenticates (or debunks) what we’re told in the narrative. The novel is then a high energy romp of forgery, theft, dubious authenticating, detective work, national identity dilemmas and love. At times I felt Carey didn’t quite have full mastery of his material – he’s so excitable as a novelist and easily gets carried away and there were some loose threads here and there which is why I’ve deducted a star. I suspect whether or not you enjoy this novel will depend on how much you enjoy Carey’s prose style. Take this for example:
“Our father Blue Bones was much the same and we brothers cowered before his fury when TRACKED-IN SAND was detected on the carpets of the VAUXHALL CRESTA and then there were such threats of whippings with razor strops, electric flex, greenhide belts, God save us, he had that mouth, cruel as a cut across his skin. As a boy I could never understand why nice clean sand would cause such terror in my dad’s bloodshot eyes, but I had never seen an hourglass and did not know that I would die. None shall be spared, and when my father’s hour was come then the eternal sand-filled wind blew inside his guts and ripped him raw, God forgive him for his sins. He could never know peace in life or even death, never understood what it might be to become a grain of sand, falling whispering with the grace of multitudes, through the fingers of the Lord.”
Ultimately it’s a novel about the slippery nature of authenticity and value. Who decides what is authentic and what isn’t? Who decides what anything is worth?
April 10, 2008
I really didn't care for this book. It was a painful read. The story is told by two narrators: an artist, who is a bit crazy and a drunk, and his brother, who is mentally challenged (though you never really learn what his diagnosis is). It is told in a stream of consciousness and the chapters can be very hard to follow. It tells the story of the theft of a famous piece of art in Australia and how it intertwines with this artist's life. It improves as the story unfolds, but I just found myself wanting to skip paragraphs and whole pages and get to the action. I really wouldn't recommend the book.
April 20, 2009
The more I read of Peter Carey, the better I like him. I found "Oscar and Lucinda" tough sledding. "My life as a Fake" explored some interesting ideas, but wasn't altogether successful, in my opinion. In "Theft", Carey revisits some of the themes which clearly continue to interest him - Australian art and literature, and how they are perceived both within and outside Australia. "My Life as a Fake" dealt with literature and made obvious reference to the infamous "Ern Malley" literary hoax of the 1940's. In "Theft", Carey considers the issue of fakery in the art world, in a story that shifts between Australia, Tokyo, and the art world of Manhattan in the 1980's.
"My Life as a Fake" didn't soar as one might have wished - in part because Carey sometimes bogged down in the complexities of an overly laden plot, and in part because it was hard for the reader (at least this reader) to share his fascination with the repercussions of the Ern Malley episode on Australian literature. In "Theft", he is far more sure-footed, and though the plot is also quite convoluted, he develops the story in a compulsively readable fashion. The reader is swept along by the story, the brilliantly drawn, idiosyncratic characters, and by Carey's wonderful language right up to the jarring (and absolutely brilliant) conclusion.
The book reminded me of the recent film bombon (I mean that as a compliment), the wonderful "Duplicity", with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, which also kept the viewer guessing throughout, but which the director and actors pulled off with tremendous style and humor. It was hugely entertaining, without ever condescending to the viewer.
"Theft" has that same lighthearted verve, and Carey's terrific writing and obvious love of language made it a joy to read. On the cover blurb of my copy, Ali Smith calls it "a funny, gorgeous steal of a book", and I agree completely.
Five stars.
"My Life as a Fake" didn't soar as one might have wished - in part because Carey sometimes bogged down in the complexities of an overly laden plot, and in part because it was hard for the reader (at least this reader) to share his fascination with the repercussions of the Ern Malley episode on Australian literature. In "Theft", he is far more sure-footed, and though the plot is also quite convoluted, he develops the story in a compulsively readable fashion. The reader is swept along by the story, the brilliantly drawn, idiosyncratic characters, and by Carey's wonderful language right up to the jarring (and absolutely brilliant) conclusion.
The book reminded me of the recent film bombon (I mean that as a compliment), the wonderful "Duplicity", with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, which also kept the viewer guessing throughout, but which the director and actors pulled off with tremendous style and humor. It was hugely entertaining, without ever condescending to the viewer.
"Theft" has that same lighthearted verve, and Carey's terrific writing and obvious love of language made it a joy to read. On the cover blurb of my copy, Ali Smith calls it "a funny, gorgeous steal of a book", and I agree completely.
Five stars.
April 18, 2011
Carey’s humor is transcendent in this book. It’s the story of Michael, an alcoholic nearing middle age painter who leaves the detritus of his failed marriage and some legal tussles in Australia and immigrates to New York city with his new (and ever scheming) love and his mentally challenged brother Hugh (though you find yourself continually wondering who has the largest handicap, Michael or Hugh). Most of the happenings are tragic but you find yourself laughing anyway especially reading Hugh’s take on the scrapes Michael and his lover mange to get themselves into. The undercurrent throughout the book is how much Michael can get in his own way.
3.5/5
3.5/5
November 1, 2015
"How can you know how much to pay if you have no bloody idea of what it's worth?"
-- Peter Carey, Theft
Seriously, I LOVE Carey. While this isn't his best, his good novels tend to kick the arse of most other writers. He is jumping on a trampoline of language while juggling multiple narratives of love, family, art and theft. For me this novel was like reading some mash-up of 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Vincent and Theo' all staged in multiple triangles of love and fraud.
Like many of Carey's novels (Jack Maggs :: Great Expectations; The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith :: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman; Parrot and Olivier in America :: Democracy in America), this one is an oblique echo of Patrick White's The Solid Mandala.
It was bold, lustful, painful, corporeal, fierce and flawed. It showed how art and love can both be a singular gifts and aboriginal grafts.
-- Peter Carey, Theft
Seriously, I LOVE Carey. While this isn't his best, his good novels tend to kick the arse of most other writers. He is jumping on a trampoline of language while juggling multiple narratives of love, family, art and theft. For me this novel was like reading some mash-up of 'Of Mice and Men' and 'Vincent and Theo' all staged in multiple triangles of love and fraud.
Like many of Carey's novels (Jack Maggs :: Great Expectations; The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith :: The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman; Parrot and Olivier in America :: Democracy in America), this one is an oblique echo of Patrick White's The Solid Mandala.
It was bold, lustful, painful, corporeal, fierce and flawed. It showed how art and love can both be a singular gifts and aboriginal grafts.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Theft: A Love Story - Nevisande : Peter Carey - ISBN : 307263711 - ISBN13 : 9780307263711 - Dar 269 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2006
February 5, 2016
Book on CD narrated by Simon Vance
Michael “Butcher” Boone used to be a famous painter. Now, following a messy divorce and a jail term and thanks to the largess of a former patron, he’s living on a remote estate with his developmentally delayed brother, Hugh. One rainy day a beautiful young woman appears at their door in a downpour. Marlene is smart and driven, and also the daughter-in-law of the late Jacques Leibowitz, a painter of world renown, and one of Michael’s early influences. She’s nice and develops a rapport with Hugh – not an easy fete – and departs on her 3-inch Manolo Blahnik heels just as quickly as she appeared. But Marlene’s connection to the Boone brothers isn’t over. Like a bad penny she reappears and continues to wreak havoc.
The novel is told by the two brothers in alternating chapters. Butcher is pretty straightforward in his narration, if a little slow to catch on to what Marlene is up to. Hugh, given his mental deficiencies, seemingly rambles, but has insights unique to his perspective. Regardless, the two are drawn into Marlene’s schemes, like moths to a flame, and the reader can only watch the train wreck.
The plot is convoluted and intricate, as befits a psychological thriller, but I didn’t find it a grippingly fast read. I was interested but puzzled about where this was going for a good third of the novel. Part of this, of course, is the dual narration, especially given Hugh’s limited information. However, once Butcher and Marlene begin their international adventure – going first to Japan and then New York – I was completely engrossed. And just when I thought I had it figured out, Carey had another surprise in store for me. I’ve finished the book and I’m still waiting for the next twist …
Simon Vance is superb as the narrator of the audio version. He gives each brother a unique voice, which makes it easy to tell who is narrating.
Michael “Butcher” Boone used to be a famous painter. Now, following a messy divorce and a jail term and thanks to the largess of a former patron, he’s living on a remote estate with his developmentally delayed brother, Hugh. One rainy day a beautiful young woman appears at their door in a downpour. Marlene is smart and driven, and also the daughter-in-law of the late Jacques Leibowitz, a painter of world renown, and one of Michael’s early influences. She’s nice and develops a rapport with Hugh – not an easy fete – and departs on her 3-inch Manolo Blahnik heels just as quickly as she appeared. But Marlene’s connection to the Boone brothers isn’t over. Like a bad penny she reappears and continues to wreak havoc.
The novel is told by the two brothers in alternating chapters. Butcher is pretty straightforward in his narration, if a little slow to catch on to what Marlene is up to. Hugh, given his mental deficiencies, seemingly rambles, but has insights unique to his perspective. Regardless, the two are drawn into Marlene’s schemes, like moths to a flame, and the reader can only watch the train wreck.
The plot is convoluted and intricate, as befits a psychological thriller, but I didn’t find it a grippingly fast read. I was interested but puzzled about where this was going for a good third of the novel. Part of this, of course, is the dual narration, especially given Hugh’s limited information. However, once Butcher and Marlene begin their international adventure – going first to Japan and then New York – I was completely engrossed. And just when I thought I had it figured out, Carey had another surprise in store for me. I’ve finished the book and I’m still waiting for the next twist …
Simon Vance is superb as the narrator of the audio version. He gives each brother a unique voice, which makes it easy to tell who is narrating.
May 29, 2015
I somehow thought, when I had the book in my hands, considering the praises on its cover, that it would be a fun ride, a journey of guffaws and cunning smirks but alas, deceived and dejected! In a single sentence, I didn’t find anything great about the story.
So, Michael ‘Butcher’ Boone is an artist, a cranky profane one, is recently divorced losing a substantial count of his paintings and his child to the “Alimony whore” as he puts it. And Hugh ‘Slow’ Bones is his brother, slow in the mind and Michael is the one responsible to take care of him.
Marlene Leibovitz walks into their lives one fine evening as the divorced, devastated and exiled Michael is trying to get his career back on track painting one of his geniuses. And Marlene, whom the Boones discover, more so the elder Michael Boone, is a wily art authenticator, a crook, a lovely one though as they generally are. She is the wife of the great artist Leibovitz’s son.
A ‘Leibovitz’ is stolen from Michael’s neighbor and somehow Michael knows that the sly Marlene is responsible for the theft. He is cognizant of her chicanery, yet indulges himself in the strength of her mind and beauty. And the more he discovers her through their closeness, the more he slips into her contrivances, the bigger and uglier get her deceptive and guileful plans, eventually leading to his grudging realization as she parts with him finally that a thick wad of cash always weighs heavier than the irrepressible pumping of the heart and the inscrutable feelings thus generated.
Peter Carey’s writing appears ostentatious and loud almost throughout the book. The carefree language didn’t go well with me, I guess, since I was more eager to finish it than to savor it.
So, Michael ‘Butcher’ Boone is an artist, a cranky profane one, is recently divorced losing a substantial count of his paintings and his child to the “Alimony whore” as he puts it. And Hugh ‘Slow’ Bones is his brother, slow in the mind and Michael is the one responsible to take care of him.
Marlene Leibovitz walks into their lives one fine evening as the divorced, devastated and exiled Michael is trying to get his career back on track painting one of his geniuses. And Marlene, whom the Boones discover, more so the elder Michael Boone, is a wily art authenticator, a crook, a lovely one though as they generally are. She is the wife of the great artist Leibovitz’s son.
A ‘Leibovitz’ is stolen from Michael’s neighbor and somehow Michael knows that the sly Marlene is responsible for the theft. He is cognizant of her chicanery, yet indulges himself in the strength of her mind and beauty. And the more he discovers her through their closeness, the more he slips into her contrivances, the bigger and uglier get her deceptive and guileful plans, eventually leading to his grudging realization as she parts with him finally that a thick wad of cash always weighs heavier than the irrepressible pumping of the heart and the inscrutable feelings thus generated.
Peter Carey’s writing appears ostentatious and loud almost throughout the book. The carefree language didn’t go well with me, I guess, since I was more eager to finish it than to savor it.
February 20, 2020
I'd forgotten about this book. I remember it was well written (well, what would you expect from Peter Carey), but I don't remember being terribly impressed with the story. I'm not a big fan, I'm afraid.
March 11, 2016
A well written literary-grade novel but like a meal at an Outback restaurant-- a little hard to get through sometimes. Carey writes beautifully, but personally I found the whole thing boring.
November 15, 2013
Peter Carey has a problem with telling the truth. And in one magnificent novel after another, he struggles to solve it. His criminal narrators in Jack Maggs and True History of the Kelly Gang plead their cases even as condemnation crashes down upon them. In My Life as a Fake , an act of literary fraud takes human form like Frankenstein's monster and pursues its creator to the ends of the earth.
Given his devious trajectory, a novel about modern art seems like an inevitable destination for Carey. Could there be any more irresistible house of mirrors for an author fascinated by deceit and subterfuge? Fortunes rise and fall in a haze of aesthetic jargon spun by a few collectors and dealers. So strange is this phenomenon that if we didn't have the modern art market, Peter Carey would have to invent it. Consider, for instance, that the value of a masterpiece -- like, say, a giant Campbell's Soup label or a dead goat with a tire around its belly -- depends not only on its essential "quality" but upon what curators call its "provenance," the record of ownership that establishes its authenticity back to the famous creator. When an artist leaves thousands of sketches, rough studies and finished copies among various countries, lovers and museums, provenance can be devilishly hard to establish, and that spectrum of confusion provides the perfect palette for Carey's new novel, Theft .
The story opens in 1980 in New South Wales where a deeply embittered, "previously famous artist" named Michael "Butcher" Boone is trying to get his life back in order. After a bad divorce that precipitated some jail time, Butcher is holed up with his huge, mentally handicapped brother in an empty country estate owned by his biggest collector. Butcher repays this man's hospitality by trashing the house and fraudulently charging lots of supplies to his account, but such are the liberties of genius, he tells us. Even while haphazardly caring for his brother and raging away against his ex-wife, lawyers and craven art dealers, he manages to create several enormous new paintings so dazzling that they terrify him.
One dark and stormy night during this period, a gorgeous young woman named Marlene Leibovitz emerges from the outback and asks him for help with her car. Butcher is immediately captivated, as is his brother, Hugh, and this apparently chance encounter alters their lives forever.
Marlene, it turns out, is an art dealer and the wife of Oliver Leibovitz, who is the son of Dominique, the second wife of the late Jacques Leibovitz, one of the 20th century's greatest artists. (You may want to take notes; I had to.) The authenticity of Leibovitz's valuable paintings is notoriously difficult to establish because on the night he died, Dominique and her lover, a crooked art dealer, absconded with about 50 of his works in progress, which they re-dated, doctored or "finished" in order to fetch higher prices. With the death of his mother, the droit moral , the legal right to authenticate Leibovitz's paintings, now belongs to Oliver, and Marlene has come down to New South Wales to pass judgment on a Leibovitz painting owned by one of Butcher's neighbors.
But several days after she authenticates it, it's stolen. When the police accuse Butcher of the crime, Marlene devises a nefarious plot to rehabilitate his career.
If all this sounds complicated, consider yourself warned: Carey has set down an incredibly thick premise for this tangled love story, and it takes him several chapters to explain everything. Butcher has a raw, comic voice, but the thrilling narrative drive that propelled Carey's previous work gets mired here. Even when the story does move along -- to Japan, then New York -- we experience much of it as though we're standing too close to an impressionist canvas: It's vibrant, it's colorful, but what the hell is going on? All this is intentional, of course; Carey wants to challenge the logic of our perceptions, and he's certainly clever enough to do so. "If you're a painter," Butcher says at one point, "you're already ahead of the story," but if you're not, you'll be limping along behind.
Ironically, some of the most compelling chapters are narrated by Hugh, Butcher's "doughy, six foot four, filthy, dangerous-looking" brother, who carries a metal folding chair with him everywhere and speaks to us in a great swirl of discombobulated impressions, Biblical allusions, wry asides, childlike observations and accidental insights. "It is hard work to slaughter a beast," Hugh tells us, "but when it is done it is done. If you are MAKING ART the labour never ends, no peace, no Sabbath, just eternal churning and cursing and worrying and fretting and there is nothing else to think of but the idiots who buy it or the insects destroying TWO DIMENSIONAL SPACE. . . . Everything we stand on will be washed away."
Hugh senses his brother's frustration, even if he can only describe it in this kaleidoscopic style. As Marlene lures Butcher deeper and deeper into her scheme, everything he stands on is threatened: his integrity, his art, finally even his devotion to Hugh. "I did not spare a moment to wonder about the consequences of drifting into the poisonous orbit," Butcher confesses. "I was in love." In the end, romantic attraction proves no easier to authenticate than a "rediscovered" masterpiece. Between these two fraternal perspectives, one skewed by desire, the other by a brain disorder, Carey frames a story that shifts before our eyes -- maddeningly complex, hypnotically brilliant, entirely original.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
Given his devious trajectory, a novel about modern art seems like an inevitable destination for Carey. Could there be any more irresistible house of mirrors for an author fascinated by deceit and subterfuge? Fortunes rise and fall in a haze of aesthetic jargon spun by a few collectors and dealers. So strange is this phenomenon that if we didn't have the modern art market, Peter Carey would have to invent it. Consider, for instance, that the value of a masterpiece -- like, say, a giant Campbell's Soup label or a dead goat with a tire around its belly -- depends not only on its essential "quality" but upon what curators call its "provenance," the record of ownership that establishes its authenticity back to the famous creator. When an artist leaves thousands of sketches, rough studies and finished copies among various countries, lovers and museums, provenance can be devilishly hard to establish, and that spectrum of confusion provides the perfect palette for Carey's new novel, Theft .
The story opens in 1980 in New South Wales where a deeply embittered, "previously famous artist" named Michael "Butcher" Boone is trying to get his life back in order. After a bad divorce that precipitated some jail time, Butcher is holed up with his huge, mentally handicapped brother in an empty country estate owned by his biggest collector. Butcher repays this man's hospitality by trashing the house and fraudulently charging lots of supplies to his account, but such are the liberties of genius, he tells us. Even while haphazardly caring for his brother and raging away against his ex-wife, lawyers and craven art dealers, he manages to create several enormous new paintings so dazzling that they terrify him.
One dark and stormy night during this period, a gorgeous young woman named Marlene Leibovitz emerges from the outback and asks him for help with her car. Butcher is immediately captivated, as is his brother, Hugh, and this apparently chance encounter alters their lives forever.
Marlene, it turns out, is an art dealer and the wife of Oliver Leibovitz, who is the son of Dominique, the second wife of the late Jacques Leibovitz, one of the 20th century's greatest artists. (You may want to take notes; I had to.) The authenticity of Leibovitz's valuable paintings is notoriously difficult to establish because on the night he died, Dominique and her lover, a crooked art dealer, absconded with about 50 of his works in progress, which they re-dated, doctored or "finished" in order to fetch higher prices. With the death of his mother, the droit moral , the legal right to authenticate Leibovitz's paintings, now belongs to Oliver, and Marlene has come down to New South Wales to pass judgment on a Leibovitz painting owned by one of Butcher's neighbors.
But several days after she authenticates it, it's stolen. When the police accuse Butcher of the crime, Marlene devises a nefarious plot to rehabilitate his career.
If all this sounds complicated, consider yourself warned: Carey has set down an incredibly thick premise for this tangled love story, and it takes him several chapters to explain everything. Butcher has a raw, comic voice, but the thrilling narrative drive that propelled Carey's previous work gets mired here. Even when the story does move along -- to Japan, then New York -- we experience much of it as though we're standing too close to an impressionist canvas: It's vibrant, it's colorful, but what the hell is going on? All this is intentional, of course; Carey wants to challenge the logic of our perceptions, and he's certainly clever enough to do so. "If you're a painter," Butcher says at one point, "you're already ahead of the story," but if you're not, you'll be limping along behind.
Ironically, some of the most compelling chapters are narrated by Hugh, Butcher's "doughy, six foot four, filthy, dangerous-looking" brother, who carries a metal folding chair with him everywhere and speaks to us in a great swirl of discombobulated impressions, Biblical allusions, wry asides, childlike observations and accidental insights. "It is hard work to slaughter a beast," Hugh tells us, "but when it is done it is done. If you are MAKING ART the labour never ends, no peace, no Sabbath, just eternal churning and cursing and worrying and fretting and there is nothing else to think of but the idiots who buy it or the insects destroying TWO DIMENSIONAL SPACE. . . . Everything we stand on will be washed away."
Hugh senses his brother's frustration, even if he can only describe it in this kaleidoscopic style. As Marlene lures Butcher deeper and deeper into her scheme, everything he stands on is threatened: his integrity, his art, finally even his devotion to Hugh. "I did not spare a moment to wonder about the consequences of drifting into the poisonous orbit," Butcher confesses. "I was in love." In the end, romantic attraction proves no easier to authenticate than a "rediscovered" masterpiece. Between these two fraternal perspectives, one skewed by desire, the other by a brain disorder, Carey frames a story that shifts before our eyes -- maddeningly complex, hypnotically brilliant, entirely original.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...
September 18, 2007
I read Peter Carey's My Life as a Fake and Wrong About Japan, and didn’t like either of them. I just couldn’t get hooked into the effusively praised My Life as a Fake, and Wrong About Japan, though it had a few clever insights, seemed too slight to be a book.
So I wasn’t planning to read any more Carey, but a review of Theft made me waver. I like books about fictional artists, and the subject of art crime and fraud has long interested me. The fine art trade is very lightly regulated, but places a high premium on authenticity. So many crimes are crimes of falsified authenticity—forgery being the best known, but deliberate misattribution, misdating, and so on are probably more common. Theft deals with forgery, misattribution, and misdating, and uses the authenticity endowing concept of droit morale as the mechanism.
Butcher Bones (actually Michael Boone) is an Australian painter who had his day in the sun in the early 70s, spent time in prison for trying to steal his own artwork from his recently divorced wife, and by 1981 is living with his retarded brother Hugh (“Slow Bones”) at the vacation house of a former patron. He is painting very high quality works when he meets Marlene Liebowitz, the daughter-in-law of a great cubist painter, Jacques Liebowitz. Her husband has no interest in art, but does have droit morale—he can authenticate Liebowitz paintings. So her deal is to find questionable works (particularly ones that Liebowitz started, abandoned, and then were later finished by his scheming wife) and, usually working with a dealer or collector or some other partner, get Olivier, her husband, to officially authenticate them.
Butcher is somewhat appalled by this, but he sees all collectors and dealers as immoral scum anyway. He and Marlene start an affair, and Marlene uses him in her complex scheme to get a Liebowitz out of the country to Japan, thence to New York. Part of her plan is to establish provenance—a key aspect of authentication. If you can track where the painting has been since the painter created it, then you have the real thing.
Her plan is so complex and worth so much money, that part of it requires a Japanese collector to buy Butcher’s entire new show for $200,000. In other words, the potential profit of the scam is so great that $200,000 is a small capital expense in comparison.
In New York, Butcher hatches his own plan to forge a Liebowitz—partly for the challenge of doing so. But Olivier is no longer cooperating with his faithless wife, and she murders him (or so it is implied). Suddenly the game of art crime, which Butcher played along with because it seemed a way to revenge himself on the art world, was too much.
One out of three is a start. What can I say—this was a thoroughly entertaining book. The characters were deeply unpleasant and yet fascinating. Carey has some fun with the idea of people who have the eye for great art and those who don’t—Butcher, Hugh, and Marlene all do. (When Butcher intentionally paints a bad painting, Hugh can’t understand why.) The point being made is that “the eye” has nothing to do with intelligence or morality. Perhaps the bigger point is that art itself has nothing to do with these qualities. I embraced this sort of belief when I was younger because I thought it was cool. I still believe this, but I don’t comfortably embrace the idea of the artist who is beyond morality. On the contrary, I wince with guilt when I learn that an artist whose work I love turns out to have been a rotten sort of fellow.
So I wasn’t planning to read any more Carey, but a review of Theft made me waver. I like books about fictional artists, and the subject of art crime and fraud has long interested me. The fine art trade is very lightly regulated, but places a high premium on authenticity. So many crimes are crimes of falsified authenticity—forgery being the best known, but deliberate misattribution, misdating, and so on are probably more common. Theft deals with forgery, misattribution, and misdating, and uses the authenticity endowing concept of droit morale as the mechanism.
Butcher Bones (actually Michael Boone) is an Australian painter who had his day in the sun in the early 70s, spent time in prison for trying to steal his own artwork from his recently divorced wife, and by 1981 is living with his retarded brother Hugh (“Slow Bones”) at the vacation house of a former patron. He is painting very high quality works when he meets Marlene Liebowitz, the daughter-in-law of a great cubist painter, Jacques Liebowitz. Her husband has no interest in art, but does have droit morale—he can authenticate Liebowitz paintings. So her deal is to find questionable works (particularly ones that Liebowitz started, abandoned, and then were later finished by his scheming wife) and, usually working with a dealer or collector or some other partner, get Olivier, her husband, to officially authenticate them.
Butcher is somewhat appalled by this, but he sees all collectors and dealers as immoral scum anyway. He and Marlene start an affair, and Marlene uses him in her complex scheme to get a Liebowitz out of the country to Japan, thence to New York. Part of her plan is to establish provenance—a key aspect of authentication. If you can track where the painting has been since the painter created it, then you have the real thing.
Her plan is so complex and worth so much money, that part of it requires a Japanese collector to buy Butcher’s entire new show for $200,000. In other words, the potential profit of the scam is so great that $200,000 is a small capital expense in comparison.
In New York, Butcher hatches his own plan to forge a Liebowitz—partly for the challenge of doing so. But Olivier is no longer cooperating with his faithless wife, and she murders him (or so it is implied). Suddenly the game of art crime, which Butcher played along with because it seemed a way to revenge himself on the art world, was too much.
One out of three is a start. What can I say—this was a thoroughly entertaining book. The characters were deeply unpleasant and yet fascinating. Carey has some fun with the idea of people who have the eye for great art and those who don’t—Butcher, Hugh, and Marlene all do. (When Butcher intentionally paints a bad painting, Hugh can’t understand why.) The point being made is that “the eye” has nothing to do with intelligence or morality. Perhaps the bigger point is that art itself has nothing to do with these qualities. I embraced this sort of belief when I was younger because I thought it was cool. I still believe this, but I don’t comfortably embrace the idea of the artist who is beyond morality. On the contrary, I wince with guilt when I learn that an artist whose work I love turns out to have been a rotten sort of fellow.
July 2, 2011
I wish I could remember where I first heard of this book, years ago. (I believe it was a very positive review in some paper or on some website.) I promptly added it to my PaperbackSwap queue and was rewarded with it after much patience. Since then, I’ve been excited to get around to it. But it’s been quite disappointing, despite calling to mind elements of Palahniuk, Faulkner, and Steinbeck.
Pahalniuk because of the “edgy” writing, modern speaking voice, and general feel of disdain for the world.
Faulkner because of the chapters written by the mentally retarded brother.
Steinbeck because of the more competent, worldly man caretaking for the big, bumbling lummox of a man who he loves but wants desperately to get away from at the same time.
The action is so muddy that you are halfway through anything important happening before you realize it is, and by then it’s anticlimactic and simply confusing.
I like the premise of the story a lot, but it really could have used a good few rounds of editing. The book just didn’t do it for me.
I did, however, really enjoy seeing the world of fine art and all of its percariousness - forgeries, cover-ups, verifications, etc. It is all so very intriguing. I just wish I had felt the same way about Carey's novel.
Pahalniuk because of the “edgy” writing, modern speaking voice, and general feel of disdain for the world.
Faulkner because of the chapters written by the mentally retarded brother.
Steinbeck because of the more competent, worldly man caretaking for the big, bumbling lummox of a man who he loves but wants desperately to get away from at the same time.
The action is so muddy that you are halfway through anything important happening before you realize it is, and by then it’s anticlimactic and simply confusing.
I like the premise of the story a lot, but it really could have used a good few rounds of editing. The book just didn’t do it for me.
I did, however, really enjoy seeing the world of fine art and all of its percariousness - forgeries, cover-ups, verifications, etc. It is all so very intriguing. I just wish I had felt the same way about Carey's novel.
November 20, 2023
9/200 - "ძარცვა"
"ძარცვა" უდიდესი ავსტრალიელი მწერლისა და ორ გზის ბუკერის ლაურეატის, პიტერ კერის რომანია, რომელიც 2006 წელს გამოიცა. ნაწარმოების პროტაგონისტი მხატვარი მაიკლ "ბუჩერ" ბოუნია, რომელიც მის აუტისტ ძმასთან, ჰიუსთან, ერთად ცხოვრობს. მათი ცხოვრება კი მაშინ იცვლება, როდესაც მათ ცხოვრებაში მარლინ ლეიბოვიცი (კუკი) გამოჩნდება.
"ძარცვა" უდიდესი ავსტრალიელი მწერლისა და ორ გზის ბუკერის ლაურეატის, პიტერ კერის რომანია, რომელიც 2006 წელს გამოიცა. ნაწარმოების პროტაგონისტი მხატვარი მაიკლ "ბუჩერ" ბოუნია, რომელიც მის აუტისტ ძმასთან, ჰიუსთან, ერთად ცხოვრობს. მათი ცხოვრება კი მაშინ იცვლება, როდესაც მათ ცხოვრებაში მარლინ ლეიბოვიცი (კუკი) გამოჩნდება.
December 19, 2008
I cant quite decide if I enjoyed this book or simply finished out of a sense of commitment to reach the end. The plot seemed captivating, hence why I started reading in the first place, but it was difficult to immerse myself wholly in the story. The unfamiliar landscape of Australia and constant jumps into individual trails of thought was both distracting and charming. One difficult tendency was the lack of segue between key events, often times travel and great changes were only offhandedly remarked upon in Hugh’s poetic ramblings.
The story is narrated by two brothers, Michael “Butcher” Boone and Hugh “Slow Bones” Boone. Michael is a bitter, lone-wolf type character who was formally a famous oil-painter. He recently experienced a traumatic divorce and separation from his wife and son and has since become the caretaker of his brother, Hugh. Hugh is mentally challenged with an unspecified illness, although he is immature in many ways, he is also very clever and a keen observer. In Hugh’s passages, the author created a very convincing approach to stream of consciousness; he is poetic and frightfully honest and confusing all at once. Butcher and Slow Bones are last of their immediate family and are isolated as such. Although they are not discussed in great detail, their mother and father are recalled often and with casual reflection that touches on deeper memories and themes which weave throughout the book.
Overall, the story managed to feel uneventful despite the outrageous sequence of events brought on by the arrival of a third character, Marlene. The plot took a backseat to the narration of the tale, as the three main characters matured as both individuals and in their mutual understanding of one another. Together they became entwined in a great adventure spanning multiple continents, a great scandal and the theft of a famous artwork. The conclusion to the tale was disappointing. I wanted to understanding what exactly had happened but didn’t feel the itch for more – that feeling of dread when a great books ends and you wished to live in the world for just a bit longer - that was not a feeling I shared with this particular novel.
The story is narrated by two brothers, Michael “Butcher” Boone and Hugh “Slow Bones” Boone. Michael is a bitter, lone-wolf type character who was formally a famous oil-painter. He recently experienced a traumatic divorce and separation from his wife and son and has since become the caretaker of his brother, Hugh. Hugh is mentally challenged with an unspecified illness, although he is immature in many ways, he is also very clever and a keen observer. In Hugh’s passages, the author created a very convincing approach to stream of consciousness; he is poetic and frightfully honest and confusing all at once. Butcher and Slow Bones are last of their immediate family and are isolated as such. Although they are not discussed in great detail, their mother and father are recalled often and with casual reflection that touches on deeper memories and themes which weave throughout the book.
Overall, the story managed to feel uneventful despite the outrageous sequence of events brought on by the arrival of a third character, Marlene. The plot took a backseat to the narration of the tale, as the three main characters matured as both individuals and in their mutual understanding of one another. Together they became entwined in a great adventure spanning multiple continents, a great scandal and the theft of a famous artwork. The conclusion to the tale was disappointing. I wanted to understanding what exactly had happened but didn’t feel the itch for more – that feeling of dread when a great books ends and you wished to live in the world for just a bit longer - that was not a feeling I shared with this particular novel.
July 15, 2008
If you want a vivid picture of the dark side of the international art world, very well written, read this; otherwise, go to the museum and meditate on some true art. Overall, I found this read gratuitously obscene; however, the author is a Booker Prize winner, and it was my book club selection, so I persisted and finished it. It is told from the alternating perspectives of two brothers, Michael, a famous painter, who has fallen from fame, divorced, (he refers to his former wife as the “Plaintiff”), and is poor; and his handicapped brother Hugh, who is something of a poetic giant, reminiscent of Steinbeck’s Lennie in “Of Mice and Men.” There is a real feel for the compulsive drive of the artist and a look at how high art is marketed, here accompanied by forgery, theft, and murder. More interesting to me was a deeper back story which hinted at the childhood and family life of the main characters and a portrayal of the different aspects of love – aesthetic, brotherly, parental, and erotic, hence the title. If there is a prequel, it may be worthwhile; otherwise, see ya at the museum!
January 3, 2015
What I liked: 1) TWO unreliable narrators relating their versions of this tragi-comic tale (an Australian artist five years "out of style," and his mentally challenged brother.) 2) The author's ironic take on the wacky world of artists, collectors, agents, appraisers. 3) The rather intriguing twists of the art theft.
What I didn't like: 1)Having to interpret the Australian vernacular and the obtuse ramblings of the mentally damaged narrator. I had to re-read often to get the gist. 2)What really pared this down to TWO STARS is that the novel was OVERWRITTEN. The last 10 chapters were boring and anti-climactic. The novel could have ended nicely with the last lines of chapter 45:
"You want to know what love is? Not what you think my darling young one." And that would have been enough said about the love story, as well!
What I didn't like: 1)Having to interpret the Australian vernacular and the obtuse ramblings of the mentally damaged narrator. I had to re-read often to get the gist. 2)What really pared this down to TWO STARS is that the novel was OVERWRITTEN. The last 10 chapters were boring and anti-climactic. The novel could have ended nicely with the last lines of chapter 45:
"You want to know what love is? Not what you think my darling young one." And that would have been enough said about the love story, as well!
March 21, 2016
Probably every writer has one overriding obsession, a theme he can’t help returning to in every novel. Carey’s is national identity. He’s always trying to work out what it is to be Australian. It’s as if he doesn’t quite believe Australians have a reliable identity and his characters are ceaselessly driven to either establish one or rage against its absence. Here Carey is at his cleverest wrestling with this theme. He uses art forgery to explore the theme of cultural and personal authenticity or its absence. As usual there’s a brilliant cast of characters with original voices and, as James Wood, says, “Carey delights in stripping authorship of authority, and in floating the heretical notion that the reader may be the final author of the work.”
September 28, 2016
3.5 უფრო ზუსტი შეფასება იქნებოდა, ალბათ.
წიგნის ნახევარი სრულიად არადამაინტრიგებლად იკითხება და არც განსაკუთრებული ემოციები მოაქვს. უბრალოდ სიუჟეტის ორი ნარატორიდან ერთ-ერთი - აუტისტი ჰიუ - იმდენად საყვარელია, რომ მისი ხათრითაც შეიძლება ქულების დაწერა. არც მეორე ნარატორის, ცნობილი და შემდეგ მივიწყებული მხატვრის ისტორიაა ურიგო, უბრალოდ ძალიან ნელა და მოსაწყენად ვითარდება.
კარგი იქნებოდა თუ პირველად პიტერ კერის სხვა უფრო ცნობილი რომანები ითარგმნებოდა ქართულად, თუნდაც ის ორი წიგნი, რომლებითაც ორჯერ გახდა ბუკერის პრემიის ლაურეატი.
წიგნის ნახევარი სრულიად არადამაინტრიგებლად იკითხება და არც განსაკუთრებული ემოციები მოაქვს. უბრალოდ სიუჟეტის ორი ნარატორიდან ერთ-ერთი - აუტისტი ჰიუ - იმდენად საყვარელია, რომ მისი ხათრითაც შეიძლება ქულების დაწერა. არც მეორე ნარატორის, ცნობილი და შემდეგ მივიწყებული მხატვრის ისტორიაა ურიგო, უბრალოდ ძალიან ნელა და მოსაწყენად ვითარდება.
კარგი იქნებოდა თუ პირველად პიტერ კერის სხვა უფრო ცნობილი რომანები ითარგმნებოდა ქართულად, თუნდაც ის ორი წიგნი, რომლებითაც ორჯერ გახდა ბუკერის პრემიის ლაურეატი.
July 3, 2009
Why this was shortlisted for the Booker prize I have no effing clue. Boring, tedious, unfunny and unbelievable, I forced myself on to the bitter end only because it was my book club pick. I will never regain those hours of my life - effectively flushed down the toilet - spent reading this waste of ink and paper. PFFFFTTT.
February 27, 2021
ისტორია იმდენად არა, რამდენადაც წერის სტილია კარგი. ორი ნარატორი ჰყავს: მხატვარი მაიკლ ბოუნი და მისი აუტისტი ძმა ჰიუ, რომელმაც ფოლკნერის ბენჯის პერსონაჟი გამახსენა.
ციხიდან ახალი გამოსული მაიკლი ჩადის თავისი კოლექციონერის სოფელში ძმასთან ერთად საცხოვრებლად, სადაც შეხვდება სამხატვრო ექსპერტის მეუღლეს მარლინს და სიუჟეტის განვითარებაც მანდედან იწყება.
3/5
რამდენადაც ვიცი, არ არის ეს მწერლის მთავარი ნაწარმოები. საინტერესო იქნებოდა სხვების გაცნობაც. იმედია ითარგმნება მომავალში.
ციხიდან ახალი გამოსული მაიკლი ჩადის თავისი კოლექციონერის სოფელში ძმასთან ერთად საცხოვრებლად, სადაც შეხვდება სამხატვრო ექსპერტის მეუღლეს მარლინს და სიუჟეტის განვითარებაც მანდედან იწყება.
3/5
რამდენადაც ვიცი, არ არის ეს მწერლის მთავარი ნაწარმოები. საინტერესო იქნებოდა სხვების გაცნობაც. იმედია ითარგმნება მომავალში.
November 16, 2020
Once famous painter Michael “Butcher” Boone has his life altered when he becomes caretaker for his childlike brother Hugh and a beautiful enigmatic young woman enters their lives. Carey has a gift for insight into human nature and writes with wit.
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