The Forgery of Venus Michael Gruber Morrow

The artist Chaz Wilmot has high standards both for himself and for those who buy his work. The two seldom meet. Chaz wants to paint representational art. The public wants anything but. Chaz doesn't work up to his full potential as a result and refuses to show in galleries prefering to take on somewhat anonymous magazine work, waiting for a patron who appreciates the art for the work not the dollar value. Still, having to provide for his children, Milo, his son, has a deadly condition. Chaz takes on a restoration job. He finds he enjoys it. He also finds he's going mad. As Chaz manipulates the paint are others manipulating him? The Forgery of Venus does have forgery in it, and it is a mystery in the loosest sense. It's also intriguing reading on the nature of art, reality and perception, the differences between imagination, inspiration and insanity. Those lines were never too boldly drawn in Chaz's life. Gruber's writing isn't compelling. The reader goes along freely and is amply rewarded for doing so.

Dave Biemann