Counterfeit: A Reese's Book Club Pick

Product Information

To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing. Counterfeit products are fakes or unauthorized replicas of the real product. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product. The word counterfeit frequently describes both the forgeries of currency and documents as well as the imitations of items such as clothing, handbags, shoes, pharmaceuticals, automobile parts, unapproved aircraft parts (which have caused many accidents), watches, electronics and electronic parts, software, works of art, toys, and movies. [1] A startling, gleeful look at the American Dream and what counts as real in a world obsessed with image, this caper story follows two very different Chinese American women as they build a fake fashion empire that then threatens to come crashing down. Chen’s use of story structure is masterful, as are her complicated, compelling characters.” — Grace D. Li, The Washington Post Other than Ava and Winnie, the characters don’t stand out. Most are quite flat and come on a need-be basis into the story. This is a great easy read, it’s clever and fun but with dark undertones as it shines a light on things such as Chinese factory conditions. I really like the way it’s written with the saga unfolding as Ava tells the tale to Detective Georgia Murphy. The tone is so good you almost feel as if Ava is right in front of you. Havocscope Counterfeit and Piracy Markets by Products". Archived from the original on March 23, 2010 . Retrieved April 14, 2010.

Thank you to #partners Libro FM, Kirstin Chen, & Harper Audio for a #gifted ALC in exchange for my honest opinion.Certain consumer goods, especially very expensive or desirable brands or those that are easy to reproduce cheaply, have become frequent and common targets of counterfeiting. The counterfeiters either attempt to deceive the consumer into thinking they are purchasing a legitimate item, or convince the consumer that they could deceive others with the imitation. An item which makes no attempt to deceive, such as a copy of a DVD with missing or different cover art or a book without a cover, is often called a "bootleg" or a "pirated copy" instead. Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point. Selections like Counterfeit are the reason why. Now don’t get it twisted and think this is some Pulitzer caliber lifechanger of a story because it most assuredly is not. What it ended up being, however, is exactly what I was hoping when it was first announced by Reese over on the ‘Gram. Intellectual Property Rights" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2010 . Retrieved 15 May 2010. the two female MCs were clever and strong. one of the female MCs is recounting the entire story to a detective so you know something goes wrong… but do they get away with it? what happens? how does it all go down? some people don’t like the “telling” vs “showing” trope of a book (think BLOOD SUGAR) but i didn’t mind it one bit.

There are indeed some real people like this in our real world. But the problem arises when we start seeing every person from a specific country with a certain ethnicity only in this way. Ava Wong has always followed the rules. She appears to have achieved the perfect life. She married a Doctor, Oli, she’s a corporate lawyer, a graduate of Stanford, and has a 2 year old son, Henri. They live in San Francisco.

How can this be I hear you ask?

Esposito, Dom (24 July 2014). "Hands-on with a functional 4.7-inch iPhone 6 clone w/ heavily detailed, skinned version of Android (Video)". 9to5Google. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 . Retrieved 9 March 2015. A con artist story, a pop-feminist caper, a fashionable romp . . . Counterfeit is an entertaining, luxurious read—but beneath its glitz and flash, it is also a shrewd deconstruction of the American dream and the myth of the model minority. . . . Chen is up to something innovative and subversive here." — Camille Perri, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Counterfeit is decadent and delicious. The sparkling story line seduces with its compelling twists and turns even as Kirstin Chen deftly interrogates issues of race, identity, wealth and consumerism. A true delight for mind and heart from beginning to end.” — Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee It’s funny because going into the novel, I thought about how I’m not caught up in expensive purses anymore. I used to be all about getting a new Coach or a Kate Spade purse (at the outlets) but ever since the start of the pandemic, I’ve been fine carrying the same purse. But that said, I found myself looking at a Lululemon belt bag so maybe I do still care about name brands, haha. Overall, I definitely enjoyed this “fun” and engrossing read, but more than that, I also appreciated the fact that it was a welcome departure from the “heavier” books that I’ve read lately. Immediately after finishing this one, I put both of Kirsten Chen’s previous books on my TBR, though of course, I also look forward to what she might have in store next. Counterfeit is told in such a unique way—Ava Wong is recalling to a detective on how she got caught up in this illegal counterfeit purse scheme. As such, there aren’t any quotation marks as Ava is telling this story. So it’s a little something to get used to but once you do, the story really flows.

How to avoid buying a counterfeit book

ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau (1997), Countering Counterfeiting: A Guide to Protecting and Enforcing Intellectual Property Rights, United Kingdom. In this crime drama, a risk-averse former lawyer joins an elaborate fakebag scheme to finally get some thrills.” — Cosmopolitan With all that said though, this wasn’t just a superficial story about a counterfeit handbag business gone awry. It actually went much deeper than that, as it also explored recent social, political, and economic issues such as anti-Asian sentiment, immigration and the American Dream, racism, the strained U.S.-China trade relationship, etc. It also dealt with Chinese cultural elements (as well as stereotypes) in ways that were insightful and respectful, yet not heavy-handed. Despite some of the serious themes, there was a lightheartedness to the story that made this a well-balanced read.