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A review by bookforthought
Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This review comes embarrassingly late, given how long ago I actually read this book but please bear with me as I (maybe) finally catch up on my backlog...
I seem to be in the minority on this one, as I saw a fair number of good reviews, but sadly I didn't really enjoy Counterfeit. On paper, this had all the elements needed for me to love it: estranged friends reconnecting; reflections on motherhood and patriarchy even among seemingly privileged women; a high-stakes international criminal operation; a critique of consumerism and the luxury goods market; and even elements of racial inequality and American exceptionalism. And yet...
My main complaint about this is that, despite everything that was going on, I was ultimately bored. There was very little excitement and I found the characters to not be as developed as they could (and arguably should) have been. There was also an over-reliance on stereotyping which couldn't really be explained away with it being solely the narrator's opinions and which ultimately felt like a lazy way out of delving deeper into the themes that were teased. Speaking of which, none of the themes felt to me like it was being explored in any meaningful way: it was mostly presented as whining and complaining on the part of the main characters and didn't really add anything new to the discourse.
That being said, I did enjoy the fact that the narration was framed as a statement being given to the police by a character who definitely had a significant self-interest in presenting events in a certain light. I also liked the character switch, which breathed some fresh air in an otherwise stale narrative.
I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.
I seem to be in the minority on this one, as I saw a fair number of good reviews, but sadly I didn't really enjoy Counterfeit. On paper, this had all the elements needed for me to love it: estranged friends reconnecting; reflections on motherhood and patriarchy even among seemingly privileged women; a high-stakes international criminal operation; a critique of consumerism and the luxury goods market; and even elements of racial inequality and American exceptionalism. And yet...
My main complaint about this is that, despite everything that was going on, I was ultimately bored. There was very little excitement and I found the characters to not be as developed as they could (and arguably should) have been. There was also an over-reliance on stereotyping which couldn't really be explained away with it being solely the narrator's opinions and which ultimately felt like a lazy way out of delving deeper into the themes that were teased. Speaking of which, none of the themes felt to me like it was being explored in any meaningful way: it was mostly presented as whining and complaining on the part of the main characters and didn't really add anything new to the discourse.
That being said, I did enjoy the fact that the narration was framed as a statement being given to the police by a character who definitely had a significant self-interest in presenting events in a certain light. I also liked the character switch, which breathed some fresh air in an otherwise stale narrative.
I received an e-arc of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.