chamelodius 's review for:

The Original: A Novel by Nell Stevens

5.0

emotional funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I did not expect to love this book so much, but wow. It was SO good. Every character was layered and complex, none more than Grace and Charles. Grace was so frustrating but in a way that was perfectly written—both a victim of her circumstances and frequently the architect of her own misfortune. But when she did stupid things you could only be like "oh, GRACE" and root for her harder. The way Grace's career as a forger was intertwined with the mystery of the ''forgery" of her cousin was absolutely brilliant, as was how every time you were certain about the man's identity one way or another, something would come up to cast doubt. And in the end how it's not a surprise at all, but still feels like a novel revelation. Grace & Charles' queerness was integral to their characters and not at all tacked on, which I also greatly appreciated. I adored the Truths about Copyists and Copies sprinkled throughout the novel, and the meditations on art. Just completely obsessed with this book in a way I haven't been captured by a novel in a while.