A review by booksaremypeople
Portrait of an Unknown Lady by María Gainza

4.0

Written in impressionistic vignettes, this novel takes place in Argentina in the 1960’s and the story is told through an unnamed narrator who used to be a well-known art critic until she was seduced by the dark side of counterfeit art. In her early 20’s she was taken under the wing of a woman named Enriqueta who confessed that she’d been forging art certificates of authenticity for over four decades. The forgery, for Enriquita was never about making money, it was about deeper, more philosophical questions about arts itself, like, what makes art valuable and, if it’s in the aesthetics, can’t a replica bring about the same sort of pleasure. Once Enriquetta passes away, the narrator is at the center of a new catalogue involving a famous painter’s objects, supposedly carried with them while fleeing the Nazi’s from Vienna to Argentina. The story, narrated by someone the readers understand to be a con artist, makes for a mind-bending read, because we don’t quite know how much we can trust that she is telling us. This is a book about art and the relationship between art and story and I think this book will appeal to fans of Rachel Cusk, art enthusiasts and people who enjoy reading books in translation. To learn more about this and other books, listen to my book recommendation podcast, Books Are My People.