An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge

The Forger's Spell

The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century - Edward Dolnick

I picked this book up at the library on a whim and I almost returned it unread. I'm glad I gave it a chance. It's really well-written nonfiction. The pacing is great. A few parts felt slightly repetitive, but there were other times I needed the author's reminders about who's who in the book. Some people are mentioned early on, and then don't come back into the story until the end, so the reminders were great. Especially since I read the first 100 pages on my breaks at work and the last 200 pages in two big chunks.

 

I needed the internet handy the whole time I was reading. The author references many paintings (most of which I wasn't familiar with). There's an insert in the book that includes some of the paintings, the most referenced Vermeers and Van Meegeren forgeries, but there are many mentioned throughout the book, and I found that looking up all the paintings helped me understand and enjoy the book more.

 

Overall this is an interesting bit of history told well.