Brilliant in many respects, Gruber takes the reader on an unusual journey toggling back and forth from the present to the days of the famous Spanish artist, Velasquez. The catch is that the mind of the central character, Chaz Wilmot may or may not be how this journey is experienced. Extremely well researched, the characters engage at a deep level offering art history in parallel with the underworld of art forgery. With a lifelong appreciation for great art while lacking the knowledge of the masters, this story has inspired me to learn more about them! But it's the journey that will continually raise questions in your mind, the central theme being, What is real? This is a great story and unique in many respects. Highly recommend, whether art is of interest or not! ( )

Reminds me a bit of The Magus, both for the cool ideas it plays with and for the creakiness of the basic plot. But as with the Magus, I find myself willing to suspend my skepticism and just enjoy the play. ( )

Gruber's Forgery of Venus is a story that demands a bit of suspension of reality. The main character experiences time-travel, or psychotic episodes, that transport him back to the 1600s and 1700s in Europe. We travel through the worlds of art forgery, great painters, the stolen artworks during the Holocaust, and more. I enjoyed listening to Chaz tell his story. ( )

I'm going to have to re-read this when my head's not addled with cough syrup and prednisone, although it provided a nice parallel to the central character's experience. I'm left not knowing what was real, what imagined, and I'm not sure what share of that ambiguity is actually in the text. ( )

This book has been described as “a tale within a tale within a tale” and it most certainly is! A modern day artist has the talent to paint like the old masters, specifically Diego Valasquez. Add to that a mix of genius, a little insanity, a few narcotics, some shady characters, a healthy dose of intrigue and some very interesting and factual art history and you pretty much sum up this book. I loved it. ( )