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    Counterfeit: A Novel
    Counterfeit: A Novel
    Counterfeit: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    Counterfeit: A Novel

    Written by Kirstin Chen

    Narrated by Catherine Ho

    4/5

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    • Friendship

    • Family

    • Personal Growth

    • Immigration

    • Betrayal

    • Fish Out of Water

    • Fall From Grace

    • Criminal Underworld

    • Love Triangle

    • Power of Friendship

    • Star-Crossed Lovers

    • Femme Fatale

    • Redemption Arc

    • Moral Dilemma

    • College Roommates

    • Motherhood

    • Identity

    • Guilt

    • Cultural Differences

    • Counterfeit Goods

    About this audiobook

    INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK

    “A con artist story, a pop-feminist caper, a fashionable romp . . . Counterfeit is an entertaining, luxurious read—but beneath its glitz and flash, it is also a shrewd deconstruction of the American dream and the myth of the model minority. . . . Chen is up to something innovative and subversive here."" — Camille Perri, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

    Recommended by New York Times Book Review • Washington Post • People • Entertainment Weekly • USA Today • Time • Cosmopolitan • Today show • Harper’s Bazaar • Vogue • Good Housekeeping • Parade • New York Post • Town & Country • GMA.com • Buzzfeed • Goodreads • Oprah Daily • Popsugar • Bustle •  theSkimm • The Millions • and more!

    For fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise—an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners.

    Money can’t buy happiness… but it can buy a decent fake.

    Ava Wong has always played it safe. As a strait-laced, rule-abiding Chinese American lawyer with a successful surgeon as a husband, a young son, and a beautiful home—she’s built the perfect life. But beneath this façade, Ava’s world is crumbling: her marriage is falling apart, her expensive law degree hasn’t been used in years, and her toddler’s tantrums are pushing her to the breaking point.

    Enter Winnie Fang, Ava’s enigmatic college roommate from Mainland China, who abruptly dropped out under mysterious circumstances. Now, twenty years later, Winnie is looking to reconnect with her old friend. But the shy, awkward girl Ava once knew has been replaced with a confident woman of the world, dripping in luxury goods, including a coveted Birkin in classic orange. The secret to her success? Winnie has developed an ingenious counterfeit scheme that involves importing near-exact replicas of luxury handbags and now she needs someone with a U.S. passport to help manage her business—someone who’d never be suspected of wrongdoing, someone like Ava. But when their spectacular success is threatened and Winnie vanishes once again, Ava is left to face the consequences.

    Swift, surprising, and sharply comic, Counterfeit is a stylish and feminist caper with a strong point of view and an axe to grind. Peering behind the curtain of the upscale designer storefronts and the Chinese factories where luxury goods are produced, Kirstin Chen interrogates the myth of the model minority through two unforgettable women determined to demand more from life.

    ""If you appreciate a good caper, you’ll want to pick up Kirstin Chen’s novel . . . Fast-paced and fun, with smart commentary on the cultural differences between Asia and America."" — TIME

    “Propulsive and captivating . . . A provocative story of fashion, friendship, and fakes (in more ways than one).” — VOGUE

    Editor's Note

    Thrilling escapades…

    Ava Wong reconnects with her college roommate, Winnie Fang, who’s now gorgeous and rich — all because of a counterfeit bag scheme. Ava soon teams up with Winnie, though the operation is risky. Chen (“Soy Sauce for Beginners”) pens a cunning con artist story with vastly different perspectives from Ava and Winnie. Come for the thrilling escapades, stay for the lush descriptions of designer accessories. There’s also a plot twist you’ll have to read to believe.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJun 7, 2022
    ISBN9780063119581
    Author

    Kirstin Chen

    Kirstin Chen is the author of Counterfeit, which was a New York Times bestseller, Soy Sauce for Beginners and Bury What We Cannot Take. Born and raised in Singapore, she currently lives in San Francisco.

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    Reviews for Counterfeit

    4/5

    878 ratings24 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be a mixed bag. Some reviewers found the book to be okay, unique, and enjoyable, while others felt that it lost their interest and had a slow pace. The story revolves around purse counterfeiters and explores themes of friendship, ambition, and the dark side of the luxury goods market. The setting in San Francisco and China adds to the appeal for some readers. Overall, the book has its ups and downs, but it is worth a read for those interested in a fast-paced caper with thought-provoking elements.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      Quick, breezy read, good for the beach or the weekend. Set in San Francisco and parts of China, it’s the story of two old college friends who inexplicably find themselves running a high-stakes counterfeit scheme and eventually, getting involved with the equivalent of the Chinese mafia. It’s also the story of an second generation Asian American born overachiever who is frustrated with her lot in life, lack of success (career, financial, marriage and parenting-wise) and who gets embroiled in her friend’s illegal scheme. The plot line moves fast and the audiobook narrator was quite good (I switched between written and audio, and picked up on more subtleties and humor when reading the traditional format). There are some plot twists I didn’t see coming midway through but ultimately, the end was somewhat predictable. The narrator started to grate on my nerves with her lack of ownership for her mistakes and her very bad choices - definitely not a sympathetic heroine. Also, readers not familiar with - or indifferent to - the world of luxury handbags may find the inane amount of money spent on both real and even counterfeit bags to be obscene, to the point where it distracts them from enjoying the story. Rating this 3.5 stars rounded down to 3.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Interesting story and touches upon real life, challenges and philosophical questions.
    • 4/5
      I really liked the voice actor and a the story was good too.
    • 3/5
      Fun beach read/listen but it got kind of predictable and boring.
    • 5/5
      This book reminded me so much of Finlay Donovan! Probably because of the resourceful and funny main leads, i loved it! Also can we talk about all the beautiful handbags mentioned ???
    • 4/5
      Very entertaining. I enjoyed the Bay Area setting since I am familiar with it and the locales. Surely shakes one’s confidence in the authenticity of pricey goods as well as other main stream market items.
    • 4/5
      Listen to or read this one! It’s great. You won’t regret it.
    • 1/5
      I finally gave up at 50%. I was hoping the narration would change and it won’t be just Ava telling the whole story. Another downside was that I didn’t like any of the characters and the stiry itself bored me. I expected so much more if this book.
    • 4/5
      It was okay. Enticing at the beginning but lost me a little toward the end.
    • 3/5
      I was into it in the beginning and middle and then just started to lose interest. And i'm not sure i cared for the ending? Maybe that isn't the direction I expected or wanted. The audio is 5 stars but the actual story is like 2.5 - 3 star.
      Maybe because i took so long to finish it, it made it less enjoyable? Not sure. But that's all i got.
    • 5/5
      Excellent! Just loved this book! Interesting perspectives of life and commerce. Recommend!
    • 3/5
      I like reading about other cultures. Not too much of that but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
    • 3/5
      The performance is very good. The story is just a bit slow and drags on at parts. Interesting premise though.
    • 3/5
      This book was okay. It was unique in the sense that I had never read a book about purse counterfeiters, but it also didn't have any staying power for me. It was just, okay.
    • 5/5
      Well written!!! Very well preformed !!! Kept me intrigued all the way
    • 5/5
      Love it. It was so good. I really enjoyed it
    • 5/5
      I am still thinking about these characters and what they brought to this story. I love that this didn’t get diluted into a romance or “which guy will she choose.”

      My jaw dropped at multiple places. This is one of those books where you read it and then become obsessed with the author. The work was done for these books, characters were strong, plots were believable yet kept you on the edge of your seat. Honestly, haven’t read a book this compelling in a long time
    • 2/5
      Did not like, no drama and very low stakes. Disappointed.
    • 3/5
      I found this quite boring, but after reaching part two of the novel, it shifted everything so that's why I managed to finish it. The ending was worth it.
    • 5/5
      Highly engaging, fast paced caper about a Chinese- American & Chinese woman who get involved in a complicated scam involving "replica" designer handbags made in China. Enjoyable listen with a subversive underside that pierces the ways in which women, Chinese, are stereotyped, and raises uneasy questions about modern motherhood.
    • 5/5
      Engaging page turner. Not sure how fictional the counterfeit operation described in the book really is but it’s both interesting and frightening. I guess as long as there are enough profits, there’s bound to be people motivated enough to exploit any possible loopholes for their shares regardless of the risks.
    • 5/5
      Great story! Fun listen. Looking forward to the next one.
    • 1/5
      I made it 15% of the way through and turned it off. The premise intrigued me, but if I wanted to listen to how annoying toddlers are for hours on end I would just visit my sister. I don’t understand why there was SO much focus on how bratty her child was. Waste of my time.

      3 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      wasnt expecting the ending really believed that ava was a good person and was being conned.