Counterfeit

I found Kirsten Chen's novel Counterfeit (#1,093) fascinating on several levels.  The plot concerns two women involved in the counterfeit handbag game.  But the book didn't go where I expected it to go; there are some surprising plot twists to keep you turning the pages, and turning your viewpoint on its head.

Ava and Winnie met at Stanford, where Chinese Winnie spent one miserable semester abroad.  When she later contacts American-born Ava, her college roommate, at a particularly unhappy period of Ava's life, a partnership is born.  They are making money hand over fist until things start to unravel...

The "targets" of this supposedly "victimless" crime are the purveyors of and consumers of designer handbags.  Apparently there is a whole world of fashionistas out there whose status depends on whether or not they are carrying the "right" bag at absolutely absurd prices (even for the top level knock-offs!)  As you may have guessed, I am not one of those people. I had to look up the particular bags mentioned online, most of which I did not consider either attractive or functional.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single bag?  I don't think so.  But for a huge industry based in China, where even the authentic handbags have been outsourced, fortunes literally change hands.

It's like the movie Wall Street, where "Greed is good".  I've got to say, I did not care for the ending, but then again, the characters in this book would have looked down their noses at someone like me.  I can live with that.