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  • Counterfeit

  • A Novel
  • Written by: Kirstin Chen
  • Narrated by: Catherine Ho
  • Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (143 ratings)

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Counterfeit cover art

Counterfeit

Written by: Kirstin Chen
Narrated by: Catherine Ho
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Publisher's Summary

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

©2022 Kirstin Chen (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Counterfeit

Average Customer Ratings
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    2 out of 5 stars

Storyline fell flat

I thought the ending fell flat. It was entertaining throughout but then the ending was nothing special. I feel unfulfilled. Narration was good.

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1 person found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
  • JMM
  • 2023-10-08

Enjoyed!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s fascinating and the twists and turns are delightful. The only thing I found a bit much was Ava’s monologues. Otherwise, I really enjoyed everything about this book.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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couldn't stop listening! highly recommend

love the twist at the end. The narrator also did a great job bringing the story to life.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good listen

So good it had me checking my designer bags for serial numbers and authenticity stamps!!!

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great characters

The characters in this book were so fun and I couldn’t stop listing! It was so well written and translated well to an audio book, highly recommend!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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Narration good, story boring

I struggled to finish this. The narration was fine. But the story was pretty bad.

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2 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Disappointing and Anticlimactic

I was interested in the concept of this novel and it recommend by Reese's Book Club. I found the storyline never really went anywhere and got boring and I became annoyed with the narration. However, I stuck with it since I used a credit. The ending was flat and I overall wouldn't recommend.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Boring

This book is so boring and predictable, exactly what you think is going to happen happens and there’s no mystery or twist or surprises.

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2 people found this helpful