Counterfeit: A Reese's Book Club Pick

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In terms of character development, I feel that Chen did a great job with both Winnie and Ava. Even though I disagree with their actions and the decisions they ultimately made, I was able to relate to the struggles they went through as Chinese women who grew up in traditional Chinese families. Ava especially resonated with me, as I recognized so much of her family dynamic in my own — i.e.: the pressure to choose a “prestigious” career path that ultimately leads to wealth, even if it’s not a career that I would want for myself (this quote sent shivers down my spine because it’s almost verbatim what I experienced: “ …in my family there were only a few acceptable paths—law, medicine, engineering. Law was the one I’d disliked least. From the very beginning, I’d known my lot in life: to be good enough at my job, and to tolerate it until retirement.”); the expectation to be an overachiever in school (anything less than straight A’s was frowned upon) and maintain the image of the “good Chinese daughter” so as not to disappoint my immigrant parents who sacrificed so much for their children to have such opportunities; the cultural significance of “face” and the huge impact it has on how, as a Chinese woman, I’m supposed to live my life (another quote that applies almost verbatim to my own situation: “ …but when you grow up as I did, schooled in the supremacy of “face”—the figurative face, the image, reputation, honor that must be fought for and preserved at all costs—breaking free from constraints to think for oneself becomes a Herculean task.”). One of the things I love about the reading experience is coming across characters whom I am able to relate to in some way (even if our life circumstances are completely different) and that certainly was the case here — this makes the time and effort spent reading this all the more worthwhile. Certain consumer goods, especially very expensive or desirable brands or those that are easy to reproduce cheaply, have become frequent and common targets of counterfeiting. The counterfeiters either attempt to deceive the consumer into thinking they are purchasing a legitimate item, or convince the consumer that they could deceive others with the imitation. An item which makes no attempt to deceive, such as a copy of a DVD with missing or different cover art or a book without a cover, is often called a "bootleg" or a "pirated copy" instead. Counterfeit is decadent and delicious. The sparkling story line seduces with its compelling twists and turns even as Kirstin Chen deftly interrogates issues of race, identity, wealth and consumerism. A true delight for mind and heart from beginning to end.” — Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee EUIPO Anti-Counterfeiting Technology Guide". European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights. 2021-02-26. Archived from the original on 2021-03-17.

The topic the author is trying to discuss has already been discussed multiple times by other authors like Kevin Kwan. We have read this story many times, and it now seems boring to hear it again. But there are many other problems associated with this book that needs much more serious discussion. And so here we are. With two untrustworthy characters as flat as a year-old opened forgotten LaCroix can. To put it bluntly, the story began to deteriorate after the author's dedication.Shanzhai ji: All you need to know about fake phones - Mobile Phones". CNET. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013 . Retrieved 5 August 2013. Linsner, Bristows LLP-Marc (2 March 2021). "EUIPO Observatory publishes Anti-counterfeiting Technology Guide | Lexology". www.lexology.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-23 . Retrieved 2021-03-18. 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. Chen’s third novel is sly and subversive, an examination of motherhood and an incisive look at culture and class . . . A readalike for Amelia Morris’s Wildcat, with a touch of crime.” — Booklist (starred review)

Fingas, Jon (5 August 2013). "GooPhone and LG to offer first tri-SIM smartphones using MediaTek chips". Engadget. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015 . Retrieved 9 March 2015. Chase, Brendon; Derek Fung (8 October 2009). "Fake iPod versus the real thing". CNET. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 . Retrieved 9 March 2015. There are many other problems associated with this book, like the problems with the narration and the way the character's arc was created. There are problems with even the basics, like the author’s usage of quotation marks in this novel.I have been reading about the verbal battle regarding exotic writing between Arundhati Roy and Salman Rushdie in the book Joseph Anton: A Memoir. I found it interesting when I started reading this book after reading what Salman Rushdie had written about this topic. It seems some authors like Kirstin Chen are never planning to change this writing style, which is dangerous to many people in different ways. But, Ava is disgusted with her “friend’s” behavior, that is —until she needs money for her son to get into the best of the best schools & when her husband freezes her credit cards….the list adds up. With a whole lot of bribery she falls under Winnie’s spell and gets in on the scheme. Counterfeit is decadent and delicious. The sparkling storyline seduces with its compelling twists and turns even as Kirstin Chen deftly interrogates issues of race, identity, wealth and consumerism. A true delight for mind and heart from beginning to end." - Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

Italians - People who are very greedy for money. They cheat the customers by selling luxury items, always overpricing them. They will just manufacture the handle of the luxury bags in Italy, make the rest in China, and put made in Italy over their products. To counterfeit means to imitate something authentic, with the intent to steal, destroy, or replace the original, for use in illegal transactions, or otherwise to deceive individuals into believing that the fake is of equal or greater value than the real thing. Counterfeit products are fakes or unauthorized replicas of the real product. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product. The word counterfeit frequently describes both the forgeries of currency and documents as well as the imitations of items such as clothing, handbags, shoes, pharmaceuticals, automobile parts, unapproved aircraft parts (which have caused many accidents), watches, electronics and electronic parts, software, works of art, toys, and movies. [1] Ahi, Kiarash (2015-05-13). Anwar, Mehdi F; Crowe, Thomas W; Manzur, Tariq (eds.). "Terahertz characterization of electronic components and comparison of terahertz imaging with X-ray imaging techniques". SPIE Sensing Technology+ Applications. Terahertz Physics, Devices, and Systems IX: Advanced Applications in Industry and Defense. 9483: 94830K-94830K-15. Bibcode: 2015SPIE.9483E..0KA. doi: 10.1117/12.2183128. S2CID 118178651.Counterfeit is told in such a unique way—Ava Wong is recalling to a detective on how she got caught up in this illegal counterfeit purse scheme. As such, there aren’t any quotation marks as Ava is telling this story. So it’s a little something to get used to but once you do, the story really flows. In this crime drama, a risk-averse former lawyer joins an elaborate fakebag scheme to finally get some thrills.” — Cosmopolitan 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.

Counterfeiting has also been issued to "cash in" on the ever growing record collecting market. One major example is bootleggers have cloned copies of Elvis Presley's early singles for Sun Records since original copies starting changing hands amongst music fans for hundreds (and then, thousands) of dollars. Some who produce these even do so with the wrong material. For example, the song "Heartbreak Hotel" which was never released on Sun, as by the time Elvis first heard it, prior to ever recording it, he had moved from Sun to RCA Victor. Rare releases by The Beatles such as their album with the butcher cover, fan-club only released Christmas records and early demonstration discs issued by EMI are also examples of product reproduced by counterfeiters due to their high value to collectors. It is sad to see the author of this book promoting racial stereotyping by creating various characters precisely according to the stereotypes. Racial stereotyping is considered politically incorrect as it is distorted, devaluing, limiting, and hurtful to others. This stereotyping in literary creations can foster hate and aggression, leading to a false sense of entitlement. 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 Counterfeit products tend to have fake company logos and brands, which results in patent or trademark infringement in the case of goods. They also have a reputation for being lower quality, sometimes not working at all, and sometimes containing toxic substances such as lead. This has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, due to automobile and aviation accidents, poisoning, or ceasing to take essential compounds (e.g., in the case a person takes non-working medicine). [ citation needed] Well when the counterfeiters copy a book these days they don’t simply photo copy it. They actually use software to scan the book and reproduce it. However the software makes mistakes and sometimes letters and numbers are mis-interpreted or completely missing. Needless to say if you can’t rely on your book to give you the correct figures then you run the risk of getting something very wrong. How to Spot A Counterfeit Book?Two Asian-American women turn a fake handbag scheme into a global enterprise. Need we say more?” — Parade , Our Favorite Books of Spring Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love. 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. Enter, Winnie Fang, her freshman roommate she hasn’t seen in twenty years. Winnie imports top notch counterfeit designer handbags. She runs a thriving business and wants Ava to come on board. Ava decides she is in and starts to work with Winnie. Who would ever suspect her of doing anything criminal? Overall, I definitely enjoyed this “fun” and engrossing read, but more than that, I also appreciated the fact that it was a welcome departure from the “heavier” books that I’ve read lately. Immediately after finishing this one, I put both of Kirsten Chen’s previous books on my TBR, though of course, I also look forward to what she might have in store next.