17-year-old Lee has been a thief since she was young, and in
high school began dealing drugs to help save for college, but these decisions are
not what land her in trouble. Betrayed by a friend and abandoned by her family,
Lee believes she has nothing left to lose when she breaks out of juvie. After wandering
the streets, Lee finds her way to an abandoned building called the Crystal
Castle, where a mysterious collection of runaways do the bidding of their cult-like
leader, the Station Master, and where her troubles truly begin. When Lee steals
from the Station Master, she quickly finds herself engulfed in a mystery that
involves a secret society, an empty aquarium, urban exploration, chess,
designer drugs, and the works of avant-garde artist Marcel Duchamp. This book
is so engrossing that even the implausible aspects begin to seem like real life
as the reader falls further into the conspiracies and twisting plots surrounding
the underground art and artists of Philadelphia, and Lee is such a lovably
gritty character that you cannot help but root for her.
The title comes from Duchamp’s “readymades,” found objects
selected and presented as works of art. Duchamp rejected the work of many of
his fellow artists, saying they only make things pleasing to the eye as opposed
to making art to engage the mind. His art is intended to raise questions and
engage the viewer beyond the concept of beauty. Duchamp’s works along with his
obsession with puzzles and chess make him a likely candidate for a secret
society to build their conspiracies around.
All in all, The Readymade
Thief is a wonderful and wonderfully weird debut novel. I cannot wait
to see what Augustus Rose writes next.
- Portia
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