Appreciation

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A wild romp through Australian celebrity culture that's as bold and scathing as it is hilarious. Oli Darling is a queer artist from the country - it says so right at the top of every press release. His art has brought him fame and money, fashionable substance abuse issues, and only a little imposter syndrome. But then he goes on live TV and says the one thing that can possibly get a rich white guy cancelled in Australia. With his reputation in tatters, nobody is buying his schtick or his art. That's a problem for all the people who've invested millions in him. Powerful, dangerous people. Tastemakers and captains of industry. Annoyingly, gallerists; alarmingly, gangsters. To save his own skin, Oli needs to rehabilitate his public image. Together with a ghostwriter, he must do the most undignified thing imaginable- he will have to write a memoir. So begins a journey through the underbelly of modern celebrity that sees Oli confront the consequences of his own ruthless mythmaking - lies he's told others, lies he's told himself. Perhaps he was right to feel like an imposter all along. And maybe the only way out is to face his worst fear and take a good hard look at himself. Outrageous satire of the highest order, Appreciation sets its sights on the question of authenticity in a time where image trumps talent, narcissism rules, and no canvas is so tarnished it can't be painted over.

Author Bio

Liam Pieper is an author and journalist. His first book was a memoir, The Feel-Good Hit of the Year, shortlisted for the National Biography Award and the Ned Kelly Best True Crime award. His second was the Penguin Special Mistakes Were Made, a volume of humorous essays. He was co-recipient of the 2014 M Literary Award, winner of the 2015 Geoff Dean Short Story Prize and the inaugural creative resident of the UNESCO City of Literature of Prague. His first novel, The Toymaker, received the 2016 Christina Stead Fiction Award from the Fellowship of Australian Writers.