Theft: A Love Story was published by Random House Australia in 2006. Michael Donatello (Butcher Bones), a once-promising Australian painter now bankrupt and bitter, and his brother Hugh, who is brain-damaged and sees the world through a lens of literal-minded innocence, become entangled with Marlene Leibovitz, a beautiful woman involved in the authentication and forgery of modernist paintings. The question at the center of the novel — what makes a painting valuable: the hand that painted it, or the institutional apparatus that declares it authentic? — is explored through a plot involving stolen and forged works by a fictional Australian modernist.
Collecting Theft
First edition (Random House Australia, Sydney, 2006): Boards with dust jacket.
Market values:
- Australian first edition, fine in jacket: $25–$60
- UK first edition (Faber): $15–$30
Projected values (2026–2036): Modest appreciation.
The Art World
Theft: A Love Story (2006) is narrated alternately by Michael “Butcher” Boone, a failed Australian painter of genuine talent, and his brain-damaged brother Hugh, whose unreliable perspective provides the novel’s comic energy. The art world — with its dealers, authentication rackets, forgers, and the insane valuations placed on contemporary painting — provides the setting for a love story and a heist narrative. Carey draws on his friendhand knowledge of the New York art scene.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Carey first editions collected? Yes. Australian first editions (published by University of Queensland Press for early works and later by Random House Australia) are the primary collectible, followed by Faber (UK) firsts. Signed copies command substantial premiums. The early short-story collections (The Fat Man in History, War Crimes) are the scarcest items.
How does Carey portray the art world? With insider knowledge and savage comedy. The art market’s absurdities — the role of authentication committees, the fortunes made and lost on a single expert opinion, the gap between artistic value and market value — are rendered with the same precision Carey brings to any other human institution driven by money, vanity, and self-deception.