Cairo

'Who wants to be the same as everyone else? You don't want to be ordinary, do you?' Melbourne, 1986 Tom always imagined he was adopted. At seventeen, he flees ordinariness in small-town Australia for the city and a run-down block named Cairo. There he meets Max Cheever. Enigmatic, artistic, anarchic: he liberates Tom from the bourgeois aspiration of university and draws him into his circle of dropouts and dreamers. Through the haze of parties and politics, Tom glimpses a darker side to their vie bohème. Falling under Max's spell—and in love with his wife—he is offered an extraordinary chance: to join them in the greatest art heist of the twentieth century. Among art dealers, thieves and forgers, Tom trusts only in Max. This is his family now. But of all this summer's lessons, the cruellest will be telling what is real from what is fake. In a rush of first love, risk and a search for belonging, Chris Womersley's third novel paints a two-faced... Who wants to be the same as everyone else? You don't want to be ordinary, do you? At 18, Tom escapes ordinariness in small town Australia for Melbourne and a flat in a strange block named Cairo. There he meets the magnetic Max Cheever, and is drawn into his circle of bohemian artists and dreamers. Liberating him from the bourgeois aspirations of university, they fill his world with affection, passion, opinion and a feeling of belonging he never had before. But all is not as idyllic as it seems. Max is prepared to break all the rules to live freely, and soon Tom is ensnared in his plot to steal a million dollar Picasso masterpiece. Among undependable forgers and violent art dealers, Tom trusts only in Max - even as he falls hopelessly in love with his beautiful wife. For in all the lessons he learns this summer, the greatest one will be to identify what is real - from what is fake 'who Wants To Be The Same As Everyone Else? You Don't Want To Be Ordinary, Do You?' Tom Always Imagined He Was Adopted. At 17, He Flees Ordinariness In Small-town Australia For Melbourne And A Run-down Block Named Cairo. There He Meets Max Cheever. Enigmatic, Artistic, Anarchic: Max Liberates Tom Into A New World - Of First Love, First Crimes - And The Greatest Art Heist Of The Twentieth Century. This Is His Family Now. But Of All This Summer's Lessons, The Cruellest Will Be Telling What Is Real From What Is Fake. Een 17-jarige jongen ontvlucht het ouderlijk huis en gaat wonen in het appartementencomplex van zijn overleden tante, waar hij een bohémienachtig bestaan leidt maar al gauw afglijdt naar een ander circuit A summer of liberation leads to a teenage boy becoming caught up in the notorious heist of Picasso's Weeping Woman.