Fake vs Real

It is no accident that the author chooses as his major theme the superficial and intellectually bankrupt in contrast with the real and genuine. Those artists who can flawlessly mimic others with true originality are revealed as greedy opportunists. Recktall Brown, art dealer/forger and social climber, maintains that a good fake painting is a work of art unto itself and is worth whatever the public is willing to pay for it, whether it is counterfeit or not. Fake priests and religions find themselves, like the emperor of legend, naked in their venality. In their compulsive search for an identity, many characters develop a false persona they believe will please others, overlooking the fact they are themselves unique and that personal, spiritual growth is achievable through art, religion, literature, music and unselfish service to others. They share a common flaw in looking outside themselves for validation...