Appreciation

A wild romp through Australian celebrity culture that’s as bold and scathing as it is hilarious.

Everything in this world has a price. A great work of art is no exception. And what fortune was ever built without a little subterfuge?

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, 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 get a rich white guy cancelled.

With his reputation in tatters, nobody is buying Oli’s schtick or his art. That’s a problem for all the people who’ve invested millions in him. Powerful, dangerous people. To save his own skin, Oli will need to restore 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. And maybe the only way out is to 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.


Praise for The Toymaker
‘Hugely memorable.’ Hannah Kent
‘Bold and compelling.’ Peter Pierce, Weekend Australian

Praise for Sweetness and Light
‘Crackling with a tension that doesn’t let up.’ Jay Daniel Thompson, Australian Book Review
‘A high-stakes, self-aware literary thriller.’ Elke Power, Readings

Format: Paperback
Pages: 368
Imprint: Penguin Books AU
Publication date: 12/03/2024