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All That Glitters
- A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art
- Narrated by: Orlando Whitfield
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
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All That Glitters
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Summary
A Guardian 'Books to look out for in 2024' pick * A Financial Times 'What to Read in 2024' pick
'An art world Great Gatsby, deliciously withering and dishy.' Patrick Radden Keefe
'Delicious, sharp and often breathtaking' Megan Nolan
'A brilliant, devastating exposé' William Boyd
DECEPTION IS A FINE ART.
When Orlando Whitfield first meets Inigo Philbrick, they are students dreaming of dealing art for a living. Their friendship lasts for fifteen years until one day, Inigo - by then the most successful dealer of his generation - disappears, accused of a fraud so gigantic and audacious it rocks the art world to its core.
A sparklingly sharp memoir of greed, ambition and madness, All That Glitters will take you to the heart of the contemporary art world, a place wilder and wealthier than you could ever imagine.
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What listeners say about All That Glitters
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Useless -only two rods and no lock
- 08-05-24
Riveting read
Insider tale of and confirmation of what have always suspected goes on in the greedy unregulated world of buying and selling art ..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- stony
- 01-07-24
Excellent voice and presentation
Intriguing insight into the gallery art world and one young man’s venture through it. Always thought dealers could be inclined to be dodgy but this was frightening as to the inner workings and shennagians of individuals and galleries at large. Kept me enraptured and pleased I have a different more open relationship with a good provincial gallery. Not the money but far more refreshing. A really worthwhile read. Recommend it highly
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rob Sedgwick
- 23-06-24
My brilliant friend
I really enjoyed this story, which is unexpected as I have little interest in art and hadn't heard of most of the artists which the story resolved around. That's down to the skill of the author and the narrator in grabbing my attention.
The book is essentially the story of a friendship. Inigo plays the part of the brilliant friend with a glittering career and Orlando, the author, his inadequate sidekick suffering from Imposter Syndrome. Both of them have their problems and deal with them in different ways. Indigo turns to crime to try and make ends meet and gets sucked into a deep hole. Orlando attempts to succeed in art but is a fish out of water, and seems to have found his true talent in writing
The sub-plot is the art market itself and the ridiculous prices paid for works of art which are barely looked at. This is in itself fascinating to learn about from someone who spent years working in these markets, albeit not as a big player.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- BleakMid
- 29-05-24
Riveting & illuminating
I knew very little about the world in which this book is set, but I was riveted from start to finish.
You will never look at the art world in the same way again.
It’s also an incredibly raw and moving personal story, and that is what lingers most of all.
I will definitely be returning to this book again some day. A great read
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ElizabethB
- 06-08-24
Very interesting
A deep dive into the art world told with humility and intelligence. ‘Rich people stealing from other rich people’
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alex
- 10-05-24
Excellent book and beautifully written.
All that Glitters is a really enjoyable book.
The premise of the rise and fall of a conman and that's told very well and from a personal and clearly warm perspective despite all the bridges burned by Philbrick, but there' also the memior - how the events affected Orlando and how the lustre of the fine art world fell away.
It's written beautifully and is littered with interesting simile and metaphor that shows how everyone feels. It make me think of Anna Karenina more than anything, but rather better edited.
I'm going to re-read it again in a few months and am sure I'll see even more on a second pass.
Strongly recommend this book to anyone, not just those with a connection to very high end modern art.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- alistair tiernan
- 06-05-24
What a story
This book has been quiet book and a rollercoaster all in one .
The great thing being , that it shows you behind the scenes of a world you know is there but not the nuts and bolts of that world
I thought though the narration wasn’t overly exciting , suited the book .
Congratulations Mr Whitfield .
Ten out of ten .
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rachel Redford
- 22-06-24
Friendship. money and betrayal
Having completed 23 hours of Andrew O’Hagan’s fearsome Caledonian Road before listening to All that Glitters, I feel well stuffed with contemporary dystopia! Each work is chilling in its exposé of the higher echelons of our current society, Orlando Whitfield’s perhaps the more so for exposing not fictional characters, but genuine still living individuals. It’s a disturbing indictment of the art world and also a troubling and distressing analysis of betrayal.
Author Orlando Whitfeld and the suave and seemingly omniscient American Inigo Philbrick, both sons of fathers prominent in the art world, met at as students Goldsmith’s in London. They became business partners before their graduation and remained, as Orlando believed, intensely firm friends. It was a friendship which endured the vagaries of Inigo’s turbulent life, even after he was brought back under armed guard from Vanuatu where he had fled, to avoid arrest, and even when he was imprisoned for the biggest art fraud ever committed.
It was only after Orlando read the documents which Inigo had sent him from prison trusting his old friend would use them to clear his name that he accepted Inigo’s devastating criminality. All that Glitters is Orlando’s memoir of this, the most important friendship of his life.Orlando’s ambitions did not match Inigo’s crazed determination to make money at any cost and, at one low point, the strains of witnessing the increasingly hideous dealings of the art world sent him into a terrifying confinement in a psychiatric ward. Having finally recovered, and having failed to find other satisfying different work, he re-joined Inigo’s shameless dealing world of acquiring limitless and unregulated wealth .
All that Glitters is startling and red hot , well written with many wry and original similes which add depth and wit to a memoir almost mythic in its tragedy. Hugely influenced by Inigo, there is no doubt that Orlando also loved him as deeply as any man can love a long-standing friend, and the betrayal was truly devastating. I would like to hear Inigo’s side about his feelings for Orlando, however. Was Orlando merely a faithful dependant who could be useful in his callous and uncaring drive to stack up vast amounts of money far beyond the dreams of avarice? It seems that Inigo’s love was neither for Orlando, nor for the paintings themselves, but for himself and his fraudulent winnings.
Orlando reading his own work strengthens the personal thrust of the whole sad story. I was pleased to hear - in a tantalising throw-away half sentence - that Orlando now has a wife and child.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- K. Sewell
- 15-09-24
Oportunist
The author, though not a writer, simply saw an opportunity to benefit from his friend’s crime. So the writing and performance (by author) is mediocre. The crime itself is mind-boggling, but could have been told in one tenth of the length, the rest was inconsequential filler. I was particularly struck by the total cynicism of the art markets, it’s all about money and investments. Basically it’s about millionaires ripping off other millionaires. So if you want to know how the other half lives, here is a good (dis)taste of it.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Jamie G
- 14-08-24
sub-Lewis, a-level Nick Carraway pastiche
This audiobook aspires to be a Michael Lewis-style exposé of the art world, but falls woefully short. Lacking Lewis's wit, insight, and moral clarity, "All That Glitters" instead offers a tepid, self-serving account of art dealer Inigo Philbrick's fraudulent escapades.
The author, a former associate of Philbrick, comes across as a moral coward, unable or unwilling to properly condemn his subject's brazen criminality. His attempts to contextualise Philbrick's actions within industry norms reek of rationalisation and misplaced loyalty.
Throughout the narrative, the stench of the author's own failure and envy permeates. His fascination with Philbrick's lifestyle and "success" is palpable, even as he halfheartedly critiques the art world's excesses. This conflict of interest severely undermines the book's credibility.
Listeners hoping for a hard-hitting investigation into the art market's systemic issues will be sorely disappointed. Instead, they're treated to a rambling, morally ambiguous account that fails to deliver any meaningful insights or satisfying conclusions.
In the end, "All That Glitters" is a third-rate attempt at financial storytelling that neither entertains nor illuminates. Those seeking a compelling narrative of white-collar crime would do well to look elsewhere. Ps. The comparison to David Foster Wallace in the acknowledgements shows the laughable lack of self-awareness and titanic ego necessary to operate - albeit unsuccessfully - in such an industry.
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