Appreciation is a novel by Liam Pieper that has (apparently) many parallels to his own life as a ghost writer for celebrities. I don’t know which celebrities, because no one outside the publishing business seems to know which books he wrote, and he would be bound by some kind of confidentiality agreement. I can understand why he is a sought after ghost writer – because he writes very well.

The night of his cancellation, Oli does not sleep. He is unable to stop reading the posts calling for him to be stripped of prizes, fellowships, his honorary doctorate.

Australian queer painter, Oliver Darling (Oli) is the toast of the town until he causes himself to be cancelled after a drug fuelled rant on live television. The incident causes the value of his work to tank, infuriating investors and mobilising a mob of unsavoury debt collectors.

Oli circumnavigated the party once, twice, and settled finally into conversation with the person he found the most interesting, because she was the richest.

Appreciation is the story about how Oli got to where he is, his floundering attempts to redeem himself, salvage his career, and save his own life and that of his agent by writing a memoir with a ghost writer.

How to explain the appeal of Old? He is wonderfully charming when he needs to be. He has a way of shuffling into the room like a very old dog, turning his attention to you, and in doing so lighting up your day.

Appreciation is a satirical novel about the art world, the struggle to make money from art, celebrity, authenticity, the precarious nature of fame, toxic masculinity, personal myth and vanity, and the world of drugs and criminals. The book has received mixed reviews, but I enjoyed the journey and Pieper’s excellent writing skills.