The Readymade Thief
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  • Published: 10 August 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473554023
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 14 hr 26 min
  • Narrator: Emily Rankin
  • RRP: $24.99

The Readymade Thief

Formats & editions
Audiobook
10 Aug 2017
Paperback
15 May 2018
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An addictive literary puzzle that introduces an unforgettable young heroine plunged into the twisted world of a secret society with a dark agenda.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Readymade Thief by Augustus Rose, read by Emily Rankin.

An addictive literary puzzle that introduces an unforgettable young heroine plunged into the twisted world of a secret society with a dark agenda.

Lee Cuddy is seventeen years old and on the run, alone on the streets of Philadelphia.

After taking the fall for a rich friend, Lee reluctantly accepts refuge in the Crystal Castle - a cooperative of homeless kids squatting in an austere, derelict building. But homeless kids are disappearing from the streets in suspicious numbers, and Lee quickly discovers that the secret society’s charitable façade is too good to be true. She finds an unexpected ally in Tomi, a young artist and hacker whose knowledge of the Internet’s black market is rivalled only by his ability to break into and out of buildings. From abandoned aquariums to highly patrolled museums to the homes of vacationing Philadelphians, Tomi and Lee can always chart a way to the next, perfect hide-out.

But the harder Lee tries to escape into the unmapped corners of the city, the closer she unwittingly gets to uncovering the disturbing agenda of the very men who pull the strings of the secret society she’s hoped to elude, a group of fanatics obsessed with the secrets encoded in the work of early-twentieth-century artist Marcel Duchamp. What these men want is more twisted than anything Lee could’ve imagined, and they believe Lee holds the key to it all.

The Readymade Thief heralds the arrival of an astoundingly imaginative and propulsive new voice in fiction for fans of Marisha Pessl and Ernest Cline.
  • Published: 10 August 2017
  • ISBN: 9781473554023
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: Audio Download
  • Length: 14 hr 26 min
  • Narrator: Emily Rankin
  • RRP: $24.99
Categories:

About the author

Augustus Rose

Augustus Rose is a novelist and screenwriter. He was born in the northern California coastal town of Bolinas, and grew up there and in San Francisco. He lives in Chicago with his wife, the novelist Nami Mun, and their son, and teaches fiction writing at the University of Chicago.

portrait photo of Augustus Rose

Praise for The Readymade Thief

A rewarding novel full of pleasures and surprises. Every time I thought I knew where the story was going, it took me somewhere stranger and deeper than I could have imagined. A rich, heady mix of ideas and thrills.

Charles Yu, author of 'How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe'

In his highly addictive and multi-aceted first novel, Augustus Rose pits an irrepressible and gritty young heroine against a sinister group of fanatics. The Readymade Thief is a kickass debut from start to finish.

Colson Whitehead, author of 'The Underground Railroad'

The Readymade Thief is my favorite kind of book: an improbable one … A novel that's unexpected, uncategorizable, unputdownable.

Robin Sloan, author of 'Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore'

Augustus Rose shows that he has one of the steadiest hands in fiction … Rose has crafted something memorable, crackling with energy, a truly wonderful tale.

Kevin Wilson, author of 'The Family Fang'

The Readymade Thief is smart and strange, full of lovely Duchampian tricks and treats. Augustus Rose has infused his thriller with the true Dada spirit, nothing is quite what it seems. I loved it.

Audrey Niffenegger

Complex on many intellectual levels, drawing heavily on theories of art history and physics, and the mystery is deep and satisfying in both its unpredictability and its culmination. The sheer scope is impressive, as are Rose’s evocative descriptions of underground and abandoned places, reminiscent of David Lynch’s films … Admirably ambitious.

Kirkus

The heroine of Augustus Rose’s strange and wonderful debut, The Readymade Thief is a piece of work ... The book is beautifully written ... embracing not only surrealism but also such disparate topics as designer drugs, alchemy, urban exploration and, of course, cults ... Rose’s story is wildly unpredictable, big-hearted and always fascinating.

Seattle Times

Rich and enchanting.

Vanity Fair

There's something for everyone here – art history, physics, hackers and literary mystery, all wrapped up in a page-turning thriller.

The Pool

Addictive literary puzzle.

Grazia

Complex, twisty and full of suspense.

Daily Mail

A real rollercoaster of a book that did not stop with excitement page after page…thrilling to read and kept me on the edge of my seat.

New Books Magazine

A great story teller who writes in a clean and compelling style. Rose is undoubtedly one to watch.

Dante Magazine
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