{"product_id":"artifacts","title":"Artifacts","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Not a lot of books can whisk you from an extravagant museum opening in New York to a dusty archaeological dig in Italy, but Natalie Lemle's rich story of intrigue and guilt will have readers swept up into a world of enigmatic power players in the black market of stolen antiquities. \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts\u003c\/i\u003e explores the complications of what we inherit--not just from our parents, but from our history and heritage, too. Teasing out thorny unanswerable questions, Lemle works comfortably in the gray areas, as the best novelists do. I couldn't put it down, and I couldn't believe it was a debut.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e -- \n\u003cb\u003eEmily Everett, author of Reese's Book Club pick \u003ci\u003eAll That Life Can Afford\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Here is a rare novel that tells the truth about art theft... there really should be more fiction on this subject.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eArt in America\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"World history, the pursuit of beauty, and the seedy underbelly of the art world all collide to make for a charming, compelling, and thrilling story.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eTown \u0026amp; Country\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"It's a poignant exploration of the murkiness that often complicates our understanding of the people that came before us and how we came to be who we are... The intricacies of archeology and its intersection with history and property ownership makes for a lush backdrop to the novel's interpersonal dramas, the two weaving seamlessly together without ever feeling heavy-handed. The novel's prose is fresh and engaging and Lemle creates a world for readers that is as visual as it is emotive.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eForbes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Suspenseful... armchair travelers will enjoy themselves.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \"Lemle offers a complex story of political power, organized crime, and the underworld of antiquities pirating... readers will enjoy connecting the dots as the novel unfolds.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Natalie Lemle's \n\u003ci\u003e Artifacts \u003c\/i\u003eis a sprawling trip through time, weaving together a web of fine art, history, and long-held secrets. Finely written with a master's attention to detail, Lemle guides us deftly through the world of the ancient past, unearthing pockets of deep beauty. This book is twisty, delicious fun.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Kristen Arnett, \u003ci\u003e New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMostly Dead Things\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWith Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eStop Me If You've Heard This One \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNatalie Lemle studied classics and art history at Tufts University and earned an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. She is the founder of art_works, an art advisory connecting contemporary artists with global companies, and previously worked in corporate relations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She serves on the boards of the ICA\/Boston and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. She lives outside of Boston with her two kids. \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts\u003c\/i\u003e is her first novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Natalie Lemle is a spectacular new voice in American fiction. Her magnificent debut is the story of Lena Connolly, a hotshot Manhattan attorney assigned to a case regarding looted artifacts in Italy, a case that dredges up her romantic past and youthful dreams of becoming an archaeologist. \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts \u003c\/i\u003eis a novel of lost dreams and the power of love in a practical world where only facts seem to matter, as Lena learns to lead with her heart to finally find her bliss.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eAdriana Trigiani, author of \u003ci\u003eThe View from Lake Como\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"With \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts\u003c\/i\u003e, Natalie Lemle delivers a novel of rare density and grace, where each layer of the story rises like a stratum of archaeology--the very field that lies at the heart of the book--an accumulation of beauty, vice, hope, life, and the shadow of murder, all held together by a sensibility as precise as it is incandescent.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003eThomas Schlesser, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eMona's Eyes \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"For any reader interested in the study of the past, Lemle's story about a quest for self-knowledge explored through the world of cultural heritage will make for a thrilling read.\" \n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eScience Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Lemle pens voluptuous prose about unearthing, theft, and change: the stolen glances that permanently shift your perspective, the fragile friendships that trigger tectonic shifts in a personality. The novel is a shapeshifter too, at once a high-octane crime thriller, a bildungsroman, and a dispatch from the rarified world of antiquities dealers. By illuminating the broken economic systems that motor criminal artifact looting, Lemle also reveals the fractured, oppressive systems that organize our romantic lives, feeling for the slivers of space where we can still move freely, towards each other.\" -- \n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCULTURED Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eOne of \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e's Sizzling New Summer Thrillers: \"Even now, Lena might be in danger from some of the unscrupulous characters she met all those years ago. Can she put her history behind her?\" \u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eFor fans of \u003ci\u003eThe Cloisters\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCounterfeit\u003c\/i\u003e, Natalie Lemle's debut novel offers an insider's view into the world of stolen artifacts and the hidden networks that link museums to organized crime, when a woman is forced to remember the summer she spent on an archaeological dig in Italy, as everyone she knew then may now be in danger.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSuccessful trusts and estates attorney Lena Connolly is asked by a colleague to assist on a case: the Italian government claims an artifact was looted and sold to a museum illegally and is seeking repatriation. The object in question is a cup made of dichroic glass, which would have been rare even in Ancient Rome, let alone thousands of years later. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Lena has done everything she can to put the study abroad summer she spent on an archaeological dig in the Italian Alps behind her. Her dreams of being an archaeologist shattered when her mentor Cyrille disappeared and her enigmatic boyfriend Giamma went dark, but with this new case, the past comes roaring back. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Told in alternating timelines, \n\u003ci\u003e Artifacts\u003c\/i\u003e follows young Lena as she falls in love with both archaeology and Giamma on the streets of Torino while her adult self pieces together what truly happened on the dig, now a fully restored Roman villa with World Heritage status. The dichroic cup, Lena discovers, may have been taken from the very site she helped unearth. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Powerful and exuberant, Natalie Lemle's \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts\u003c\/i\u003e brings readers behind the museum glass and asks questions about cultural heritage and the historical preservation of our shared sense of humanity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 02\/06\/2026 pg. 1 (EAN 9781668068342, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/30\/2026 (EAN 9781668068342, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 04\/28\/2026 (EAN 9781668068342, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eLemle, Natalie\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNatalie Lemle studied classics and art history at Tufts University and earned an MFA in creative writing from Emerson College. She is the founder of art_works, an art advisory connecting contemporary artists with global companies, and previously worked in corporate relations at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She serves on the boards of the ICA\/Boston and the Associates of the Boston Public Library. She lives outside of Boston with her two kids. \n\u003ci\u003eArtifacts\u003c\/i\u003e is her first novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496156791062,"sku":"9781668068342","price":34.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781668068342.jpg?v=1783054346","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/artifacts","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}