G Barak’s body, and the many strange confessions contained in his diaries, churn up long-buried emotions within Russell and force him to question his own fraught relationship with his autistic seven-yearold son, Luc. Desperate to find out what really happened to his father, he begins a quest that will lead him to the very core of the biggest scientific fraud of all time – the forgery of the “Piltdown Man” fossils – and to a discovery of what the ability to love really means. The strength of Friedman’s unusual novel lies in its original and gripping plotline. It also has strong, well-conceived characters and contains passages of beautiful, descriptive prose. What detracts from the narrative is the author’s painstaking attempt to communicate his characters’ (especially Russell’s) “inner dialogue” and psychological insights. Himself a clinical psychologist, Friedman tends to overdo the passages containing his protagonist’s tortured soul-searching and self-analysis. I found these rather irritating and laboured, especially towards the novel’s conclusion. Certain plot aspects are also a little far-fetched and some character’s names and other details felt slightly inauthentic. That said, The Fossil Artist is a laudable first attempt. It is a complex and ambitious tale – filled with intriguing insights into human frailty and the pitfalls of hubris and obsession.