I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. (Thanks, LibraryThing!) 
 I like to think that a good book makes you appreciate the writing and the effort put into it, but a great book, a really fantastic book, makes you forget completely that someone wrote it at all. 
 A Fine Imitation was fantastic book. 
 The story alternates between 1913 and 1923, effectively showing how Vera's time at Vassar influenced her life ten years later as a dutiful society wife stuck in a loveless marriage, trapped in an empty, joyless life. 
 Vera seems content in her denial, never quite admitting to herself that is she is unhappy, that is until the arrival of the enigmatic painter Emil Hallan. Mr. Hallan is hired to paint a mural in the pool room of Vera's building, the Angelus, owned and built by Vera's neglectful husband. (Who I seriously wanted to reach into the book and slap silly many times.) 
 Vera is instantly drawn to Mr. Hallan and his passion for art and life, causing both anguish at the life she feels she missed out on and hope that perhaps it isn't too late to live the life she always dreamed of. 
 As I said above, I just loved this book. I truly felt for Vera, I felt her loneliness, the social claustrophobia, the need to please everyone around her because that is what she'd be raised to do. I was rooting for her, waiting for the moment she would realize that there is always a choice, it may not seem like it, or feel like it, but it is there. 
 There wasn't a dull moment in this book and I actually found myself purposely dragging it out, reading much slower than I usually do. I found her world fascinating, and I really enjoyed my time there. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.