Monday, April 11, 2011

An Object of Beauty

Yes.  This is Steve Martin the actor.  And it may surprise some to know that this isn't his first book.  He's got quite the literary career outside of films, with this being his third work of fiction following a beautiful novella Shopgirl (yes, the one that was made into a film), and The Pleasure of My Company.  At some points this book feels more like Martin wanted a justification for spending a lot of time researching the art world from the point of view of business.  And just in that light the book is quite interesting, pulling back the curtain to see the money side of it all - how people are influenced, how it all works.  I have to say that whenever it spent too long on those art-world tangents I found myself a little bit wavering.  Because Martin is such a skilled writer I was able to hang on, but a page turned this book was not - although, to be fair, I'm sure that's not what it was intended to be.
It follows Lacey, a woman who navigates herself through the New York art world over the course of two decades with it's highs and lows.  Most people know this girl - she's the type that finds the most powerful person in the room and makes them want to please her. 
The book has been out for a few months now, I picked it up on a whim due to my love of Martin's other books.  It's not my favourite of his, but I enjoyed it nontheless, and I think anyone with an appreciation, or curiosity of the art world would consider it a must-read.
An Object of Beauty: A Novel

1 comment:

Screenwriting Spinster said...

okay, we have the same posts in a week! I just read this book, and wrote a review (as well as Scream 4). I liked the book. It really held my interest. I've read his other two, and I liked them as well.