kklausser's review against another edition
3.0
I've very much enjoyed every other Steve Martin book I've read but this one was by far my least favorite. I listened to the audiobook and often found myself thinking about other things and getting distracted easily while listening. I'm fairly sure that if I knew more about art (or New York when I was very young) I would have enjoyed it more. Not a bad story at all, just not my taste.
discomagpie's review against another edition
4.0
I gave this book 4.25/5 stars on InsatiableBooksluts.com.
Review excerpt:
"People who aren’t familiar with Martin outside of his films and comedy may not realize that he is an avid art collector. Object rests solidly on a foundation formed by the world of art–not so much the world of creating art, but the world of trading art, an aspect of the industry that only employees or art lovers with significant cash usually get to experience. Martin takes us behind the scenes of auctions, galleries, art theft (something close to Martin’s own heart) and discusses the nature of contemporary art and the differences between the emotional and the monetary value of art (“Provenance, subject matter, rarity, and perfection made a painting not just a painting, but a prize.”). Martin weaves the art geekery into a story about Lacey Yeager, a modern woman reminiscent of Holly Golightly, if Holly Golightly had used her chutzpah to make her own way instead of using it to land a man who could take care of her. Daniel, an art writer and confidant of Lacey, narrates this book that follows her through art education, her work in various positions in the art industry, her relationships and her sometimes-underhanded deeds, touching only briefly on his own life until close to the end of the book."
Read the full review at our site.
Review excerpt:
"People who aren’t familiar with Martin outside of his films and comedy may not realize that he is an avid art collector. Object rests solidly on a foundation formed by the world of art–not so much the world of creating art, but the world of trading art, an aspect of the industry that only employees or art lovers with significant cash usually get to experience. Martin takes us behind the scenes of auctions, galleries, art theft (something close to Martin’s own heart) and discusses the nature of contemporary art and the differences between the emotional and the monetary value of art (“Provenance, subject matter, rarity, and perfection made a painting not just a painting, but a prize.”). Martin weaves the art geekery into a story about Lacey Yeager, a modern woman reminiscent of Holly Golightly, if Holly Golightly had used her chutzpah to make her own way instead of using it to land a man who could take care of her. Daniel, an art writer and confidant of Lacey, narrates this book that follows her through art education, her work in various positions in the art industry, her relationships and her sometimes-underhanded deeds, touching only briefly on his own life until close to the end of the book."
Read the full review at our site.
hiimkayte's review against another edition
4.0
Who knew Steve Martin can write? I really can't put this book down, I think I'm going to have it all read a week. It's really engaging, and light and fun, but without being totally cheesy. And it's about art, which makes me feel smart to vaguely learn about. And, there's pictures of some of the art they talk about, which is neat.
aurigae's review against another edition
3.0
This novel is sort of like Breakfast at Tiffany's as told by Nick Carraway: a detached fable of a brilliant, beautiful, semi-tragic woman who gallivants around the New York of a particular era on the strength of her luck, wits, and sex appeal, and with whom the narrator is sort a noncommittally in love.
It all goes down easy enough, but it takes two hundred pages for any shred of a plot to become visible, and even by the end it's unclear what was at stake - and, more importantly, for whom. One of the more important questions about a novel like this is, whose story is it? The narrator tells us it's the story of the beautiful woman, but he doesn't know her enough for that to be true. If it were a true Gatsby update, it would be the story of the narrator, the modern-day Nick Carraway, but that rings false, because the character neither invests in the story nor evolves.
My conclusion, then, is that the main character of this story, the character whose trials and triumphs we are meant to care about and whose evolution is meant to give the story depth, is the New York art world, or perhaps art in general. The only really interesting line in the book is about art, said to the book's Golightly character by a gentleman caller about a painting she has hung in her bedroom:
"The water, to me, represents the earth and all the things that happen on the earth, reality. And the moonlight represents our dreams and our minds. And the reflection... well, I guess the reflection represents art. It's what lies between our dreams and reality."
I would like to say that quote is representative of the book, that there is something deep and thoughtful to be gained by reading it. But really it's an urban fable of the power of cunning and feminine wiles and the limitations of the power, and it remains resolutely earthbound through the remainder of its three hundred pages.
It all goes down easy enough, but it takes two hundred pages for any shred of a plot to become visible, and even by the end it's unclear what was at stake - and, more importantly, for whom. One of the more important questions about a novel like this is, whose story is it? The narrator tells us it's the story of the beautiful woman, but he doesn't know her enough for that to be true. If it were a true Gatsby update, it would be the story of the narrator, the modern-day Nick Carraway, but that rings false, because the character neither invests in the story nor evolves.
My conclusion, then, is that the main character of this story, the character whose trials and triumphs we are meant to care about and whose evolution is meant to give the story depth, is the New York art world, or perhaps art in general. The only really interesting line in the book is about art, said to the book's Golightly character by a gentleman caller about a painting she has hung in her bedroom:
"The water, to me, represents the earth and all the things that happen on the earth, reality. And the moonlight represents our dreams and our minds. And the reflection... well, I guess the reflection represents art. It's what lies between our dreams and reality."
I would like to say that quote is representative of the book, that there is something deep and thoughtful to be gained by reading it. But really it's an urban fable of the power of cunning and feminine wiles and the limitations of the power, and it remains resolutely earthbound through the remainder of its three hundred pages.
chichi27's review against another edition
4.0
Steve Martin has a really great way of relating high society (in the case, the New York art scene) in a way that is unpretentious and really gets to the core of what's driving the characters.
mdunnbass's review against another edition
2.0
Yes, by that Steve Martin. It definitely has his voice, other than that it actually had Campbell Scott's voice, since, you know, he read it. But From the snippets of Martin's writing I've heard or read over hte years, as well as the movies he's written, like L.A. Story, it definitely felt like something he wrote. Except that, it didn't grab me. It was an excellent character study, but I don't much go for character studies, and the overall plot - moving up in the Upper East Side Art World, had exactly zero appeal to me. I gave up partway through, then went back to it. Recommendation? Meh.
tammyw14's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this 2 stars, except I found all the insights about art to be interesting. Other than that, I really gained nothing from reading this novel--and that includes entertainment.
lbb00ks's review against another edition
I listened to this book on audio, and although Steve Martin was not the reader, I could hear his voice, which I enjoyed. I learned quite a bit more about the world of art and auction than I knew (which was half a notch above zero). I felt the time span of the book (many years) took power away from the story, and long before the end I didn't care for or care about the main character. I found the motivations of the narrator not quite believable, and it never seemed like his story, even though he ends the telling. I very much liked the open-endedness of the telling, though.