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    An Object of Beauty: A Novel
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    An Object of Beauty: A Novel
    Unavailable
    An Object of Beauty: A Novel
    Audiobook7 hours

    An Object of Beauty: A Novel

    Written by Steve Martin

    Narrated by Scott Campbell

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Lacey Yeager is young, captivating, and ambitious enough to take the NYC art world by storm. Groomed at Sotheby's and hungry to keep climbing the social and career ladders put before her, Lacey charms men and women, old and young, rich and even richer with her magnetic charisma and liveliness. Her ascension to the highest tiers of the city parallel the soaring heights--and, at times, the dark lows--of the art world and the country from the late 1990s through today.

    Editor's Note

    Artistic airs…

    Steve Martin’s smartly observed novel is as much a portrait of a woman as it is one of New York’s art scene. Martin’s comedic chops are on full display in this skewering of the pretensions of the intellectual elite.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHachette Audio
    Release dateNov 23, 2010
    ISBN9781607886136
    Unavailable
    An Object of Beauty: A Novel
    Author

    Steve Martin

    Steve Martin is one of today's most talented performers. He has had huge success as a film actor, with such credits as Cheaper by the Dozen, Father of the Bride, Roxanne, Parenthood, L.A. Story, and many others. He has won Emmys for his television writing and two Grammys for his comedy albums. In addition to his bestselling novel The Pleasure of My Company and a collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel, he has also written a play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He lives in Los Angeles.

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    Reviews for An Object of Beauty

    3.5/5

    496 ratings72 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I was am completely charmed by this book.

      Full disclosure: I wasn't expecting much of Steve Martin. I haven't read Shopgirl, and I think I was secretly expecting something lowbrow and full of the outlandish masquerading as the comic, The Jerk in novel form. But from the moment I opened the book to the first page, I was pleasantly surprised:

      I am tired, so very tired of thinking about Lacey Yeager, yet I worry that unless I write her story down, and see it bound and tidy on my bookshelf, I will be unable to ever write about anything else.

      That first sentence (okay, aside from the unnecessarily split infinitive) is practically pitch perfect. It sets forth the conceit of the book, a faux roman à clef, and gives you a glimpse of the relationship between the subject and the narrator: she is someone who has left an indelible imprint on his life, and writing this story is his attempt to move on.

      I will tell you her story from my own recollections . . . [but if] you occasionally wonder how I know about some of the events I describe in this book, I don't. I have found that -- just as in real life -- imagination sometimes has to stand in for experience.

      I love how this sentence forgives the narrator for knowing too much. A curious strength of this book is the distance of the narrator from the story. For much of it he is not directly involved, and so the narrative is more third-person than first-person, despite the directed-at-the-reader exposition I've quoted above. The wonderful thing about this is that it imitates, or perhaps even symbolizes, his relationship with Lacey: she is obviously important to him (he's writing her story, for God's sake), but he is also aware that he is not terribly important to her, so too many first-person sentences would exaggerate his significance to her story.

      I also love this book for what it's not. It's not pretentious, despite the gorgeous color reproductions of artwork that are scattered throughout, and some almost tongue-in-cheek use of art-world argot. It isn't overly plotted, either; the story unfolds in a natural, lifelike way, by which I mean that it's not always exciting or dramatic, but there is almost always something worth observing. It doesn't try too hard to be profound, and despite raising a few questions of ethics I'm not sure there's any big moral to take away, just food for thought. (Or maybe not so much "food" as hors d'oeuvres: small, perfect bites that fill you up without your realizing it.)

      And I love, LOVE the quiet, uncertain-but-hopeful note on which it ends. The last paragraph, like the opening sentence, is absolutely pitch perfect.
    • 3/5
      I liked this glimpse into the world of buying and selling art. It's something I'd never really thought about. Although there certainly are artists out there whose fame and high value are I fathomable to me. This book offers a good look at how it is they get pushed into the artworld's eye, and how they come to be so desirable.

      I kept reading more for the art story than the story of the characters, whom I didn't really like. I thought the writing got dry and slow in places, and I prefer books with more dialogue.
    • 3/5
      While it was beautifully written (really!), the story just didn't really develop. I could not get into the Lacey character. The ending finally wrapped a few loose ends up and helped my enjoyment, but overall could not recommend.
    • 3/5
      Somewhat cold story of the rise and fall of a young would-be art dealer in the pre-9/11 days in NYC. I learned a bit about art and the art collectors' and gallery owners' world, which I enjoyed, along with the New York atmosphere. The narrator's reluctance to expose much about himself made the book feel standoffish and a bit unfulfilling.
    • 4/5
      An Object of Beauty is a great story about the New York art world from the late '80s through 2010. The staid narrator, art writer Daniel, follows the racier career of his college friend Lacey Yeager as she dives into the art collector market.
    • 5/5
      so so so good. My favorite of the Steve Martin books.
    • 3/5
      This novel was OK. I found it hard to stay interested in, but I loved the art-world perspective.
    • 4/5
      Martin's novel gives a searing critique of the art world from it's galleries in Manhattan and Paris, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, and the the hollowed halls of Sotheby's told through the questionably deserved meteoric fame of a young woman.
    • 3/5
      Here is some background about myself. I am a New York City artists/ writer/ filmmaker. I have been a part of the New York Art scene for almost 20 years. I have even worked as an art handler in the Chelsea or as this book titles it, "downtown galleries." So when I was given "An Object Of Beauty" I was skeptical to say the least. How could this actor know about the New York art market? But as I read I understood as an art buyer he has been a witness to this crazy world. Things that bothered me about the book. Anything with women seams off. The drugs like Ecstasy seam like he is writing from text research and not what its like to take that drug or been with a women. Over all this is a good book. Once you can put out of your mind "the Jerk" wrote it, (Ghost writers help maybe) its a fun read.
    • 3/5
      I know enough about art to recognize the names of many artists but not enough about the art world to know is this story is based on actual events as the author would like to lead the reader to believe. The technique of having the "author" talk to the reader as well as the inclusion of actual events, 9/11 and the recent financial collapse among others is just enough to make the reader feel like they are going on a behind the scenes ride in the world of money and art. Great story on audio
    • 4/5
      Wow. Is what I thought. Also, that I wish Goodreads would get on those half-stars already so I could give this four-and-a-half.
    • 2/5
      Well, I made it through.

      This book wasn't terrible. The prose was very direct (to the point of dryness), which worked in its favor for me, since I wasn't big into the subject matter. If it had been flowery and overly done I would have probably hated the book.

      It's about art collecting and the politics and people that inhabit that world. I appreciated the pictures of artworks that were mentioned in the book, but I wish they had included more of them, to be honest.

      I couldn't bring myself to either like or care about the main character, so I think that brought the book down for me by quite a bit.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book for its intelligence and originality. Steve Martin has been an art collector for years and his knowledge of the subject shines through here. My experience is limited but even so did not feel that I was in over my head as the book traversed the art world in New York from the 90's to 2009. The main character is Lacey Yeager, a beautiful, smart, shrewd businesswoman who steps over anyone to gain success, first at Sotheby's as a nobody, then finally owner of her own galleries. This is one book I think I'll hang on to so I can read it again and again.
    • 3/5
      An interesting book that includes pictures of art, art history/culture and questions of value, I liked his other books "Shopgirl" and "The Pleasure of My Company" a bit better.
    • 3/5
      Curiously I bought this book because I thought it was about the banjo. As it turns out it is about the art world! I enjoyed the book but found that the storyline was a little uncertain of it's final destination. I learnt a lot about the art world and parts of the book were extremely engaging however, at the end I was left feeling either I or the book had lost it's way. Martin is an amazing guy and this book reinforces that!
    • 4/5
      This is the first book I've read from that renaissance man, Steve Martin (actor, comedian, musician, and also writer). An Object of Beauty is a novel set in the New York City art world. The first-person narrator, telling the story of Lacey Yeager does not allow himself to show up often enough. Lacey Yeager is an ambitious young lady who starts out working in the basement of Sotheby's and works her way up, involving herself in international intrigue and quite a bit of connivement. Steve Martin's writing is excellent and I enjoyed the insider's look in that type of art world, but what made me give this book a lower rating was that I didn't really connect to the characters. Perhaps that was intentional -- do we really expect ambitious big-time art dealers to be likeable?
    • 4/5
      Steve Martin is a good writer. This book centers on the career of Lacey Yeagar, who is amoral, willing to work hard and to use her beauty and charm to get ahead. Mr. Martin has done an excellent job of portraying Lacey. He's also done a excellent job of describing the world of art collecting and galleries in New York over the past 18 years.I didn't like this book as much as I did his other two. I found the plot was secondary to Lacey's character, but I couldn't feel either much sympathy nor animosity for her. But, it got better towards the end, and I did like the ending a great deal because it brought Daniel into a brighter perspective for me.
    • 4/5
      This is a great book for anyone who is interested in Art and the business of Art. Written in a mix of third and first person, Steve Martin (yes, it's that Steve Martin) takes the reader into the world of fine and not so fine art and the business behind it. Along the way you meet an ambitious art scholar and her art writer friend. Around them is a collage of characters from all the various aspects of the New York art business from the elite auction house employees to the upscale gallery owners to the artists and, of course, the collectors who spend fortunes on these objects of beauty. There's another object of beauty, Lacey Yeager, who uses her physical allure and wit to propel herself upward in this world. She starts as an auction assistant, then on to a gallery, and finally to her goal of gallery ownership. Throughout her climb she collects information, men, art, and eventually money. Her writer friend is always on the periphery observing. In contrast to the richness of the art, Mr. Martin uses a sparse writing style punctuated with illustrations of actual art pieces for clarity. His insights makes one wonder how much he himself maybe drawn in by this world.
    • 2/5
      The art business is, it seems, in many ways more about the business than about the art and Lacey Yeager is a player who very much wants to succeed. Oh yes, Lacey who is described as beautiful, always stylish and smart, will do any number of questionable things, both personally and in business, to get ahead. The story is narrated by her friend, the budding art critic Daniel Franks, and it was there, for me that the problems began.We never get to know Franks. Actually it is never really clear why he so taken with her, taken enough that he helps her, as we at last find out, do a particularly skeevy thing, bad even for Lacey. His character seems unnecessary and his occasional reappearance always seemed surprising and out of place. We could have done without him.Then there is Lacey herself. Are we suppose to like her, hate her? Again, for me she was never real enough to care either way. She is smart and beautiful, we are told, able to woo men and woman or anyone who might advance her career and is certainly not above using her sexuality to get ahead. The problem was, that as we are told that again and again, she seems to become more a middle aged man's fantasy about a beautiful successful woman than a real person.On the plus side, the author treats us to a number of interludes, worked into the story, where he introduces us to a number of works of art with some very nice illustrations. Fine in themselves, educational even, but still, they never felt natural to the book but more like little lectures, brief commercial interludes for very, very expensive products.Which brings us to the final point. What is this book about? Certainly, it is not really about Lacey. Is it a commentary that art has become just another commodity, like coffee beans or pig bellies, where it is all about money, often astronomical, amount of money? Yes, people can be greedy and yes, as long as art is bought and sold, it is apart of a business. But, for me, a novel has to make that idea personal, to make me care, and I never did. Love her or hate her, wanting her to succeed or fail, to get caught or get away with it, the reader has to feel connected. Lacey and her story all boiled down to one word for me.Boring. I just did not care.
    • 4/5
      Steve Martin has given us a well-written, tightly plotted view of the art world in the recent and current economy. He certainly seems to have done his homework to be able to present realistic scenes of auction houses, private galleries, international jet-set buyers, and less than honorable wheeler-dealers. The protagonist, Lacey Yaeger, an aggressive up-and-comer in the art world, takes us on a roller coaster ride of emotions, motivations, love affairs, and monetary ups and downs. Told through the voice of art writer Daniel Franks, her career, her mentors, her co-workers, her love affairs, and her competition are all well drawn and pulled together to provide a taunt story that keeps the reader turning pages long past bedtime.In addition to a good story and some good basic explanations of art, art history, and how art is collected and sold, the book features twenty-two beautiful four color plates of many of the works featured in the book. The pictures added the extra frosting to a good solid cake. Steve Martin has certainly proved that his writing abilities are on a par with his acting and directing.
    • 4/5
      Not the greatest novel ever written, but this book is a quick and enjoyable read.
    • 4/5
      I confess that this book did not grab me the way that Martin's previous works did; I severely doubt that I will remember specific lines of narration from it next week, let alone after not reading it for years, as I do from Shopgirl and some of his plays. But even so, and although the heroine fascinates primarily by being unlikeable, it's still a quietly engrossing portrait of a certain culture and time.
    • 4/5
      The story of the rise (and eventual fall) of Lacey Yaeger, an ambitious art dealer with vision and scope, as told by one of her satellites of men. Not a love story, nor a biography in the true sense, nor a crime novel, it is somehow all those things together. Martin weaves multiple strands of his story and then brings them all together for the sad, somehow inevitable ending. Not a comedy.
    • 4/5
      I confess myself unaware that Steve Martin could write like this. I'd never picked up Shopgirl, so I was pleasantly surprised to say the least at Martin's engaging and descriptive writing style. The way he's fluently able to interpret different art pieces and styles as metaphors for the collective mindset and Lacey's place in life is particularly notable as are the prints themselves.Also surprisingly (again, probably just to me), Martin really knows his art history.
    • 5/5
      Such an amzaing book, so beautifully executed with words expanding imagination.
    • 3/5
      it's brilliance was that it was as vapid and devoid of substance and self-referential as the world and people he was writing about, but had to read it because it was a "steve martin," like these art people had to buy a picture because of what it was and what it stood for, not because they liked it, then stored them away in basements to bring out when their calculated value had increased enough for them to make a profit. it reminded me of cormack mccarthy's "the road," in that the writing itself - apart from what the story was about - was perfect for the story. the story of "the road" held no light, and was flat and one-dimensional, as was the writing, which i thought was brilliant. "object of beauty" got very name-droppy and a bit tedious at the end, and i can't say that ever really cared about any of the characters.
    • 4/5
      I started this book concerned, the first few pages did not grip me and really concerned me. However, I stuck with it and I'm glad I did. Lacey is a character that is fascinating to read about. Mr. Martin did a great job of making me feel like I was her. And oh, what a crazy, loveless (but interesting) life that would be. The art reproductions really added depth to the book and helped make it come alive. Get through the first few pages, soak in the life in the art world, close the book and be glad for your ability to love.
    • 3/5
      Not nearly as good as his other books, but parts of the story were very interesting. The way the story reltes to the art world and how all of that works in NYC was very interesting - especially since I have friends in that world. I'm sure they'd find this much more interesting than I did.
    • 4/5
      I found this an enjoyable holiday read; it is a romp through the madness of the New York contemporary art scene in the 1990s. The characters seemed a little two-dimensional - too Sex and the City for my taste. He is very good on the art scene itself, there are some excellent and funny insights into the art world, especially how demand for and price of artworks can change so quickly.
    • 4/5
      Like everything he does, beautifully written and insightful, particularly in portraying women.