My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I love Steve Martin, and have since I was young enough to think an arrow through the head was hilarious, and not because it was an ironic juxtaposition. That's some high comic art to a little kid!
I'm a fan of his comedy, his movies, his Hulu series, his books — the man does a lot of things extremely well. Hell, A Wild and Crazy Guy was one of the first albums I ever bought. I even enjoy hearing him pick a banjo now and then. This book, however, was my least favorite by him. It's intelligent and interesting, but the main character never feels real to me. Or maybe I just don't connect with her.
One of my favorite books is Martin's Shop Girl, read in my 20s when I was single and dating and not having much luck on finding a good relationship. That book resonated in my life at the time, and felt like Martin really understood the ways men and women could have different expectations and miscommunications in the fragile pursuit of love.
An Object of Beauty, on the other hand, never felt like he truly got under the skin of his female lead. It did, however, get well under the skin of the art world, it's buyers, sellers, and admirers. I enjoyed that glimpse into an arena I knew little about.
At the end of the day, this story was unique and well written, like everything Martin touches. It's good stuff, even if it's not my top pick by him.
If you love talking about books, please follow or friend me on Goodreads. Let's be book buddies!
No comments:
Post a Comment