Reviewed by Joseph Yurt for Reader Views Daniel Franks, the fictional storyteller in Steve Martin's new novel, "An Object of Beauty," explains, in the first sentence of the book, his fear that if he did not write down his story now he would never be able to write about anything else. Similarly, upon picking up this intriguing and enthralling book, I felt that I could read nothing else until I had read the story's every word. The book's central figure, Lacey Yeager, is a young, ambitious and quirky Sotheby's intern whose character leaps off the page in her first appearance. The reader keeps tabs on Yeager's climb up Manhattan's art world ladder to success - until her bubble bursts, just as it did for an art world which became consumed by the notion of objects of beauty as objects of value. Charming, clever, funny and utterly irresistible, Lacey Yeager is the literary equal of Holly Golightly, but with a dark side. Martin's portrait of Yeager, his delightful, witty wordsmithing, and meticulously detailed renderings of the fine art world and its eccentric dealers and buyers result in a mesmerizing novel. Part of the reason the milieu of the book is the art world, Martin told the New York Times recently, is the challenge of capturing a world that is still a little foreign to him. It should be noted, however, that the self-effacing Martin, who has studied art since his college days (he is now 65), is a longtime private collector. In 2006 an Edward Hopper painting that he owned sold at Sotheby's for $26.8 million. Like its author, "An Object of Beauty" is difficult to define. Simultaneously it is both delightful and unsettling; it is also carefree and cautionary. It's a tale told on many levels and it works well on all of them. And, Martin's numerous narrative detours demonstrate his confidence that the reader will follow. "An Object of Beauty" is riveting.
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