AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY (Steve Martin) - February 27/11

I'm a little conflicted about this one. On the one hand, the story stuff is interesting and it's hard not to be drawn into Lacey's ongoing exploits in the art world (from her initial start at an auction house to opening her own gallery to participating in fraud). But the book also includes long, interminable stretches in which Martin describes the art world and how it operates. These portions of the book seem designed to appeal solely to those with an inherent interest in the art scene and essentially had me glazing over whole paragraphs. But the book did improve toward the end as the plot became more prominent, so I would have to give it a marginal recommendation. (It's still awfully disappointing, though, given the strength of Martin's first two books.) **1/2 out of ****