Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

There's no time like the summer for reading chick lit. Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him by Danielle Ganek--besides having a really great title--was lent to me by a friend who thought I'd like it since it's set in the art world. (I work in publishing at a prominent art museum.) It's not the best chick lit--or assistant lit, if you want to get technical--I've ever read, but it was enjoyable. Mia McMurray is a gallery girl at a mid-range Chelsea gallery. At the opening of what promises to be the most prominent show in the history of the gallery, the artist steps outside for a cigarette and is killed by an oncoming taxi. See--smoking really does kill. The rest of the book is about the ensuing scramble to snatch up the few paintings the artist had produced in his lifetime, most importantly the centerpiece of the gallery show: Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him, a portrait of his niece.

The climax of the story occurs at Art Basel, an annual international art fair in Switzerland. What struck me most about the book is how similar Art Basel sounds to BookExpo, the biggest publishing industry trade show in the US. Mia remarks that gallery employees spend the majority of the fair complaining about their crappy booth positions. Same at BookExpo. Mia says not much important business happens at the show, because most of the pieces are sold before it opens. Same with BookExpo--except most of the business (ie book orders) happen after the show. Mia says despite this, you can't not go to Art Basel if you want to be taken seriously in the business. Same with BookExpo--until recently. This year, a lot of major players pulled out due to the tanking economy. I feel like the big companies can get away with this--what bookstore isn't going to see what Random House is publishing in the fall? It's trickier for the little guys, who might go unnoticed. It will be interesting to see if the show retains its importance moving forward.

Keeping in the spirit of summer is for chick lit, I just started Petite Anglaise by Catherine Sanderson as my gym book. Well, I thought it was chick lit, but turns out it's more of a memoir about a Brit who moved to Paris, fell in love, and had French exploits. But the pink cover is totally chick lit. I'll let you know how it goes . . .