Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

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Ganek sends up the Chelsea art scene in her knowing debut. If your taste runs toward the perceptive, with revelatory observations about contemporary culture, then a masterpiece awaits you in her first novel.

The delightful Mia McMurray is a receptionist at a New York art gallery. Stuck in her job, uninspired in her love life, and harboring a longing to kick-start her own career as a painter, Mia is treading water. Things change, however, when an unknown artist is killed on the opening night of his show. Unsurprisingly, there's a sudden market shift, and a thunderous demand arises for the dead man's work -- with Mia's gallery in the eye of the storm.

Ganek's thorough dissection of the art world is completely credible -- she is, in fact, a collector herself. Her tale of a small, cannibalistic community is reminiscent of others (The Devil Wears Prada) yet wholly her own. To her credit, Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him is much more than a social satire. It's also the story of a struggling young woman who learns to confront herself and move on with her life. In this way, Lulu isn't the only one to meet God and doubt him; Mia meets God, and doubts him, too. (Fall 2007 Selection)

Vanity Fair

Danielle Ganek captures the absurdity of the New York art scene with wide and witty brushstrokes.

New York Times

[A] glossy, amusing story that still finds time to wonder... how, why and whether the art world differentiates between trash and treasure.

Janet Maslin

Its author has a savvy, satirical eye, a terrific title and an insider's knowledge of the New York art gallery world.
— CBS Sunday Morning

Janet Maslin

The various maneuvers that give each character just desserts make this a glossy, amusing story that still finds time to wonder, in all seriousness, how, why and whether the art world differentiates between trash and treasure.
— The New York Times

Publishers Weekly

In this enjoyably tart art world sendup, winsome, aperçu-spouting Mia McMurray (think Party Girl–era Parker Posey) is a gallerista—one of the invariably decorative young women who act as a gallery's de facto concierge, and "who is always, always watching," as Mia herself puts it. A mysterious portrait by the recently late Jeffrey Finelli (killed by an errant cab in front of Mia's Simon Pryce gallery) gives the novel its winningly clumsy title and sets up its main conflict, between grasping art collectors and representatives of Finelli's estate. Former Mademoiselleand Woman's Dayeditor Ganek, herself a significant art collector, offers sharply drawn characters and convincingly savvy details. That the book's most important female collector is presented as a loudmouthed and overdressed refugee from Absolutely Fabulousgives a sense of its waspish humor. But Ganek stops short of crude caricature, and Ganek's portraits of the variously sneaky, ridiculous and pretentious art world denizens are tinged with affection and depth. The tone is sophisticated chick lit, and there's a sweet love story threaded in, but what most clearly animates this debut, and sets it apart, is a real sense that art matters. (June)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Library Journal

Ganek's debut novel centers on Mia McMurray, a receptionist in a New York art gallery. Mia's cranky Brit boss, Simon, has discovered artist Jeffrey Finelli, who attends the opening of his first show only to be killed in a traffic accident later that night. His death strongly affects Mia, who secretly dreams of becoming a painter; Simon, who wants a bigger role in the art world; and Finelli's niece, who never met the artist but was the subject of his masterpiece, Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him. Mia detachedly observes the glamorous and gossipy world of art collecting, often purposefully distancing herself to avoid ridicule of her aspirations. Her lack of involvement occasionally slows the book's pace, but this is a minor quibble, as she is a generally thoughtful observer. She is also a kind, believable, and enjoyable character as she befriends Lulu, discovers her creative talents and limitations, and attempts to avoid romantic involvement with the often shallow men from the art world. The setting and style may appeal to readers of Alison Pace. Recommended.
—Lisa Davis-Craig

Kirkus Reviews

Chick lit seeks out culture in Ganek's debut, an art-world romance. With more than 300 galleries huddled in Chelsea alone, the New York contemporary art scene is bound to get incestuous. So finds Mia McMurray, a budding "gallerina," or gallery receptionist (they are known, for the most part, for their haughty attitude, good looks and expensive clothes), at the mediocre Simon Pryce Gallery. But Mia fancies herself different from the others-particularly the loathsome Alexis Belkin-and tells herself that she is working at the gallery only to support her own artistic aspirations. Things heat up at the gallery when Simon holds a show for the talented but unknown Jeffrey Finelli, who is hit by a taxi on the night of his art opening. Suddenly, demand for the paintings is high, particularly the masterpiece Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him. The painting is desired by a well-known collector, the classless wife of a nouveau riche businessman and other players, but the painting's muse, Finelli's estranged niece, Lulu, comes forward and claims that the piece was promised to her. Lulu and Mia forge an unlikely friendship, and, as Mia is thrust head-on into the world she has long admired largely from the sidelines, her romantic life takes an unexpected turn. After insisting that she wouldn't date Zach Roberts (a young, smart, handsome art dealer) because he makes his money in the art world, Mia finally, predictably, succumbs to his charms. Meanwhile, Lulu quits her Wall Street job to become a painter and falls in love with a famous young artist, and Mia quits the gallery and becomes a writer. The Finelli changes hands again, selling at auction for a remarkable sum. The contemporary art scene is a fun,juicy setting, but Mia is, if not a typical Gallerina, certainly a typical chick-lit heroine: insipid and entirely predictable. Same story, different scene.