Danielle Ganek, an elite member of the New York art community, is a collector of contemporary art and photography, along with her husband, David, a hedge-fund manager. Formerly an editor at Mademoiselle and Woman's Day magazines, Ganek lives in the same storied Park Avenue apartment in which Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy ran around as a little girl.
Ganek is also, at 43, the glamorous debut novelist of "Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him," a funny and whimsical story set in the high-glam New York art scene. The book's title refers to the title of a large fictional painting that attracts enormous interest from artists, dealers and collectors.
The artist is Jeffrey Finelli, who made his niece, the beautiful Lulu, the muse of the painting. On opening night, when he is to show off his work at a small art gallery, Finelli steps outside in the rain and is killed by a passing taxi. While everyone inside is thrust into shock, the show goes on.
During a fascinating phone interview from her New York apartment, Ganek explained that while she herself has never been a "gallery girl," it is an ideal viewpoint from which to report on the society and its business — which is what her main character does.
Mia MacMurray is a witty aspiring young artist who works for the obnoxious Simon Pryce. Like Mia, Ganek sizzles with personality when talking about her book, even though she has a shy side. She has been writing since she was 9 but never submitted any of her work to a publisher until her more assertive husband urged her to do so.
"You don't get rejected if you don't send out your work," Ganek said with irony in her voice.
Once her work was submitted to Viking, it was accepted for publication within three days. "Picking the right publisher for a book is like matchmaking for dating — rejection from one publisher doesn't necessarily mean you will never get married."
When asked if she is as witty as Mia, Ganek declined to fall into what she called "the journalist's trap." "You be the judge. When good friends started reading my book, they said they couldn't imagine me writing it, but then they would see a certain combination of words that sounded like me."
Ganek is "fascinated by the creative process, and visual art is one way to study it. It's so different from the work of a writer. People get a lot of energy from art. There is a powerful feeling in blowing up a strong piece of work, exaggerating its effect on people who see the painting. For each character in the book, the painting symbolizes something different."
She worried about the book's title, fearing some people would think it sacrilegious and misunderstand it, or just think it too wordy. But her editors overwhelmingly favored the title, thinking it catchy. There is also a point in the book when onlookers doubt that the Lulu painting really represents art, and in a related thought, they express doubt about the existence of God.
Although no filmmaker has optioned the book as a movie, several are considering it. Some critics have already compared it with the popular "The Devil Wears Prada," the book about the fashion world that was quickly made into a movie starring Meryl Streep.
Ganek said she liked "Prada" very much and thinks that's "a fine comparison." But she adds that she isn't holding her breath. "It would be interesting to see where a filmmaker with vision would take the story."
Besides Mia and Lulu, the book's large cast of characters includes Zach, an art consultant who is also Mia's love interest; Simon Pryce, Mia's obnoxious boss at the gallery; Connie Kantor, a dealer no one can stand; the Italian Contessa, a beautiful and mysterious older woman who was formerly married to Finelli; Pierre LaReine, (according to Ganek, this one is not based on the actual and visible New York art dealer Larry Gagosian); and Dane O'Neill, a rather dashing older painter and womanizer.
The characters engage in breezy, clever dialogue that moves the story along quickly as they hit the social scene together, travel to Italy on LaReine's private plane for the Finelli memorial service and flirt with each other. There is major disagreement over who should be entitled to either buy — or in the case of Lulu, have — the big painting.
Ganek has been told that men are some of the book's most satisfied readers, and that some have crushes on the female characters — "either a Lulu guy or a Mia guy."
Even her husband "was surprised at how much he liked the book." Women, said Ganek, also like the book, considering it "sophisticated chicklit," a term she doesn't mind.
While already working on a new book, Ganek still considers herself "first and foremost a mom of three kids," ages 6 to 12. She lives in the center of New York culture but she says she usually just stays at home with her kids.
E-mail: dennis@desnews.com