Review: If Andy Warhol Had A Girlfriend

Don’t you love when a book leaves you smiling at the end? I can’t say every book does that to me – in fact, very few do – but this novel certainly did. It turned out to be one of the sort that somehow gets under your skin and makes you think for days after reading it.

Meet Jane Laine. She works for the prominent Dick Reese gallery in New York City. At the beginning of our story she has just been dumped unceremoniously by her boyfriend Jack. She enjoys her artsy job, although Dick Reese, the gallery owner, is a complete tyrant, and at least one of her coworkers is catty and annoying. Jane holds a Master’s degree in Art and usually is really good at figuring out the meaning behind each artist’s piece. That is, until she comes across Ian Rhys-Fitzsimmons. Ian is known as a genius, and his work is highly regarded throughout the art world. When Jane’s boss drops the bomb on her that she has to accompany Ian on a five month international art fair tour, Jane is disappointed. How is she going to promote an artist’s work she doesn’t even “get”? And why now, when she is trying to get her love life started back up?

Thus begins Ian and Jane’s tour, which starts in England and continues on through Rome, Chicago, and many other places. Through their time spent, Jane begins to slowly learn just what it is about Ian’s work that is so popular. And she begins to wonder if maybe she had someone great in front of her the whole time, but just didn’t know it…

This book was a very satisfying read. It’s a little difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was about this book that I liked so much. Jane as a main character was great – intelligent, down-to-earth, and funny. Ian was a great supporting character – he was very smart, polite, funny, interesting and a bit eccentric. Jane goes through the typical ups and downs of dating while trying to juggle her career and personal life. The book’s plot moves smoothly and doesn’t waver. If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend simmers with a quiet brilliance and polish that will stay in a reader’s mind for days.

Overall, I definitely recommend this novel to all readers who enjoy a superb, feel-good yet realistic book.

5 stars
reviewed by Rian

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