Boogie-Woogie [Hardcover]

Danny Moynihan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 14, 2001

In Boogie-Woogie, Danny Moynihan casts a satirical eye over an extraordinary milieu: the nineties New York art scene. With a nod to Mondrian's abstract masterpiece, 'Broadway Boogie-Woogie', Moynihan sets out to recreate the energy of that period of excess. In doing so he paints a deliciously lurid and subversive picture of the lives and loves of artists, dealers, and wannabees in a cut-throat world. Boogie-Woogie is a novel of tremendous originality and verve.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The hip, trendy New York art scene provides the backdrop for Moynihan's satiric debut novel, a montage-like collection of scenes in which the author tries to mimic structurally the energy of the Mondrian masterpiece that links the fates of his art world characters. Moynihan introduces his wacky crew in rapid-fire succession. At the top of the heap is Art Spindle, a powerful gallery owner who shows the work of established artist Jo Richards and fights to extract money from rich patrons like the elderly Rhinegolds. Lower down on the totem pole are up-and-coming agent Beth Freemantle, who eventually opens her own gallery, and intriguing young artist Elaine Yoon-Jung Yi, a lesbian who seduces and stalks her paramours and then turns her sexual escapades into video pieces. What comes after the introductions is a nonstop series of scenes and snippets from the lives of the various characters, covering deals, conversations and sexual encounters that wander into some kinky terrain. The author, a curator and art dealer, clearly knows the world his characters inhabit, and he sketches some convincing scenes, though his prose is occasionally breathy and awkward. The lack of narrative structure presents some problems in its own rightAthe early chapters of the novel are particularly jarring and scattershot, and the lack of a story line makes the book an uneven read. The result is a novel that works as satire, but fails to quite cohere as fiction. Art world denizens will appreciate the gossipy slant, but the tale has little to offer a more general audience. (Feb.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The New York modern art scene--a world of conspicuous consumption, unimaginable money, misunderstood art, pouting artists, and garish displays of wealth and influence--is brought to life remarkably in this first novel by Moynihan, himself an art dealer in New York and London. The story centers on the "discovery" of a privately held Mondrian painting, perhaps the artist's last, in the library of an aging wealthy couple. The players: a conniving, lecherous gallery owner; his string of young, attractive assistants (who all seem to know each other from Sarah Lawrence); their gay friends; and a bunch of collectors whose knowledge of art mostly consists of which paintings/sculptures/installments will impress their friends most or, better yet, make them envious. As the dance to retrieve the Mondrian ensues, the narrative eventually descends into the grotesque, a symbol of the underbelly of this world, perhaps a glimpse of the souls of these collectors, dealers, and artists, who are motivated solely by greed. A bleak, but compellingly truthful picture of the currents of the modern art world, though not for the faint of heart. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books; 1st edition (February 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312272812
• ISBN-13: 978-0312272814
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,476,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars great book, July 17, 2006

By 

Lena Sunnby (østfold, Norway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Boogie-Woogie (Paperback)

This book captured my attention from the first to the last line.

I really love all the characters!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Vapid to the Max., November 10, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Boogie-Woogie (Hardcover)

This book focuses on the most mindless aspects of the art world--the parties and openings that are the least interesting aspects of the scene. If you read this, don't think you're getting anything but the most obvious and vapid commentary. I was really disappointed by this book.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars sarcastic, real, funny, May 23, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Boogie-Woogie (Hardcover)

this book is one of those you cant put down, sarcastic humor and realistic scenarios. Highly reccomended!