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Reading Group Guide

Discussion Questions

Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him

1. What do you think about Jeffrey Finelli’s promise to Lulu that she could have the painting? Do you think he meant for her to own the actual painting? To whom do you think the painting rightfully belongs and why?

2. Discuss the topic of Simon’s panel talk, “the role of the muse in contemporary art,” in relationship to Lulu. What is her role as Finelli’s muse?

3. Why do you think Lulu slept with Pierre LaReine? Was she using him as much as he seemed to be using her? Who do you think had the advantage and why?

4. Consider Zach’s assertion that “collectors only borrow works of art. They can never really own them” (p. 193). Do you feel that a work of art is above personal ownership? Why or why not?

5. Discuss Connie Cantor and Martin Better’s respective passions for art collecting. Is one more valid than the other? What is the role of the art collector in today’s world? What do you think would happen to art if there were no market for it?

6. Mia stumbles across her passion for writing almost by chance. Do you think she ever would have discovered her true creative medium if it hadn’t been for Lulu?

7. Simon sells Lulu to the unnamed Hollywood celebrity for $275,000. Four months later, Martin Better purchases the painting for $675,000. Five months after that, it sells at auction for $4.3 million. Is this exponential increase in value legitimate? Why or why not?

8. LaReine is one of the world’s preeminent gallery owners, yet he mistakes Lulu’s unfinished self-portrait for an early Jeffrey Finelli. Do you believe that artistic talent and sensibilities can be inherited?

9. Simon is an enigma to Mia --- from his nationality to his sexuality to his spirituality. He is often quite bossy and brusque to her, yet she stays with him for more than five years. What role does he play in Mia’s life?

10. After Lulu quits her Wall Street job, she tells Mia, “I was miscast in my old life . . . It didn’t fit me, the job, the apartment, the fear. Not to get too evangelical about it, but everyone should know what this feels like, to live the life you really want to be living. To be the person you believe yourself to be” (p. 191). It’s a sentiment that just about everyone can relate to at some point. Discuss an instance in your own life when you felt this way.

Lulu Meets God and Doubts Him
by Danielle Ganek

  • Publication Date: April 29, 2008
  • Genres: Christian, Historical Romance
  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Plume
  • ISBN-10: 0452289548
  • ISBN-13: 9780452289543