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One Woman Show Christine Coulson

One Woman Show By Christine Coulson

One Woman Show by Christine Coulson


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Condition - Like New
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One Woman Show Summary

One Woman Show by Christine Coulson

'Funny, clever and unexpectedly profound - I couldn't put it down' Helena Attlee

'Brilliant. Christine Coulson's tragicomedy of manners is an immense delight' Andrew Solomon


Prized, collected, critiqued. One Woman Show revolves around the life of Kitty Whitaker as she is defined by her potential for display and moved from collection to collection through multiple marriages. Christine Coulson, who has written hundreds of exhibition wall labels for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, precisely distils each stage of Kitty's sprawling life into that distinct format, every brief snapshot in time a wry reflection on womanhood, ownership, value and power.

Described with wit, poignancy and humour over the course of the twentieth century, Kitty emerges as an eccentric heroine who disrupts her privileged, porcelain life with both major force and minor transgressions. As human foibles propel each delicately crafted text, Coulson playfully asks: who really gets to tell our stories?

'Heartbreaking and funny . . . truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way' Leanne Shapton

One Woman Show Reviews

Arch and wholly original, this is a pocket rocket of a novel. The economy with which Coulson manages to capture a life with equal amounts of both vigour and heartbreak is a stunning achievement. An irrepressible and timeless reflection on art, self and female objectification. -- Wiz Wharton
Funny, clever and unexpectedly profound - I couldn't put it down -- Helena Attlee * author of The Land Where Lemons Grow *
Brilliant. Christine Coulson's tragicomedy of manners is an immense delight. Condensed into its witty format is the story of a life, a life like some I have known and others about which I have read. Coulson captures her character's gentle decline with the precision of Edith Wharton and evokes the eras she traverses with such clarity, even wisdom, describing a woman's changing (or unchanging) role in the world with an acuity that left this reader astonished time and again. -- Andrew Solomon * author of Far From the Tree *
Heartbreaking and funny . . . Coulson's language is perfection . . . I love the pages of voices, like voices in the galleries, and so many moments made me laugh. Truly masterful and patient and insane, in the best way -- Leanne Shapton * author of Swimming Studies *
A delight! This novel's formal audacity is an impressive feat of imagination. One Woman Show is a moving story of privilege, womanhood, and the sweep of the twentieth century told through a single American life. I loved this book -- Rumaan Alam * author of Leave the World Behind *
Strange, biting, tender, and heartbreaking in turns. AND all at once . . . I read it in one fell swoop. It is brilliant -- Maira Kalman * author of Women Holding Things *
A funny and clever take on the interchangeability of women and works of arts as possessions -- Philip Hook * author of Breakfast at Sotheby's *

About Christine Coulson

Christine Coulson spent twenty-five years writing for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her final project was to write wall labels for the museum's new British Galleries. During that time, she dreamt of using the Met's strict label format to describe people as intricate works of art. Her first experiment with this idea described an imaginary woman called Kitty, who became the unlikely protagonist of One Woman Show.

Additional information

GOR013322468
9780241659908
0241659906
One Woman Show by Christine Coulson
Used - Like New
Hardback
Penguin Books Ltd
2023-10-17
208
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
The book has been read, but looks new. The book cover has no visible wear, and the dust jacket is included if applicable. No missing or damaged pages, no tears, possible very minimal creasing, no underlining or highlighting of text, and no writing in the margins

Customer Reviews - One Woman Show