“A modern masterwork” —NPR
• The Millions Most Anticipated Books of 2023 •
• Indie Next List | November 2023 •
“Wildly original…[A] tiny but powerful novel…It’s sometimes snarky, sometimes sad, with enough poignant moments to make me wish it could go on and on…You can sit down and read it in less time than it takes to drive to the art museum, but you’ll be thinking about it for far longer. If you appreciate truly original structure and storytelling, put this modern masterwork on your reading list.”
—NPR
“A masterpiece.”
—PBS
“A jewel box of a novel…Coulson’s innovative form is the perfect vehicle for her wry commentary on the conventions of art criticism and the complexities of seeing and being seen…she is gifted at conveying astute observations through small, often humorous details…A pleasure to read.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Elegantly wrought…carefully arranged within Coulson’s precisely pointed prose, even strictly rationed words can deliver an abundance of meaning…in imagined picture after picture, Coulson gently (and not so gently) examines what the canvas reveals and what it conceals. Her lapidary, impeccably composed labels typically finish with a punchline…”
—The New Criterion
“The book is so brief that it can be read straight through in an hour, but that is not to say it is slight. Kitty is a pinball that rebounds off the major historical events of the 20th century and this, as well as the inclusion of Kitty’s deeply personal struggles, results in a character of huge pathos and empathy…a highly original and imaginative work that captivates and intrigues. Coulson’s unusual command of language rewards multiple readings. It is probably best summed up by her American publisher’s initial response to the manuscript — ‘bananas brilliant.’”
—The Irish Times
“It’s a wonderfully clever concept, and a book that lends itself to being read in a single sitting, during which you’ll feel the corners of your lips curl upwards again and again…Amid Coulson’s wry, often humorous, occasionally poignant commentary are moments of transgression and longing that show there’s more to our neoclassical heroine than her fine finish.”
—The Spectator (UK)
“One Woman Show is, above all, a linguistic feat. Coulson’s pithiness, lexical precision, and nimble wordplay steal the show from the protagonist ostensibly at its center.”
—Hyperallergic
“Christine Coulson’s One Woman Show is one of the most immersive and innovative novels you’ll ever read.”
—NPR, Wisconsin Public Radio
“Been waiting for this one!!!”
—Sarah Jessica Parker, Instagram
“A lovely, smart, fun, and very funny new novel…If you love art and museums as well as brilliant and fun novels, this is one for you. I read it in one sitting. It’s a zinger.”
—Airmail
“An extraordinary and deeply original way of telling a person’s story.”
—BBC Wales (UK)
“The writing is clever, witty and deftly—and at times poignantly—executed.”
—Marie Claire (UK) Best Books of 2023
“The seemingly non-narrative paragraphs somehow add up to create mounting tension, with wry social commentary, feminist barbs and psychological insight bursting through the lacquered surface.”
—The Lady Magazine (UK)
“Taking the conceit of an objectified woman one step further, Coulson’s formally inventive, witty novel uses gallery captions to capture Kitty’s journey through the 20th century. At once terse and expansive, this is a literary experiment that intrigues.”
—Mail on Sunday (UK)
“A short, clever novel…it is remarkable how much information [Coulson] can convey about Kitty’s life…solely using wall labels.”
—Associated Press
“Compulsive” and “spry”
—The Observer (UK)
"Perfectly formed”
—Harper’s (UK)
“Singular and unique…We see a life lived through moments in time, captured in 75 words or less.”
—Beth Golay, NPR’s Marginalia
“A delight! This novel’s formal audacity—a book told in fragments culled from a museum’s walls—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
“One Woman Show is a wildly original, always compelling novel masquerading as a catalogue raisonée of the heart. Christine Coulson is the wise and witty curator of this bravura piece of performance art. I challenge you not to devour it in one sitting.”
—John Guare, author of Six Degrees of Separation
“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 The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree
“Coulson’s language is perfection. One Woman Show is heartbreaking and funny and comes together like a ballad. 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
“Strange, biting, tender, and heartbreaking in turns. AND all at once. One Woman Show is an incredibly complicated story to pull off. And Christine Coulson does it. I read it in one fell swoop. It is brilliant.”
—Maira Kalman, author of Women Holding Things
2.7.24 PBS: A Word On Words / Interview
12.27.23 Across the Pond / Podcast
12.26.23 Zibby Owens / Podcast
12.24.23 Slate Political Gabfast / Interview
12.24.23 Razz Magazine / Review
12.16.23 NPR’s BETA / Interview
12.12.23 LitHub / Questionaire
12.7.23 The Millions / My Year in Reading
12.5.23 Hyperallergic / Review
11.24.23 Apollo Magazine / Interview
11.21.23 Lit Century / Podcast
11.17.23 BBC London, Jumoké Fashola (UK) / Interview
11.15.23 Belletrist / Interview
11.1.23 The Lady (UK) / Review
11.9.23 Harvard Crimson / Review
10.30.23 NPR / Review
10.24.23 The Irish Times / Review
10.23.23 The Guardian (UK) / Review
10.21.23 Airmail / Mention
10.20.23 BBC Radio 3 The Verb / Interview
10.22.23 The Mail on Sunday Best New Fiction (UK) / Review
10.18.23 The Spectator (UK) / Review
10.18.23 The New Criterion / Review
10.17.23 Art Juice / Podcast
10.17.23 LitHub / Essay
10.17.23 NPR’s Marginalia / Podcast
10.16.23 AP / Review
10.15.23 New York Times Book Review / Mention
10.14.23 Daily Telegraph (UK) / Essay
10.13.23 Marie Claire (UK) / Best Books of 2023
10.10.23 BBC Radio 4 Front Row (UK) / Interview
10.8.23 BBC Radio Wales (UK) / Interview
10.6.23 Sarah Jessica Parker Instagram / Mention
10.4.23 November 2023 Indie Next List / Round Up
7.3.23 The Millions Most Anticipated / Round Up