This is a clever, quirky book that tells the story of a character, Kitty Whitaker, through the labels of an art gallery, where she is 'defined by her potential for display and moved from collection to collection through multiple marriages'.

The author worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, drafting hundreds of wall labels to appear alongside pieces of art. 

This is such a clever idea for a book, and it's so well executed!

There are no page numbers, and each 'label' appears on the right hand page, with its facing page blank.

We learn of Kitty and her supporting cast of characters as if through descriptions of a portrait or ceramic being displayed nearby.

Kitty appears as an eccentric heroine who counters her privileged, 'porcelain' life with various rebellious behaviours. It's both funny and sad, and in few words the author asks us to consider who really gets to tell our stories. 

I found that I had to have two run-ups to this book, but once I 'got it' I loved it! Brilliant.