'The greatest dilemma for the novelist writing about art is one of seriousness. How seriously are we to take a fictional artist? How can we assess the value of a body of work that is entirely imagined? The character’s self-belief notwithstanding, what are we to make of claims of the work’s brilliance? Are their efforts worthwhile, their ideas executed well? The author’s task is not to tip the scales, to allow for the possibility of that ineffable thing, great art – if that’s not too woo-woo a concept.' (Introduction)