"Mr Gwyn" by Alessandro Baricco

Plot: A novelist stops writing books to write portraits. (It's a spoiler to explain how he does that.) The main character unspools his built life and builds another; he leaves one deceptively precise job to start a unique project that also requires creative precision. Readers find this book engaging and affecting, but for a wide range of reasons.  I like the "you can create a new story for  yourself, but you are still the same person" angle. It defies review. 

This is a stylishly written book about a gossamer idea. I look forward to seeing how well he marries that style to content when I read his other well received novels that have more of a story.