Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #229 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 374 pages

Review
'Poised and pitch-perfect throughout, this is an engrossing portrait of a troubled and remarkable character. A fine writer at the top of his game.' Mail on Sunday 'This is an uplifting, immensely empathetic novel, and Gale's prose, as ever is as clear and bright as the Cornish light.' Guardian 'It has the kind of quietly radiant intelligence, craft and integrity that bypasses superficial questions of originality. A novel with a variety and freshness that is all the more powerful and surprising for being discovering in such a circumscribed and very English milieu.' Adam Lively, Sunday Times 'Skilfully constructed as a mosaic of different viewpoints that shift back and forwards in time. A warm, well-written novel about creativity and the perils of living with the creative spirit.' Times Literary Supplement 'By the end I had laughed and cried and put all his other books on my wish list. This is dense, thought-provoking, sensitive, satisfying, humorous, humane -- a real treat.' Toby Clements, Telegraph 'Beautifully written, slowly unravelling tale!Patrick Gale's serene and carefully crafted prose conveys a profound understanding of the workings of human relationships and the torment that mental illness causes its sufferers and also those around them.' Ross Gilfillan, Daily Mail 'I was completely enthralled by "Notes from an Exhibition." Patrick's Gale's prose grows ever more acrobatic and heartstopping, though somehow he never seems to be showing off. And few writers have grasped the twisted dynamics of family the way Gale has. There's really no one he can't inhabit, understand and forgive.' Armistead Maupin '"Notes from an Exhibition" is a story about family life and the tensions that at once bind it and tear it apart. Patrick Gale's focus is sharp and this small group of characters is carefully observed and lovingly brought to vivid life!the book [is] a kaleidoscope of pictures, sometimes comic, sometimes unutterably moving. Ultimately, Notes from an Exhibition is a rewarding read.' Peter Burton, Express 'All the characters are dimensional and heartbreaking. It is a book saturated with love and humanity. And it has a great last line.' Barbara Gowdy 'A tender, powerful novel.' The Gloss 'This is a book full of insight, intelligence and quiet humour familiar from his previous masterpiece, "Rough Music".' Image magazine 'Gale moves seamlessly between different characters, and from past to present, so we never the narrative thrust. An excellent summer read.' Psychologies magazine 'His sense of place is utterly coherent and he makes the background easy to navigate!the writing itself is so unpretentious, and Gale brings such patience and generosity to the story, that one cannot help but respond to his uplifting faith in human nature.' New Statesman

Guardian
`This is an uplifting, immensely empathetic novel, and Gale's prose, as ever is as clear and bright as the Cornish light.'

Sunday Times
'It has the kind of quietly radiant intelligence, craft and integrity that bypasses superficial questions of originality. A novel with a variety and freshness that is all the more powerful and surprising for being discovering in such a circumscribed and very English milieu.' Adam Lively,

Customer Reviews

Multiple viewpoints don't add up to a novel
What started out as a fairly enjoyable, if rambling, novel ended up as an excess of pointless multiple views that had me keen to finish and get it over with. I rarely give up on a novel, especially one that begins with such promise, but it was a hard slog to an end that had neither resolution nor satisfaction.

Part of the problem is due to the multiple viewpoints, a device deliberately chosen, and which sometimes works. It fails so dismally here because it destroys all suspense, leaving the reader to wade through page after page of pointless detail, knowing all the while where it's headed. Had this story been told in a more linear fashion - you know, that old chestnut of beginning, middle and end (sorry for being such a traditionalist) it would have been far more enjoyable.

The other problem is that there's way too much detail. There are whole sections crying out for an editor, for someone with a little quality control to step in and end what becomes excrutiatingly boring to read. I ploughed on because there were only fifty or so pages left and I was interested enough to want to know how it ended. How frustrating, and infuriating, it was to get to the end and find I'd been told the ending earlier in the book.

The best parts are those that deal with the two subjects of bipolarity (especially in connection with creativity) and Quakerism. So I'm not saying it's rubbish, by any means. I will not, however, be bothering with any more books by this author.

Great book, clever and intriguingly done
This is a great read. I really loved the way the paintings in the exhibition are each linked to the artist's life and reflect the ups and downs of her mental health, while the story is told alongside. I was, however, a bit surprised by the ending which left me a mite unfulfilled. Worth the read all the same though. Pretty brilliant.

The Whole Picture, In Parts
Gale has set up this book in a fascinating way. To begin with, the chapters throughout the book are prefaced with the types of background notes you would find on artworks at an exhibition - in this case, they are from the posthumous exhibition of Kelly's work. This is, of course, where the title of the novel comes from. These notes are essentially tiny insights into Kelly's artistic world, and yet still leave so much unsaid. The chapters themselves are written in vignette style, with each of the different characters having chapters to themselves. This means that while Rachel is still the central person here - since it is her life and work that is the thread of continuity throughout all these stories - we also get to see everyone else in her life on their own. What makes this so fascinating is that we don't get bogged down with long descriptive passages of Rachel's past, or anyone else's. Instead, we get to see pieces of her life, through both her eyes and through those of the people that lived with her. Moreover, it is interesting to see what parts of their lives each of the characters focus on, as their own personalities and problems colour what they tell us about.

This is not a book you're going to breeze through, even though the language is so approachable and honest feeling, the characters so believable and the story so interesting. No, you're going to want to savour this book from beginning to end, contemplate what you're reading about and think about those things that make you the person you are - both internally and externally. In fact, this may well be one of those rare books you want to read more than just once. That is about as high praise as I can give any book, and I can't impress upon my readers enough just how marvellous this book really is. Patrick Gale is a master storyteller who gives us not just something to think about, but to feel as well. There's nothing "in your face" here and like a clever optical illusion where close inspection may only make us think we're looking at a bunch of disconnected lines, when we pull back we find our eyes and brains have filled in what is missing and has forced us to make sense of the whole. Surely five stars out of five isn't enough, but that's all they allow here, so that's what I'll give it. Get this book and read it soon - you won't be disappointed, I promise you.

(Note: this is part of a larger review that appears on DooYoo under my username "TheChocolateLady".)