Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #283 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

A fantastic read!
A fantastic read! I've recommended it everyone I know, and have now starting reading the rest of Patrick Gale's books. Rough Music is also excellent.

Great once I had got into it
Patrick Gale's book Notes from an exhibition centres around the life of renowned artist Rachel Kelly who suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Gale explores the effects that mental illness has on a family as a whole. The book is heavily characterised and the reader gradually discovers the consequences that Kelly's illness has had for each of her children and also her devoted husband Anthony.

Gale is particularly clever in the way he opens each chapter with an exhibition note about a piece of Kelly's work. You gradually build up a picture of the kind of art that she created and the images described become very vivid and real. The book does jump back and forth in time which I usually find quite irritating but it was really well done and allowed you to get a good account of Kelly's life as a whole.

It did take me a while to get into this book but I did enjoy it, I think that the author dealt with a really serious issue in a very sensitive but informative manner.

A good read and will read some of his others
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! A good read. Subject matter was interesting and the resulting family interactions and relationships were skillfully woven. The descriptions of Cornwall were superb and knowing the area well I was able to be vividly transported back there. A good meaty holiday read.