Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #264 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

Shattered Lives
First of Patrick Gale's novels that I've read and found it a very 'gentle' read, even though the subject matter was anything but gentle. A story of family life and family deaths and, at the centre, Rachel - the mother, forever wrestling with her own demons, for as well as being a gifted artist, she was bipolar. We learn of the effect this had on her husband's life, as well as the lives of her three children as they grew up. Time has moved on, the children are all adults and Rachel has died. Following her death, an exhibition of her pictures has been mounted, and the notes beside each work are used to commence each chapter. I liked the way the different stories from this family's life were related by each of its members, giving us a rounded view of the dynamics of that family. It's gentle in a slow-paced way, and there is a twist near the end which I hadn't expected. The author appears to have dealt with the subject of manic depression in a very down to earth, real, way and Rachel's long-suffering husband, Antony, was my quiet hero! We're left with the feeling that we know each of these characters so well, as the emotions and expectations of each one was revealed so thoroughly. I was also very interested in the input regarding Quakerism. All 'round, a really good novel.

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.