Notes from an Exhibition

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Customer Reviews:

• 
  2008-07-10
  By Pamela, London
  Patrick Gale writes well and I enjoyed the insights into life as a quaker. I also liked many of the descriptions of interactions between the characters but on the whole I found the book boring and disappointing.
  
  
• 
  2008-07-17
  By DJG, UK
  This book is beautifully written. Its an absolute joy and is without doubt worth its 5 stars.
  
  
• 
  2008-07-22
  By Mrs. Helen Fraser, Scotland
  Very disappointed with this book which was recommended by Uncle Richard and Auntie Judy. I rushed out to buy it to take on holiday and started reading it, enthusiastically reading each page with vigour. Admittedly, Patrick Gayle's use of language describes Rachel, her family and relationships beautifully. Having a professional background in Mental Health Nursing, it was reassuring to see that Mr Gayle has researched the subject of Bipolar Affect Disorder with accuracy, sympathy and above all empathy, in what is a seriously debilitating condition, for the individual and their families. However, I found the ending of the book to be a major anti-climax and found myself looking for more answers than I had found. Maybe I've been unlucky, but I have to say I can't see me reading another of Patrick Gayle's books based upon my experience of Notes From an Exhibition.
  
  
• 
  2008-08-01
  By Ms. K. Marsh, Brighton, UK
  Notes From An Exhibition synopsis from Amazon:
  
  Renowned Canadian artist Rachel Kelly -- now of Penzance -- has buried her past and married a gentle and loving Cornish man. Her life has been a sacrifice to both her extraordinary art and her debilitating manic depression. When troubled artist Rachel Kelly dies painting obsessively in her attic studio in Penzance, her saintly husband and adult children have more than the usual mess to clear up. She leaves behind an extraordinary and acclaimed body of work -- but she also leaves a legacy of secrets and emotional damage it will take months to unravel. A wondrous, monstrous creature, she exerts a power that outlives her. To her children she is both curse and blessing, though they all in one way or another reap her whirlwind, inheriting her waywardness, her power of loving -- and her demons. Only their father's Quaker gifts of stillness and resilience give them any chance of withstanding her destructive influence and the suspicion that they came a poor second to the creation of her art.The reader becomes a detective, piecing together the clues of a life -- as artist, lover, mother, wife and patient -- which takes them from contemporary Penzance to 1960s Toronto to St Ives in the 1970s. What emerges is a story of enduring love, and of a family which weathers tragedy, mental illness and the intolerable strain of living with genius. Patrick Gale's latest novel shines with intelligence, humour and tenderness.
  
  
  What a lovely book. Only 374 pages, and well worth the read.
  
  Throughout the book, Gale deals with the issues of the illness of bipolar, death, faith and family. His description of the art work was beautiful and I could easily picture the work. He began each chapter with a descriptive plaque like you would find beside an artefact in a museum, which helped connect you to Rachel Kelly.
  
  I loved the character of Antony, how he took in Rachel and looked after her, and gave her a family. He seemed the strong, silent type and I just adored him.
  
  As someone who is intimate with depression I found Gale wrote extremely sensitively and well. The story was not in chronological order however and did jump between characters and times. I liked the story that unfolded however and the twists and turns that came with it.
  
  However, I have found myself wanting more. I would have liked more character depth and to learn consequences of actions that we read about.
  
  Overall, this was a good book, I recommend it!
  
  8/10
  
  
• 
  2008-08-31
  By Teresa White, North Yorkshire
  Although this is the first Patrick Gale book I've ever read it certainly won't be my last. The story focuses on the inter-woven lives and experiences of a family held together by a parents' bi-polar disorder. Each of the characters are very individual, however the mental illness that they live with runs through them all and becomes more evident the further you read on. Gale manages to write about the emotive topic of mental illness without mushy sentimentality or judgements being evident. Excellant!!!