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The Exhibitionist
Charlotte Mendelson's The Exhibitionist is a "furiously funny" novel ( Sunday Express , UK) about a marriage between two artists, Lucia and Ray, which begins to unravel over the course of one weekend.
Meet the Hanrahan family, gathering for a momentous weekend as famous artist and notorious egoist Ray Hanrahan prepares for a new exhibition of his art–the first in many decades–and one he is sure will burnish his reputation for good. His three children will be eldest daughter Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; son Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and daughter Jess, the youngest, who has her own momentous decision to make. And what of Lucia, Ray’s steadfast and selfless wife? She is an artist, too, but has always had to put her roles as wife and mother first. What will happen if she decides to change? For Lucia is hiding secrets of her own, and as the weekend unfolds and the exhibition approaches, she must finally make a choice about which desires to follow.
The Exhibitionist is the latest, extraordinary novel from Charlotte Mendelson, a dazzling exploration of art, sacrifice, toxic family politics, queer desire, and personal freedom.
Meet the Hanrahan family, gathering for a momentous weekend as famous artist and notorious egoist Ray Hanrahan prepares for a new exhibition of his art–the first in many decades–and one he is sure will burnish his reputation for good. His three children will be eldest daughter Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; son Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and daughter Jess, the youngest, who has her own momentous decision to make. And what of Lucia, Ray’s steadfast and selfless wife? She is an artist, too, but has always had to put her roles as wife and mother first. What will happen if she decides to change? For Lucia is hiding secrets of her own, and as the weekend unfolds and the exhibition approaches, she must finally make a choice about which desires to follow.
The Exhibitionist is the latest, extraordinary novel from Charlotte Mendelson, a dazzling exploration of art, sacrifice, toxic family politics, queer desire, and personal freedom.
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 8, 2022
370 people are currently reading
9316 people want to read
About the author
Charlotte Mendelson
14 books115 followersCharlotte Mendelson (born 1972) is a British novelist and editor. Her maternal grandparents were, in her words, "Hungarian-speaking-Czech, Ruthenian for about 10 minutes, Carpathian mountain-y, impossible to describe", who left Prague in 1939.
When she was two, she moved with her parents and her baby sister to a house in a cobbled passage next to St John's College, Oxford, where her father taught public international law.
After the King's School, Canterbury,she studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford, even though she knows now, with great regret, that what would have suited her best was English literature at somewhere like Leeds.
She says she became a lesbian suddenly. "It was boyfriends up to 22 or 23. Not a whiff of lesbianism. Not even a thought. But I'm very all or nothing. It was all that, and now it's all this. There was about a 10-minute cross-over period of uncertainty, but it was really not that bad."
She has two children with the journalist and novelist Joanna Briscoe.
She won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 2003 and the Somerset Maugham Award in 2004 for her second novel Daughters of Jerusalem. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times 'Young Writer of the Year Award in 2003.She contributes regularly to the TLS, the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Observer. She is an editor at the publishers Headline Review. She was placed 60th on the Independent on Sunday Pink List 2007
When she was two, she moved with her parents and her baby sister to a house in a cobbled passage next to St John's College, Oxford, where her father taught public international law.
After the King's School, Canterbury,she studied Ancient and Modern History at the University of Oxford, even though she knows now, with great regret, that what would have suited her best was English literature at somewhere like Leeds.
She says she became a lesbian suddenly. "It was boyfriends up to 22 or 23. Not a whiff of lesbianism. Not even a thought. But I'm very all or nothing. It was all that, and now it's all this. There was about a 10-minute cross-over period of uncertainty, but it was really not that bad."
She has two children with the journalist and novelist Joanna Briscoe.
She won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 2003 and the Somerset Maugham Award in 2004 for her second novel Daughters of Jerusalem. She was shortlisted for the Sunday Times 'Young Writer of the Year Award in 2003.She contributes regularly to the TLS, the Guardian, the Independent on Sunday and the Observer. She is an editor at the publishers Headline Review. She was placed 60th on the Independent on Sunday Pink List 2007
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August 26, 2022
I read this book due to its longlisting for the 2022 Women’s Prize – and unfortunately expect it to appear towards the very bottom of my longlist rankings as this is a book which almost entirely failed to work for me.
This is the author’s fifth novel. Her second “Daughters of Jerusalem" won two young writer awards (albeit it has a string of 1 and 2 star reviews in top Community reviews on Goodreads) and her fourth “Almost English” was longlisted for both the 2013 Booker Prize and 2014 Women's Prize (it has a ranking of 1.8 among my 5 Goodreads friends to review it and average Goodreads ranking below 3 – which is very unusual). Much of the criticism of both books seems to match my reaction to this one.
I found the milieu involved (upper middle class, North London, high end arts prizes) far from conducive to my empathy for the characters (and to be honest their actions and words to little to compensate in this regard – a simultaneously pitiful but privileged family is not a great combination. I cannot help wonder if the apparent difference in reception between prize juries/critics and readers is down to the former being disproportionately from similar backgrounds to those the author portrays?
The basic story of the novel is set out in the blurb – reading it after its longlisting one of my Goodreads friends Wendy commented “a summary that describes each family member as the beautiful one, the sensitive one, the insecure one, with self-sacrificing artist mother makes me think this is a book with one dimensional, stock character” – to which I can say you may not be able to judge a book by its cover but it seems you can by its blurb.
The book takes place over a long weekend (Friday-Sunday) in February 2010 and is about the Hanrahan family – a rather clumsy opening “Tolstoy was an idiot” sets us up that this is effectively a story about an unusual unhappy family who pretend (for the sake of the deluded and badly-read patriarch) to be happy.
Ray is a one-time famous, now largely overlooked conceptual artist. He lives in a large crumbling and rambling-gardened North London home which he appropriated from his parents (to the unspoken chagrin of his brother and his wife),with his first wife living in a side part of the house, his second wife Lucia (the central character of the novel – more later) and his “Victorian-spinster” 30 plus oldest daughter Leah (devoted to his every whim), and with his stepson (Lucia’s son) Patrick living in a caravan in the garden as his odd job man (and suffering it seems from extreme nerves if not more serious mental conditions).
His youngest daughter Jess has managed to leave home – and teaches in Edinburgh, where she is in a close relationship with a fellow teacher Martyn (a relationship she is currently looking to break off with the added complication that she may be pregnant) – Martyn is obsessed with Ray and desperate to move into his house with Jess.
The core of the novel is that while Ray’s star is fading, Lucia’s is rising – something the ridiculously egocentric and narcissistic Ray regards as both entirely correlated and casual and as a complete betrayal by Lucia. The book opens with her realising an even bigger break through is likely due to a call from her agent – something she intuitively panics about it due to what she knows will be its impact on Ray, particularly on this weekend of all weekends, when in a desperate last attempt to resurrect his career Ray and Leah have planned and funded a viewing of his latest art (art which no one seems to have seen – even Leah).
As the family are all summoned to help – their tensions play out with the additional complication a clandestine nascent affair Lucia is having with a well-known Midlands constituency representing but local living female Hindi Labour MP and (just to add to the melodrama) realisations occurring about a past affair that Ray had (Ray’s ex-wife and the subject of his affair of course naturally being invited to the opening).
While I felt that the portrayal of emotional abuse by the family patriarch was partly convincing at least as it applied to say 1-2 of the family members, it was I believe taken past the grounds of credibility when applying to not just a second wife and a daughter, but also a step son, a wanabee son-in-law and a brother - particularly when combined with a portrayal of the patriarch as a spoilt child with a complete absence of charisma and with a long faded talent. And even with the daughter the idea that an intelligent and attractive 30 something year old would be so ridiculously determined to pander to her father (as to be fixated on the impact on his mental health and not her mother's mental health when the latter has an operation to remove a cancerous growth) and devoid of any friendships other than a hopeless crush seemed beyond far-fetched to me.
And amid all the manufactured drama, the set piece scene of the art unveiling in the exhibition manages (quite spectacularly it has to be said) in its denouement to be simultaneously both completely absurd and entirely predictable: “Did you guess in advance” asks one character to which the other replies “Of course not. Did you” and by the time the first counters with “No! Absolutely. Why, do you think anyone did?” – this reader was metaphorically jumping up and down with my hand in the air (and not because I wanted to be excused – although I would gladly have been excused from reading at a much earlier point).
The book has a few redeeming features: the title is quite clever and the author does do a nice line in metaphors – as the family tiptoe around Ray’s inflated self-worth and ridiculous self-delusions for example we are told “It’s like playing Jenga: any threat to his self-esteem, a tiny wobble and the whole thing comes crashing onto your knuckles”. I would not go quite as far as John Self in the Observer who said Her new novel is so devoid of secondhand sentences that it’s quite possible she spent all nine years since its predecessor polishing her jokes and turning phrases round until they shine. not least as the book gave me a sense of humour failure - but she does have a much better touch with prose that she does with character I believe.
I also found the relationship between Priya and Lucia interesting – in that (at least in my view, I slightly worry the author sees it as liberating) it seems to share some of the same abusive/dependent traits as Ray/Lucia with Priya using her confidence and power to largely play with Lucia’s affections and lack of self-worth (not aided by a bodged mastectomy) and with Lucia already allowing her happiness to be subject to the rather arbitrary whims of another.
Overall not the book for me.
My thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC via NetGalley
This is the author’s fifth novel. Her second “Daughters of Jerusalem" won two young writer awards (albeit it has a string of 1 and 2 star reviews in top Community reviews on Goodreads) and her fourth “Almost English” was longlisted for both the 2013 Booker Prize and 2014 Women's Prize (it has a ranking of 1.8 among my 5 Goodreads friends to review it and average Goodreads ranking below 3 – which is very unusual). Much of the criticism of both books seems to match my reaction to this one.
I found the milieu involved (upper middle class, North London, high end arts prizes) far from conducive to my empathy for the characters (and to be honest their actions and words to little to compensate in this regard – a simultaneously pitiful but privileged family is not a great combination. I cannot help wonder if the apparent difference in reception between prize juries/critics and readers is down to the former being disproportionately from similar backgrounds to those the author portrays?
The basic story of the novel is set out in the blurb – reading it after its longlisting one of my Goodreads friends Wendy commented “a summary that describes each family member as the beautiful one, the sensitive one, the insecure one, with self-sacrificing artist mother makes me think this is a book with one dimensional, stock character” – to which I can say you may not be able to judge a book by its cover but it seems you can by its blurb.
The book takes place over a long weekend (Friday-Sunday) in February 2010 and is about the Hanrahan family – a rather clumsy opening “Tolstoy was an idiot” sets us up that this is effectively a story about an unusual unhappy family who pretend (for the sake of the deluded and badly-read patriarch) to be happy.
Ray is a one-time famous, now largely overlooked conceptual artist. He lives in a large crumbling and rambling-gardened North London home which he appropriated from his parents (to the unspoken chagrin of his brother and his wife),with his first wife living in a side part of the house, his second wife Lucia (the central character of the novel – more later) and his “Victorian-spinster” 30 plus oldest daughter Leah (devoted to his every whim), and with his stepson (Lucia’s son) Patrick living in a caravan in the garden as his odd job man (and suffering it seems from extreme nerves if not more serious mental conditions).
His youngest daughter Jess has managed to leave home – and teaches in Edinburgh, where she is in a close relationship with a fellow teacher Martyn (a relationship she is currently looking to break off with the added complication that she may be pregnant) – Martyn is obsessed with Ray and desperate to move into his house with Jess.
The core of the novel is that while Ray’s star is fading, Lucia’s is rising – something the ridiculously egocentric and narcissistic Ray regards as both entirely correlated and casual and as a complete betrayal by Lucia. The book opens with her realising an even bigger break through is likely due to a call from her agent – something she intuitively panics about it due to what she knows will be its impact on Ray, particularly on this weekend of all weekends, when in a desperate last attempt to resurrect his career Ray and Leah have planned and funded a viewing of his latest art (art which no one seems to have seen – even Leah).
As the family are all summoned to help – their tensions play out with the additional complication a clandestine nascent affair Lucia is having with a well-known Midlands constituency representing but local living female Hindi Labour MP and (just to add to the melodrama) realisations occurring about a past affair that Ray had (Ray’s ex-wife and the subject of his affair of course naturally being invited to the opening).
While I felt that the portrayal of emotional abuse by the family patriarch was partly convincing at least as it applied to say 1-2 of the family members, it was I believe taken past the grounds of credibility when applying to not just a second wife and a daughter, but also a step son, a wanabee son-in-law and a brother - particularly when combined with a portrayal of the patriarch as a spoilt child with a complete absence of charisma and with a long faded talent. And even with the daughter the idea that an intelligent and attractive 30 something year old would be so ridiculously determined to pander to her father (as to be fixated on the impact on his mental health and not her mother's mental health when the latter has an operation to remove a cancerous growth) and devoid of any friendships other than a hopeless crush seemed beyond far-fetched to me.
And amid all the manufactured drama, the set piece scene of the art unveiling in the exhibition manages (quite spectacularly it has to be said) in its denouement to be simultaneously both completely absurd and entirely predictable: “Did you guess in advance” asks one character to which the other replies “Of course not. Did you” and by the time the first counters with “No! Absolutely. Why, do you think anyone did?” – this reader was metaphorically jumping up and down with my hand in the air (and not because I wanted to be excused – although I would gladly have been excused from reading at a much earlier point).
The book has a few redeeming features: the title is quite clever and the author does do a nice line in metaphors – as the family tiptoe around Ray’s inflated self-worth and ridiculous self-delusions for example we are told “It’s like playing Jenga: any threat to his self-esteem, a tiny wobble and the whole thing comes crashing onto your knuckles”. I would not go quite as far as John Self in the Observer who said Her new novel is so devoid of secondhand sentences that it’s quite possible she spent all nine years since its predecessor polishing her jokes and turning phrases round until they shine. not least as the book gave me a sense of humour failure - but she does have a much better touch with prose that she does with character I believe.
I also found the relationship between Priya and Lucia interesting – in that (at least in my view, I slightly worry the author sees it as liberating) it seems to share some of the same abusive/dependent traits as Ray/Lucia with Priya using her confidence and power to largely play with Lucia’s affections and lack of self-worth (not aided by a bodged mastectomy) and with Lucia already allowing her happiness to be subject to the rather arbitrary whims of another.
Overall not the book for me.
My thanks to Pan Macmillan for an ARC via NetGalley
June 17, 2022
I need to get one thing off my chest before I say anything else: this book contains one of the most irritating, detestable characters I have ever come across. If I had been reading a physical copy instead of a Kindle edition, I would have flung it to the other side of the room.
The story is set in present-day London. Ray Hanrahan is an ageing painter - once semi-famous, now on the verge of a comeback. And he is a horrible man, a total narcissist. He treats his wife Lucia (also an artist) like dirt, even carrying on an affair while she was suffering from cancer. He belittles her at every opportunity, even though whisper it, she has more talent him. Daughter Leah is his right-hand woman, an attack dog who lashes out at anybody that even thinks about criticizing her precious Papa. Her sister Jess is more skeptical, even though she stays quiet about it, and has exiled herself in Edinburgh to escape the family strife. And Ray's stepson Patrick is a bag of nerves, daring to dream about leaving for a job in a pub kitchen but too afraid to reveal his intentions. Family and friends all gather for Ray's big show and the pressure starts to take its toll on the long-suffering Hanrahans.
The book is billed as a comedy but I'm afraid I didn't find it funny. Ray is so dreadful and appalling in his treatment of everyone, I just ended up feeling sorry for his victims. And I found it very hard to believe that nobody was brave enough to stand up to him. Lucia is the emotional core of the novel and I rooted for her happiness as much as Ray's comeuppance. The story is cleverly constructed with cliff hangers at the end of chapters and the tension mounting as the exhibition draws near. Ray is too monstrous a character for me to fully recommend The Exhibitionist, but if raging egomaniacs are your thing, you'll find plenty to chew on in this Women's Prize longlisted effort.
The story is set in present-day London. Ray Hanrahan is an ageing painter - once semi-famous, now on the verge of a comeback. And he is a horrible man, a total narcissist. He treats his wife Lucia (also an artist) like dirt, even carrying on an affair while she was suffering from cancer. He belittles her at every opportunity, even though whisper it, she has more talent him. Daughter Leah is his right-hand woman, an attack dog who lashes out at anybody that even thinks about criticizing her precious Papa. Her sister Jess is more skeptical, even though she stays quiet about it, and has exiled herself in Edinburgh to escape the family strife. And Ray's stepson Patrick is a bag of nerves, daring to dream about leaving for a job in a pub kitchen but too afraid to reveal his intentions. Family and friends all gather for Ray's big show and the pressure starts to take its toll on the long-suffering Hanrahans.
The book is billed as a comedy but I'm afraid I didn't find it funny. Ray is so dreadful and appalling in his treatment of everyone, I just ended up feeling sorry for his victims. And I found it very hard to believe that nobody was brave enough to stand up to him. Lucia is the emotional core of the novel and I rooted for her happiness as much as Ray's comeuppance. The story is cleverly constructed with cliff hangers at the end of chapters and the tension mounting as the exhibition draws near. Ray is too monstrous a character for me to fully recommend The Exhibitionist, but if raging egomaniacs are your thing, you'll find plenty to chew on in this Women's Prize longlisted effort.
March 11, 2022
Charlotte Mendelson’s story’s an intriguing, if flawed, snapshot of an exceptionally dysfunctional family. Ray the patriarch’s a washed-up artist, a former hot prospect who’s long since lost the plot, now he delights in manipulating everyone around him, venting his narcissistic rage on his long-suffering family, especially his wife Lucia. Lucia’s growing success as an artist and her mix of defiance - shown in her secret affair with local woman and politician Priya – and self-effacement in the wake of Ray’s relentless emotional abuse fuels much of the plot. In addition, there’s Leah his virginal, older daughter, still living at home, who’s like a throwback to a dutiful Victorian spinster bent on catering to her father’s every whim; his deeply fragile stepson Patrick desperate to find a way to leave home; and Jess the one who’s managed to break away. The action takes place over two days, as Ray prepares for a privately funded art show, his first in years, gathering together his near and distant friends and relatives.
Mendelson’s prose is well-crafted, although the initial pacing’s a little too leisurely, even for a novel that takes place in such a compressed timeframe. It’s a fairly conventional piece, as is the representation of the art world Lucia and Ray inhabit, there’s no trace of Insta art or NFTs anywhere to be seen here. In many ways, this seemed like a contemporary reboot of the Hampstead novel, or in this case Hampstead-adjacent, although the ending features overwrought, messy scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a reworking of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It’s also a little overly packed with issues: Patrick’s “breakdown”; Jess’s relationship difficulties; family squabbles over inheritance; unwanted pregnancy; Lucia’s traumatic experiences with cancer, plus her current midlife crisis around her art versus her identity as a wife; a coming-out narrative growing out of Lucia’s clandestine meetings with MP Priya; an ex-wife living next door; and the fall-out from Ray’s past affair. Incident’s piled upon incident, the portrayal of emotional abuse and its lasting impact’s often quite convincing, even painful to witness, but overall, I felt this lacked nuance and focus. As the novel unfolded, I found events took on a slightly absurdist quality, that undermined its realism. However, I found it fairly absorbing, even though it turned out not to be the kind of book I’d normally read.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Mantle for an arc
Rating: 2.5
Mendelson’s prose is well-crafted, although the initial pacing’s a little too leisurely, even for a novel that takes place in such a compressed timeframe. It’s a fairly conventional piece, as is the representation of the art world Lucia and Ray inhabit, there’s no trace of Insta art or NFTs anywhere to be seen here. In many ways, this seemed like a contemporary reboot of the Hampstead novel, or in this case Hampstead-adjacent, although the ending features overwrought, messy scenes that wouldn’t be out of place in a reworking of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” It’s also a little overly packed with issues: Patrick’s “breakdown”; Jess’s relationship difficulties; family squabbles over inheritance; unwanted pregnancy; Lucia’s traumatic experiences with cancer, plus her current midlife crisis around her art versus her identity as a wife; a coming-out narrative growing out of Lucia’s clandestine meetings with MP Priya; an ex-wife living next door; and the fall-out from Ray’s past affair. Incident’s piled upon incident, the portrayal of emotional abuse and its lasting impact’s often quite convincing, even painful to witness, but overall, I felt this lacked nuance and focus. As the novel unfolded, I found events took on a slightly absurdist quality, that undermined its realism. However, I found it fairly absorbing, even though it turned out not to be the kind of book I’d normally read.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Mantle for an arc
Rating: 2.5
May 11, 2022
You might enjoy reading this. I found it slow.
You may like the cover. So did I
I just couldn’t connect with much in this book. Couldn’t connect to the characters..
It might be a case of “it’s not you it’s me” kind of thing. But I saw the other reviews seems a few had the same problems .
You may like the cover. So did I
I just couldn’t connect with much in this book. Couldn’t connect to the characters..
It might be a case of “it’s not you it’s me” kind of thing. But I saw the other reviews seems a few had the same problems .
October 17, 2023
If you’ve a hankering for squalid Hampstead bohemia, ‘Withnail and I’ and ‘Brother of the More Famous Jack’ (by the wonderful Barbara Trapido) will deliver far greater joy than this lacklustre offering.
Mendelsohn’s fluffy approach to dysfunctionalia is frequently more distressing than entertaining and the final twenty pages are such a mess that I had to reread them this morning to check that I hadn’t missed something.
Mendelsohn’s fluffy approach to dysfunctionalia is frequently more distressing than entertaining and the final twenty pages are such a mess that I had to reread them this morning to check that I hadn’t missed something.
July 10, 2023
The Hanrahan family is the epitome of, but definitely didn't put the "fun" in, dysfunctional. Ray, the patriarch, is preparing for a new exhibition of his art; daughter Leah is his biggest champion, stepson Patrick is a sensitive soul and daughter Jess, the youngest, is insecure yet the only one of the three who seems to see their father with an unfiltered eye. And then there's Lucia, Ray’s steadfast and selfless second wife. She is an artist (a sculptor I think), too, but has always put her roles as wife and mother first. The events in the book take place in 2010 in or just outside London England.
This is a tough review to write. I think I liked the book more than a lot of people and yet it was so chaotic and frantic that I was mentally exhausted after each reading session. The book should come with a warning that it'll do your head in! My head was spinning reading descriptions of the Hanrahan house and the people in it. There definitely were moments of confusion as well because it was difficult to determine whose head we were in at times ... each one was pretty scary. Ray Hanrahan is definitely one of the most odious characters I've ever run across in fiction and I kept wishing someone would stand up to him. I was trying to decide what psychological description I'd assign to him and landed on "narcissist". Strangely enough I ran across some literature which described the different types of narcissist, one of which is "exhibitionist"! Coincidence or deliberate I wonder?! I honestly didn't find much humour in the story, maybe just an eyebrow raise now and then. The ending was rather abrupt but maybe there's going to be a sequel. Otherwise, readers need to decide for themselves what they think happens. Although I'm not big on ambiguous endings, I'm okay with this.
3.5 Stars and I'm rounding down.
My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 4, 2023 (Originally published March 29, 2022)
This is a tough review to write. I think I liked the book more than a lot of people and yet it was so chaotic and frantic that I was mentally exhausted after each reading session. The book should come with a warning that it'll do your head in! My head was spinning reading descriptions of the Hanrahan house and the people in it. There definitely were moments of confusion as well because it was difficult to determine whose head we were in at times ... each one was pretty scary. Ray Hanrahan is definitely one of the most odious characters I've ever run across in fiction and I kept wishing someone would stand up to him. I was trying to decide what psychological description I'd assign to him and landed on "narcissist". Strangely enough I ran across some literature which described the different types of narcissist, one of which is "exhibitionist"! Coincidence or deliberate I wonder?! I honestly didn't find much humour in the story, maybe just an eyebrow raise now and then. The ending was rather abrupt but maybe there's going to be a sequel. Otherwise, readers need to decide for themselves what they think happens. Although I'm not big on ambiguous endings, I'm okay with this.
3.5 Stars and I'm rounding down.
My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for the opportunity to read a copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: July 4, 2023 (Originally published March 29, 2022)
June 18, 2023
This novel begins so ridiculously that I thought it must be a double-irony of some kind, as in: ha-ha, we are both in on the joke, this author and I, about how stupid this beginning is. But no. The author isn't in on the joke. As I read further I realized that I was meant to accept this ridiculous story as a frothy but nonetheless earnest take on ambition, family dysfunction, gender politics, the nature of art...and gosh, I just couldn't do it. The characters are frankensteinish grab-bags of traits that are tailor-made to set up the most obvious conflicts imaginable. The outcomes of these conflicts are flabby and predictable. I could go on about what I didn't like about this novel.
April 25, 2023
There is a difference between someone being detestable vs. actually detesting them….
Book Information
Charlotte Mendelson's novel, "The Exhibitionist," is set to be published on July 4, 2023, with a page count of 304. The audio version, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, spans 9 hours and 48 minutes.
This highly anticipated novel has already been named The Times (UK) Novel of the Year and has been listed as a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times (UK). Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review.
Summary
The Hanrahans are a family in turmoil. Ray, the famous artist, is a notorious egoist. His wife, Lucia, is a talented artist in her own right, but she has always put her family first. Their children, Leah, Patrick, and Jess, are all struggling with their own issues. Leah is beautiful and successful, but she is also insecure and deeply unhappy. Patrick is sensitive and artistic, but he is struggling to find his place in the world. Jess is the youngest and doesn’t really feel at home with her family anymore.
The Hanrahans are gathered for a momentous weekend. Ray is preparing for a new exhibition of his art, the first in many years. He is determined to make this exhibition a success, and he is hoping that it will finally win him the recognition he craves. But the weekend is not going to be easy. The Hanrahans are a family with a lot of secrets, and as the weekend unfolds, those secrets will start to come to light.
My Thoughts
"The Exhibitionist" left me with mixed emotions. The story started slowly, and the plot was initially confusing, but it gradually gained momentum. The narrative was engaging for a while, but it ultimately failed to deliver the payoff I had been hoping for. The book, much like the TV series Seinfeld, appears to be about very little. Although it is billed as a comedy, I didn't find it humorous.
While I had some mixed feelings about a few of the characters, I was primarily irritated by their lack of assertiveness in dealing with Ray's obnoxious behavior, bullying, and tantrums. The main character, Ray, was so detestable that it detracted from my enjoyment of the book. While I appreciate a character who is unlikable, it was difficult to stomach Ray's behavior to the point that I became physically annoyed whenever he spoke. I longed for someone, anyone, to stand up to him and put him in his place, but the other characters merely tolerated him. Although "The Exhibitionist" built up a lot of tension, the ending was anti-climactic, with too many loose ends left untied.
On the plus side, Juliet Stevenson, the narrator, did an excellent job of giving voice to a wide range of characters. Mendelson is a skilled writer, and her use of metaphors was impressive. My issues with the book were not related to the quality of the writing, but rather with a story that failed to resonate with me. However, other readers may have different opinions, as the book has received high ratings from many people.
Recommendation
This book may appeal to those who enjoy stories centered around dysfunctional families with numerous characters and plotlines. It has garnered awards and praise from many readers. However, despite its accolades, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Rating
2.5 Spineless Stars
Book Information
Charlotte Mendelson's novel, "The Exhibitionist," is set to be published on July 4, 2023, with a page count of 304. The audio version, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, spans 9 hours and 48 minutes.
This highly anticipated novel has already been named The Times (UK) Novel of the Year and has been listed as a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Telegraph, and The Sunday Times (UK). Thanks to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced reader copy for review.
Summary
The Hanrahans are a family in turmoil. Ray, the famous artist, is a notorious egoist. His wife, Lucia, is a talented artist in her own right, but she has always put her family first. Their children, Leah, Patrick, and Jess, are all struggling with their own issues. Leah is beautiful and successful, but she is also insecure and deeply unhappy. Patrick is sensitive and artistic, but he is struggling to find his place in the world. Jess is the youngest and doesn’t really feel at home with her family anymore.
The Hanrahans are gathered for a momentous weekend. Ray is preparing for a new exhibition of his art, the first in many years. He is determined to make this exhibition a success, and he is hoping that it will finally win him the recognition he craves. But the weekend is not going to be easy. The Hanrahans are a family with a lot of secrets, and as the weekend unfolds, those secrets will start to come to light.
My Thoughts
"The Exhibitionist" left me with mixed emotions. The story started slowly, and the plot was initially confusing, but it gradually gained momentum. The narrative was engaging for a while, but it ultimately failed to deliver the payoff I had been hoping for. The book, much like the TV series Seinfeld, appears to be about very little. Although it is billed as a comedy, I didn't find it humorous.
While I had some mixed feelings about a few of the characters, I was primarily irritated by their lack of assertiveness in dealing with Ray's obnoxious behavior, bullying, and tantrums. The main character, Ray, was so detestable that it detracted from my enjoyment of the book. While I appreciate a character who is unlikable, it was difficult to stomach Ray's behavior to the point that I became physically annoyed whenever he spoke. I longed for someone, anyone, to stand up to him and put him in his place, but the other characters merely tolerated him. Although "The Exhibitionist" built up a lot of tension, the ending was anti-climactic, with too many loose ends left untied.
On the plus side, Juliet Stevenson, the narrator, did an excellent job of giving voice to a wide range of characters. Mendelson is a skilled writer, and her use of metaphors was impressive. My issues with the book were not related to the quality of the writing, but rather with a story that failed to resonate with me. However, other readers may have different opinions, as the book has received high ratings from many people.
Recommendation
This book may appeal to those who enjoy stories centered around dysfunctional families with numerous characters and plotlines. It has garnered awards and praise from many readers. However, despite its accolades, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Rating
2.5 Spineless Stars
April 15, 2022
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022
I have to admit that my expectations for this one were rather low, as I have seen a few negative comments and reviews, but for me this one was surprisingly enjoyable. Yes, it is a pretty standard dysfunctional family setup, and the characters are a little caricatured and not very likeable, but it is funny at times, and Mendelson's targets in the art world are not entirely undeserving of their treatment here.
I have to admit that my expectations for this one were rather low, as I have seen a few negative comments and reviews, but for me this one was surprisingly enjoyable. Yes, it is a pretty standard dysfunctional family setup, and the characters are a little caricatured and not very likeable, but it is funny at times, and Mendelson's targets in the art world are not entirely undeserving of their treatment here.
March 18, 2022
The Women’s Prize longlist has me scratching my head a bit this year. If The Sentence was tedious and incoherent, The Exhibitionist was chaotic and infuriating. Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me at all.
The Exhibitionist is a (comedy?) drama about the Hanrahan family. They’re a North London arty family living in a crumbling mansion, tiptoeing around patriarch Ray to avoid bruising his terribly fragile ego.
I love a book with a good family drama and some unlikeable characters, but this was a mess. The pacing was off and the perspective changed from paragraph to paragraph, jumping around wildly, so it was a struggle to keep up with what was going on. When you have zero investment in the characters, this becomes very wearisome.
Lucia is the downtrodden matriarch and successful sculptor, a dichotomy I found unconvincing. Dad Ray is a sneering, domineering, failing artist and bullying narcissist. I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was meant to be a parody. He is dreadful.
The story unfolds over the period of a weekend where Ray is hosting his comeback show after many years in the art scene wilderness. Do us all a favour and send him back.
The children (Patrick, Leah and Jess) are a mixed bunch who’ve taken sides and have issues of their own. I never felt that I got to know them and could care less about them. Leah in particular is an enigma. She panders to her father in a manner that is both bizarre and improbable.
It had the slightly chaotic, arty tone of Girl, Woman, Other (the book it most resembled to me), but none of the humour or warmth. I spent more time grimacing than laughing.
Awful. 1/5 ⭐️
*Many thanks to the publisher Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC of this book via @netgalley, which will be published on 17 March. As always, this is an honest review.*
The Exhibitionist is a (comedy?) drama about the Hanrahan family. They’re a North London arty family living in a crumbling mansion, tiptoeing around patriarch Ray to avoid bruising his terribly fragile ego.
I love a book with a good family drama and some unlikeable characters, but this was a mess. The pacing was off and the perspective changed from paragraph to paragraph, jumping around wildly, so it was a struggle to keep up with what was going on. When you have zero investment in the characters, this becomes very wearisome.
Lucia is the downtrodden matriarch and successful sculptor, a dichotomy I found unconvincing. Dad Ray is a sneering, domineering, failing artist and bullying narcissist. I genuinely couldn’t tell if he was meant to be a parody. He is dreadful.
The story unfolds over the period of a weekend where Ray is hosting his comeback show after many years in the art scene wilderness. Do us all a favour and send him back.
The children (Patrick, Leah and Jess) are a mixed bunch who’ve taken sides and have issues of their own. I never felt that I got to know them and could care less about them. Leah in particular is an enigma. She panders to her father in a manner that is both bizarre and improbable.
It had the slightly chaotic, arty tone of Girl, Woman, Other (the book it most resembled to me), but none of the humour or warmth. I spent more time grimacing than laughing.
Awful. 1/5 ⭐️
*Many thanks to the publisher Pan Macmillan for providing me with an ARC of this book via @netgalley, which will be published on 17 March. As always, this is an honest review.*
April 9, 2023
In The Exhibitionist, artists Ray and Lucia Hanrahan are married. Lucia has sacrificed many of her artistic ambitions for Ray and their family of three, now adult, children — Patrick, the black sheep, Leah, the oldest daughter, catering to Ray’s constant needs and complaints, and Jess, a teacher who moved away and is unsure about her current relationship with a fellow teacher, Martyn.
The family is reuniting for Ray’s latest art show. Ray is an insufferable narcissist and Lucia must now consider her own wishes for her future, with new contacts and opportunities, different from the one she’s long envisioned. I wavered on liking a couple of the characters but mostly found myself frequently annoyed with their lack of backbone, catering to Ray’s childish antics, etc. The Exhibitionist felt long and while there was a build up of tension, the ending felt anticlimactic with too much left unsaid between the family members — 2.5 stars
The family is reuniting for Ray’s latest art show. Ray is an insufferable narcissist and Lucia must now consider her own wishes for her future, with new contacts and opportunities, different from the one she’s long envisioned. I wavered on liking a couple of the characters but mostly found myself frequently annoyed with their lack of backbone, catering to Ray’s childish antics, etc. The Exhibitionist felt long and while there was a build up of tension, the ending felt anticlimactic with too much left unsaid between the family members — 2.5 stars
April 7, 2025
this book is trying so hard to not be a god book. I LOVE a family drama an egotistical and cruel matriarch or patriarch sign me up. But this boss prose and lack of earnestness gets in its own way. The book takes a concept and beats you over the head with. I am to believe Ray our father figured is so beloved and controlling even his step son and possible future son and law are obsessed with him? The dotting daughter relationship is laughable. I think this book is going for funny over top but lands on grating. I hate the writing. It's a stylistic choice have the book feel chaotic but it just makes the book muddy and hard to follow constantly. I think im going to give the book 3 stars because there was a moment where one of the daughters tells the mom she is afraid to be like...her. And I found it profound.
July 4, 2022
A most delicious, sinful literary dessert, with hints of my favourite flavours—Austen, Woolf, and Murdoch—besides a healthy dose of middle-class dysfunction.
September 2, 2023
This book was incredibly slow and dull. I have no idea what others saw in it. The review on the cover says it was ‘funny’, it was a funny as pulling your teeth out. Not one likeable character and just a boring story of a dysfunctional family. If I could not finish books, I would gladly have done this but I stuck to the end to find an ending left hanging in mid air as if the author could not be bothered to finish the book.
May 2, 2025
2 Stars for The Exhibitionist (audiobook) by Charlotte Mendelson read by Juliet Stevenson.
I should have looked at the ratings and reviews before I read this. But it has a great cover and it’s supposed to be funny. I really wanted a funny story, I guess somebody might find it funny but it just didn’t work for me.
I should have looked at the ratings and reviews before I read this. But it has a great cover and it’s supposed to be funny. I really wanted a funny story, I guess somebody might find it funny but it just didn’t work for me.
July 30, 2022
Longlisted for 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.
Mendelson's The Exhibitionist has been quite popular and others have praised the literary merit of its darkly comedic dissection of middleclass English pretension, especially among the art world. Sarah Moss's Guradian review has tones of damning with 'faint praise' (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...),
I did not really enjoy it much at all beyond the quality of the cuttingly comedic phrasing . Yes in this work Medelson displays a talent for dark funny but for me it is all quite vacuous.
The novel follows the Hanrahan family as they gather over a weekend for the father's (Ray) attempt to resurrect his career and standing as an artist with the opening of an exhibition featuring his latest works. Ray is portrayed as a beastly bore. Someone so caught up in his own self-importance that he's blind to his flaws and the harm he does to those around him, especially his family (two daughters, wife Lucia, stepson Patrick). If there's a strength in this novel it's Mendelsion's ability to cut through the tropes of artistic eccentricity and bonhomie to skewer the Ray's of the world to their nasty mysogyny. This is achieved through sections in which we get to see Ray through the eyes and experiences of his children and wife, especially when they tolerate and excuse his behaviours. This provides moments that are both funny and sad.
Lucia, also an artist, is possibly the most interesting character. She's portrayed as a talented and still creatively active artist. As the novel proceeds she's clearly in her artistic ascendancy, surpassing Ray. Her success and rising reputation is the source of Ray's tiresome tantrums that for me became more and more unbelievable as the novel progresses.
So with all of the positive comments above why the two stars? As the novel reaches its climax (the opening of Ray's exhibition) the whole thing falls apart. It stretches both credibility and charcterisation to the point that I was laughing not so much at the characters and Ray (revealed to be at this point in his career 'an emperor with no clothes') as at this novel's failing architecture; coming apart at the seams much as the Hanrahan household is depicted. The vaunted exhibition opening reveals just three artworks of jubious quality and merit. But the reader saw this coming, no surprises here and the surprise was more with their reactions (they are surprised that there's not much there). Here Mendelson of course is poking fun at these art-world folk's inability to see through the Ray charade. But for me it just doesn't work. Instead as I reached this point I was laughing at how empty and thin Mendelson's novel is and interestingly skewered perhaps at this point by its own display of literary pretension. Literally as empty as Ray's exhibition, with me reacting with an 'Is this all there is to this novel'. Or is that the point and the novel here is veering into knowing pastiche with a nod and wink at the reader (yes we're both in on the joke). Is Mendelson here though making fun of my readerly literary expectations and desire for there to be more substance? Perhaps, but if so still tiresome.
Not for me.
Mendelson's The Exhibitionist has been quite popular and others have praised the literary merit of its darkly comedic dissection of middleclass English pretension, especially among the art world. Sarah Moss's Guradian review has tones of damning with 'faint praise' (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...),
I did not really enjoy it much at all beyond the quality of the cuttingly comedic phrasing . Yes in this work Medelson displays a talent for dark funny but for me it is all quite vacuous.
The novel follows the Hanrahan family as they gather over a weekend for the father's (Ray) attempt to resurrect his career and standing as an artist with the opening of an exhibition featuring his latest works. Ray is portrayed as a beastly bore. Someone so caught up in his own self-importance that he's blind to his flaws and the harm he does to those around him, especially his family (two daughters, wife Lucia, stepson Patrick). If there's a strength in this novel it's Mendelsion's ability to cut through the tropes of artistic eccentricity and bonhomie to skewer the Ray's of the world to their nasty mysogyny. This is achieved through sections in which we get to see Ray through the eyes and experiences of his children and wife, especially when they tolerate and excuse his behaviours. This provides moments that are both funny and sad.
Lucia, also an artist, is possibly the most interesting character. She's portrayed as a talented and still creatively active artist. As the novel proceeds she's clearly in her artistic ascendancy, surpassing Ray. Her success and rising reputation is the source of Ray's tiresome tantrums that for me became more and more unbelievable as the novel progresses.
So with all of the positive comments above why the two stars? As the novel reaches its climax (the opening of Ray's exhibition) the whole thing falls apart. It stretches both credibility and charcterisation to the point that I was laughing not so much at the characters and Ray (revealed to be at this point in his career 'an emperor with no clothes') as at this novel's failing architecture; coming apart at the seams much as the Hanrahan household is depicted. The vaunted exhibition opening reveals just three artworks of jubious quality and merit. But the reader saw this coming, no surprises here and the surprise was more with their reactions (they are surprised that there's not much there). Here Mendelson of course is poking fun at these art-world folk's inability to see through the Ray charade. But for me it just doesn't work. Instead as I reached this point I was laughing at how empty and thin Mendelson's novel is and interestingly skewered perhaps at this point by its own display of literary pretension. Literally as empty as Ray's exhibition, with me reacting with an 'Is this all there is to this novel'. Or is that the point and the novel here is veering into knowing pastiche with a nod and wink at the reader (yes we're both in on the joke). Is Mendelson here though making fun of my readerly literary expectations and desire for there to be more substance? Perhaps, but if so still tiresome.
Not for me.
April 26, 2022
(3.5) Artists, dysfunctional families, and limited settings (here, one crumbling London house and its environs; and about two days across one weekend) are irresistible elements for me, and I don’t mind a work being peopled with mostly unlikable characters. That’s just as well, because the narrative orbits Ray Hanrahan, a monstrous narcissist who insists that his family put his painting career above all else. His wife, Lucia, is a sculptor who has always sacrificed her own art to ensure Ray’s success. But now Lucia has the chance to focus on herself. .
Ray and Lucia’s three grown children, Leah, Patrick and Jess, are all home for Ray’s new exhibition. They’re mere sketches: . I wanted more depth from all the characters, but especially the offspring. I also expected a climactic late scene on Hampstead Heath to come to more.
Still, the build-up to the exhibit () and Lucia’s inner life form an adequately strong foundation for Mendelson’s sardonic prose. The dialogue, full of interruptions, is true to life. This is her fifth novel and called to mind Jami Attenberg’s and Claire Fuller’s work. I wouldn’t say I’m compelled to seek out more by Mendelson, but this was a solid read.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
Ray and Lucia’s three grown children, Leah, Patrick and Jess, are all home for Ray’s new exhibition. They’re mere sketches: . I wanted more depth from all the characters, but especially the offspring. I also expected a climactic late scene on Hampstead Heath to come to more.
Still, the build-up to the exhibit () and Lucia’s inner life form an adequately strong foundation for Mendelson’s sardonic prose. The dialogue, full of interruptions, is true to life. This is her fifth novel and called to mind Jami Attenberg’s and Claire Fuller’s work. I wouldn’t say I’m compelled to seek out more by Mendelson, but this was a solid read.
Originally published on my blog, Bookish Beck.
April 16, 2022
Dislikable characters, infuriating moments, unfathomable decisions, yet I really enjoyed this book. I can’t succinctly explain why but I raced through, what appears to be for lots of reviewers, a tricky text. I was sad when I saw the reviews before starting but I’m glad I ignored them. There was something in my two favourite narratives that hooked me and I felt invested in hopefully seeing them resolve their troubles and maybe this is how I got through. You also cannot deny Mendelson’s crafting of the text is fantastic, the voices were cleverly interwoven.
July 3, 2023
Lucia is married to Ray and has been for many years they have three children Lucia and Ray or both Artist she is giving up a lot of things including a career for her husband and has spent a lot of time Faning his ego and trying to convince him he is right to look down on her and he deserves all the praise and her none. Despite her dad‘s abuse and the glut their daughter cannot help but to be on team dad and think her mom could do nothing right. Eventually however love and success will come to Lucia and it is well deserved and she could’nt had one without the other. There were many times in this book I thought “what the hell are you doing Lucia?“ as mothers we give a lot of for our children and a little to our husbands but she went above and beyond I thoroughly enjoyed this book and if you love literary fiction at its best then you will adore this book just as much. This book totally puts across the message that we teach people how to treat us so if someone is abusive or negative in the beginning nip that in the bud… Quickly! You have to respect yourself before you can expect others to respect you. What a great book! A definite five star read! Please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review. I want to thank net galley and the publisher for my ARC copy.
June 27, 2023
I wanted to enjoy this one, but ultimately, it was just not a pleasant experience, as it's filled with unpleasant characters and a hefty dose of chronic emotional abuse. Ray was once a successful artist, but now he's living in fear of being overshadowed by the up-and-coming Lucia, his second wife who is a talented artist in her own right. Wanting to be restored to his feelings of importance, he urges his family to gather for his own exhibit, including his daughters and stepson. From there, it's safe to say that things go from bad to worse.
The book's description does say "toxic family politics" and so I suppose it's only fair to say that it did progress as advertised. I just didn't realize how irritating it would be to be constantly immersed in the shallow and petty character of Ray, and the cowering nature of the family that orbits around him.
The book's description does say "toxic family politics" and so I suppose it's only fair to say that it did progress as advertised. I just didn't realize how irritating it would be to be constantly immersed in the shallow and petty character of Ray, and the cowering nature of the family that orbits around him.
June 23, 2023
I am sorry, it's a good book, but I just couldn't get into it at all, I tried for a while, but I didn't finish it. Maybe I will try again some day.
March 24, 2022
I found the pacing a bit slow at times throughout the book, in fact nothing much happens but I found myself thinking about the characters a lot. I thought the final explosion was going to be bigger- it's almost as though the author didn't know how to end it.
September 30, 2022
There is something about looking into the life of a dysfunctional family that fascinates me.
I’m not sure even if there was much of a plot in this book. But it seems like I don’t really mind it. I was definitely dumbfound with the ending that left me hanging and I’m still unsure how I feel about that. It felt a bit abrupt after all the family drama.
Lucia is a selfless wife, married to Ray a selfish man. He’s an artist. She could have been one too, if his ego wasn’t so big. Their children, are dysfunctional adults unable to take decisions, be independent or have solid relationships.
Ray is so hate-able but I ended up pitying him. He was just such a sorry excuse for a human, all ego and pride but even that was so fickle that if anything wasn’t going exactly his way or anyone could threaten to overshadow him even in the slightest, he throws a tantrum and sulks. Just a despicable little man.
Lucia was heartbreaking to follow. Although the story is about the family reuniting over a long weekend where Ray’s work is being exhibited at their crumbling house, we mostly follow Lucia’s POV. The whole book felt like an art installation. As if you were in a museum and looked from behind a line at some piece of modern art that you find weird and wrong and you don’t really understand but it still makes you feel something even if you don’t know exactly what.
I feel like the book itself is an exhibition of this family’s life more than an actual story.
What I mean by that is the fact that the story doesn’t feel linear. Indeed, it has a very jumpy timeline between past and present and switches character’s POV in the middle. It is a bit challenging to follow in my opinion but it is also what gives the book its odd artsy vibe. It could be seen as pretentious and so are probably most modern exhibitions, so I’m wondering if it wasn’t the actual point.
The ending did leave me hanging and I can’t deny that I feel very unsatisfied by it. I had to go and re read the last few pages to really make sure I didn’t miss anything and unfortunately, it didn’t give me any more clarity. It was just quite abrupt and simply not enough.
The characters felt almost like marionettes in a theatre and in comparison to Lucia who we follow for most of the book, the rest felt a bit underdeveloped. Not that I mind, it definitely added to the pantomime feeling of the story but I do understand that for a lot of people this might be an issue.
Overall, I quite enjoyed(?) this book for what it’s trying to do and how it takes the book into an unconventional direction. I’m a bit confused by it but also I’m appreciating the effort put behind such a piece of work. Not sure who I can recommend it to. Maybe if you’re into art and into vibes more than plot or characters then this one could be for you…?
I’m not sure even if there was much of a plot in this book. But it seems like I don’t really mind it. I was definitely dumbfound with the ending that left me hanging and I’m still unsure how I feel about that. It felt a bit abrupt after all the family drama.
Lucia is a selfless wife, married to Ray a selfish man. He’s an artist. She could have been one too, if his ego wasn’t so big. Their children, are dysfunctional adults unable to take decisions, be independent or have solid relationships.
Ray is so hate-able but I ended up pitying him. He was just such a sorry excuse for a human, all ego and pride but even that was so fickle that if anything wasn’t going exactly his way or anyone could threaten to overshadow him even in the slightest, he throws a tantrum and sulks. Just a despicable little man.
Lucia was heartbreaking to follow. Although the story is about the family reuniting over a long weekend where Ray’s work is being exhibited at their crumbling house, we mostly follow Lucia’s POV. The whole book felt like an art installation. As if you were in a museum and looked from behind a line at some piece of modern art that you find weird and wrong and you don’t really understand but it still makes you feel something even if you don’t know exactly what.
I feel like the book itself is an exhibition of this family’s life more than an actual story.
What I mean by that is the fact that the story doesn’t feel linear. Indeed, it has a very jumpy timeline between past and present and switches character’s POV in the middle. It is a bit challenging to follow in my opinion but it is also what gives the book its odd artsy vibe. It could be seen as pretentious and so are probably most modern exhibitions, so I’m wondering if it wasn’t the actual point.
The ending did leave me hanging and I can’t deny that I feel very unsatisfied by it. I had to go and re read the last few pages to really make sure I didn’t miss anything and unfortunately, it didn’t give me any more clarity. It was just quite abrupt and simply not enough.
The characters felt almost like marionettes in a theatre and in comparison to Lucia who we follow for most of the book, the rest felt a bit underdeveloped. Not that I mind, it definitely added to the pantomime feeling of the story but I do understand that for a lot of people this might be an issue.
Overall, I quite enjoyed(?) this book for what it’s trying to do and how it takes the book into an unconventional direction. I’m a bit confused by it but also I’m appreciating the effort put behind such a piece of work. Not sure who I can recommend it to. Maybe if you’re into art and into vibes more than plot or characters then this one could be for you…?
April 26, 2022
Another longlistee for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction which left me scratching my head. The Exhibitionist follows the story of the Hanrahan family: Ray, the patriarch who is an egoistic and famous artist; Lucia, also an artist, who decided to abandon her career in order to fully support her husband Ray's career; Leah, the eldest daughter, who has never left home and a loyal supporter of Ray; Patrick, Ray's stepson, who is fighting for his stepfather's acceptance and recognition, but finally decided to strike out on his own; Jess, the youngest daughter, who left home and worked as a teacher and romantically involved with Martyn who longs to curry favor with Ray. The story took place over a long weekend where the family is preparing for Ray's comeback exhibition. And then, all hell breaks loose.
To put it bluntly, this is painful to read. On the bright side, I get that the author intends to portray toxic masculinity, Ray's egoistic, arrogant attitude, as well as the emotional abuse that the family members are facing. However, the prose is incohesive, there is a lot of abrupt shift of time and perspective, the dysfunctional and family drama seems faked, the LGBT relationship between Lucia and Priya seems very "tropey" to me, characterization is confusing, and most chapters end with too many unnecessary and unresolved cliffhangers. I will stop here and like Careless, I refuse to rate this one as I might not be the target audience for this book. But the question remains: Why is this in the longlist?
To put it bluntly, this is painful to read. On the bright side, I get that the author intends to portray toxic masculinity, Ray's egoistic, arrogant attitude, as well as the emotional abuse that the family members are facing. However, the prose is incohesive, there is a lot of abrupt shift of time and perspective, the dysfunctional and family drama seems faked, the LGBT relationship between Lucia and Priya seems very "tropey" to me, characterization is confusing, and most chapters end with too many unnecessary and unresolved cliffhangers. I will stop here and like Careless, I refuse to rate this one as I might not be the target audience for this book. But the question remains: Why is this in the longlist?
May 3, 2023
Something about this deeply dysfunctional family drew me in to their story. It took some time to adjust to the writing style but once I got going I really enjoyed it and found myself looking forward to picking up the book. I almost decided to mark this one a DNF but I'm really glad I gave it a fair chance. Few likeable characters (and one in particular is extremely nasty) and some sad, depressing ones but the way the author writes and presents the story keeps the novel moving at a really good pace. I plan on reading more from this author in the future.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
June 29, 2023
'Aren't all marriages unhappy quite often?' Prepare for a descent into madness. The Hanrahans are probably THE most dysfunctional family you'll ever meet. Ray is an artist who is planning a new exhibition of his latest work. He is also a narcissist and a bully--the world revolves around him and his 'sensitive' feelings. Lucia, his wife, also an artist, is firmly under his thumb. Her work must always take a backseat to his. Heaven forbid she should outshine him. Their three adult children are so messed up. One daughter, Leah, is completely tied to her father, managing his work and helping protect his feelings from the world. Can she ever have a life of her own? The other daughter, Jess, escaped to Scotland and teaches there. She dreads coming home for dad's exhibition--especially since her boyfriend Martyn is totally enamored with her father and would love to have them move in with the family. Their half-brother, Patrick, has had his confidence so battered by his stepfather all his life that he seems shattered. The house they live in, an old Victorian, is falling apart and cluttered with all the things Ray hoards.
This character-driven story unfolds over one horrible weekend. The family, friends and other artists gather for the exhibition but nothing goes as planned. They are in for quite a shock. Will it be enough to shake up this family?
These are NOT likable people but I guess that's not really required to tell an interesting story. I did care about what would become of one or two of them so I kept on reading. Painful story though!
I received an arc of this novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are own.
This character-driven story unfolds over one horrible weekend. The family, friends and other artists gather for the exhibition but nothing goes as planned. They are in for quite a shock. Will it be enough to shake up this family?
These are NOT likable people but I guess that's not really required to tell an interesting story. I did care about what would become of one or two of them so I kept on reading. Painful story though!
I received an arc of this novel from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are own.
March 26, 2022
Women’s Prize Longlist 2022
Truly awful. Not quite on the level of A Little Life but getting there.
Would I feel so negatively about this had it not been nominated for the Women’s Prize? Probably not, but then neither would I have crossed paths with it. It could have been another bad book but someone (who? I ask you) had to give it recognition above other worthy books and that just makes me angry.
The Exhibitionist revolves around Ray Hanrahan, artist and tyrant, married to Lucia, supposedly a better artist who can’t accept recognition for fear of upsetting her husband. Unless I missed it, we don’t even hear anything about what her great work consists of. And the three grown-up children: sycophant Leah, disappointing Jess and mentally ill Patrick. There’s nothing new in the storylines and it could have potentially been a good story handled more delicately but as it was, the characters were one-dimensional caricatures; neither sympathetic nor believable any of them. It was written like a comedy but simply wasn’t funny. It reminded me quite a bit of The Echo Chamber by John Boyne, which was also painful to read.
This is definitely bottom of the pile and will not be on my shortlist.
Truly awful. Not quite on the level of A Little Life but getting there.
Would I feel so negatively about this had it not been nominated for the Women’s Prize? Probably not, but then neither would I have crossed paths with it. It could have been another bad book but someone (who? I ask you) had to give it recognition above other worthy books and that just makes me angry.
The Exhibitionist revolves around Ray Hanrahan, artist and tyrant, married to Lucia, supposedly a better artist who can’t accept recognition for fear of upsetting her husband. Unless I missed it, we don’t even hear anything about what her great work consists of. And the three grown-up children: sycophant Leah, disappointing Jess and mentally ill Patrick. There’s nothing new in the storylines and it could have potentially been a good story handled more delicately but as it was, the characters were one-dimensional caricatures; neither sympathetic nor believable any of them. It was written like a comedy but simply wasn’t funny. It reminded me quite a bit of The Echo Chamber by John Boyne, which was also painful to read.
This is definitely bottom of the pile and will not be on my shortlist.
April 23, 2023
This was an engaging read about a disfunctional and toxic family of artist. I was invested in all of the character’s stories, and have very strong feelings about how they all relate to the patriarch of the household, Ray. Mainly feelings of frustration and anger.
Despite this I felt more depth could have been achieved by focusing on the primary characters, even though seeing it at all angles was interesting.
There was also a lot of unnecessary prose than at times was distracting from the plot. But maybe that’s in line with the family’s artistic temperaments? All in all an enjoyable read.
Despite this I felt more depth could have been achieved by focusing on the primary characters, even though seeing it at all angles was interesting.
There was also a lot of unnecessary prose than at times was distracting from the plot. But maybe that’s in line with the family’s artistic temperaments? All in all an enjoyable read.
April 26, 2024
This is incredible. Reads like a thriller: you keep wondering when will someone from this deranged malignant narcissist's family finally stand up to him? My only worry is the end, it was a bit anticlimactic. I gasped when it ended just like this, felt like there were 25 pages missing.
December 4, 2021
This is the best book I've read this year. I gobbled it up on two long bus journeys. Characters that you want to either hug or murder, trapped in a dysfunctional family, a plot with escalating tension (and the stuff of my nightmares: will there be enough food for everyone?) and some really wonderful writing - similes that stop you in your tracks (as good as Raymond Chandler who, in my view, is the king of similes). Examples: "He still feels cold and rigid as a park railing"; "Their feet on the frosty gravel sound like a radio play" ; "the best top Lucia has ever seen: short and sexy and made of huge black sequins, like a military fish"; "Sukie's black blouse is translucent, balloon-sleeved, like a dubious St Petersburg governess about to marry money"; "An odd expression crosses Lucia's face: fear or excitement, swiftly checked, like an EtchaSketch twiddled clean".
More lovely sentences: "Jess can tell they're automatically adopting the Art Face: knowledgeable reverence"; "At the back of Lucia's mind unease flicks its muscular tail". And a description of a really messy kitchen in which "like chicken pox scars, family history lingers".
Lucia is married to Ray, a thorough monster, but "How her heart aches for him, his brutal fragility, his frail boyish ego; has ached." The poignancy of that semi-colon and those last two words!
I was very glad to say goodbye to Ray and the other men in the book were mostly tiresome but I really wanted to know what happened to Lucia and her daughters: finishing a book wanting to know more of characters is, for me, the acid test of quality. Highly recommended. (Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for an ARC.)
More lovely sentences: "Jess can tell they're automatically adopting the Art Face: knowledgeable reverence"; "At the back of Lucia's mind unease flicks its muscular tail". And a description of a really messy kitchen in which "like chicken pox scars, family history lingers".
Lucia is married to Ray, a thorough monster, but "How her heart aches for him, his brutal fragility, his frail boyish ego; has ached." The poignancy of that semi-colon and those last two words!
I was very glad to say goodbye to Ray and the other men in the book were mostly tiresome but I really wanted to know what happened to Lucia and her daughters: finishing a book wanting to know more of characters is, for me, the acid test of quality. Highly recommended. (Thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for an ARC.)
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