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Patrick Gale
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Notes from an Exhibition Hardcover – Import, January 1, 2007

by Patrick Gale (Author)
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,571 ratings
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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 leaves also a legacy of secrets and emotional damage it will take months to unravel.

A wondrous, monstrous creature, she exerts a powr 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 stillnessand resilience give them any chance of withstanding Rachel's destructive influence and the suspicion that they came a poor second to the creation of her art.

As the story moves from contemporary Penzance to 1960s Toronto to St Ives in the 1970s, it draws together the clues to Rachel's life - as artist, lover, mother, wife and patient. What emerges is a tale of enduring love, and of a family which weathers tragedy, mental illness and the intolerable strain of living with genius. Like Patrick Gale's previous novels, Notes from an Exhibition shines with intelligence, humour and tenderness.
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Previous page
  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Fourth Estate
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    8.78 x 1.02 x 5.55 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0007254652
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0007254651
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fourth Estate (January 1, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0007254652
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0007254651
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.28 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.78 x 1.02 x 5.55 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 1,571 ratings

About the author

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Patrick Gale

Patrick Gale

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Patrick Gale is a keen cellist, gardener and artistic director of the North Cornwall Book Festival. He lives with his husband, the farmer and sculptor, Aidan Hicks (www.aidanhicks.com), on their farm at the far west of Cornwall. In addition to his latest, Mother’s Boy, which is published on March 1 2022, his seventeen novels include Take Nothing With You (2018), which was his fourth Sunday Times bestseller, Rough Music (2000), Notes From an Exhibition (2007), A Perfectly Good Man (2012) and A Place Called Winter (2015). In 2017 his two part drama Man in an Orange Shirt was screened by BBC2 as part of the Gay Britannia season. Continuing to be broadcast regularly around the world, this won the International Emmy for best miniseries and is now in development as a musical. He is currently working on a television adaptation of A Place Called Winter and a stage version of Take Nothing With You. Extracts from the BBC documentary All Families Have Secrets – the Narrative Art of Patrick Gale can be seen on his website www.galewarning.org.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
1,571 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mikell Cranberry
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliantly written
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2023
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I was immersed in this story and loved the characters. Scenes were painted with words creating visuals that came to life on the page. Family dynamics, dysfunctions, childhood traumas uncovered with compassion and truth. Highly recommend this author and looking for more.
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Mary hayes
4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable Read
Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2014
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I enjoyed Notes from an Exhibition very much. It gave me a great insight into bipolar disease. I had very little knowledge of this before I read the book and Rachel who was the main character displayed symptoms of bipolar all through. the book. I found it fantastic that she seemed to have loved her family to varying degrees she was incapable of showing them any feelings. Her children grew up looking for her approval and they did not experience a natural mother's love at all. In my opinion this was the cause of most of the personal problems in their lives. She seemed to be able to express her feelings only through her art .
I think the value of the book was in its character development and they were quite diverse. Rachel's saintly husband should have been awarded a gold medal for his undying love and patience with her.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a multi-layered book.
3 people found this helpful
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Sasha Davis
3.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed the inclusion of exhibition notes on her art works ...
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2016
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Extremely interesting novel about a mysterious artist as her family attempts to cope with her death. I enjoyed the inclusion of exhibition notes on her art works and found the book to be well written. Secrets are slowly revealed as the writer builds to a an ebrupt conclusion which should have been expanded.
2 people found this helpful
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Musicalboy
5.0 out of 5 stars Packs an emotional wallop
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2020
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This book, with its unique structure that jumps from time to time, is totally clear and emotionally devastating. A beautifully told story with surprises and it packs a real wallop when you find out things you thought you knew but didn't A wonderful read.
One person found this helpful
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C. Paris
4.0 out of 5 stars Everyone attending book club liked this selection.
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2013
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A selection for book club which was not available through a metropolitan library network (except in Chinese) gave me pause. Apparently,
this is a title from a prolific British author whose work hasn't been promoted in the U.S.A. Character driven and well written, a thoughtful discussion on several of the novel's subjects (people and topics!) ensued at our monthly meeting.
2 people found this helpful
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C. C. Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating! A treat to read.
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2016
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The British writer Patrick Gale is new to me, but I am already reading his The Facts of Life and will seek out more of his books, of which there are quite a few. Suspect he is not so well-known on this side of the pond, but he deserves to be. His work is both original and skillful. Perhaps not for everyone, especially for those who prefer a formulaic approach and a doggedly chronological plot, but for readers that get a kick out of fully developed characters and a plot that steadily reveals more and more about them, Patrick Gale is your ticket.

PS 10/31/16 Finished The Facts of Life a couple of weeks ago and about to start review of it, but want to emphasize again how much I enjoy this British author, and how glad I am that he has written a number of novels that I will treat myself to soon. Heads up Americans! Discover Patrick Gale! You'll be glad you did.
10 people found this helpful
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Susan L Stewart
4.0 out of 5 stars ... almost didn't finish this novel three times but I'm glad, in the end
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2018
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I almost didn't finish this novel three times but I'm glad, in the end, that I did. Patrick Gale is an amazing writer - no doubt - but I found his fluid sense of time difficult to follow. There are no chapter headings to give you an indication where you are in the story. It's one of those novels that you have to just hold on tight and enjoy the ride. The multiple characters could be confusing as well.

For me it came down to this: Patrick Gale writes so well that I was willing to put in the effort to read it. It was a challenge but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it's a good thing to challenge yourself and tackle something a little more literary.
5 people found this helpful
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Hilary Plass
2.0 out of 5 stars unconvincing
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2013
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I found it hard to like the characters, they never really came to life. The Quaker aspect didn't really fit in, either.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Dan F.
5.0 out of 5 stars A great novel.
Reviewed in Canada on May 10, 2023
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Patrick Gale is a relatively new author to me. This is my second novel of his that I have read. I am enjoying the book.
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TWLBAILEY
5.0 out of 5 stars Quality book
Reviewed in France on May 22, 2015
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It's a good book about a Canadian artist in Cornwall. Characters were well-drawn and the storyline was good when you work out the anachronistic sequence of the scenes and the pictures (this is not always clear !). Mental illness themes and quakerism were well painted and an important part of the story.
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Marand
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2013
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The story is told through the device of the exhibition notes describing the art at a posthumous exhibition of the work of Rachel. Rachel has suffered from bi-polar disorder and the novel weaves back and forth through time highlighting the impact of her illness not only on Rachel but also on her family, particularly her children.

The characters are beautifully drawn, believable and I loved the economical writing style. There are some lovely turns of phrase that in just a few words conjure up a character. A son drifts "in the upper half of the under-achievers" and later is described as "worryingly like a wife". Elsewhere Rachel's gentle, kind husband Antony is described as "the unchanging pavement under Rachel's weather". The mother of three children by three different men is "a notorious slapper in both senses".

All told a very satisfying read which raises various issues. Some things aren't neatly resolved at the end which would normally drive me to distraction. Here though this adds to the novel rather than being a negative, allowing for differing interpretations. I read this for a book group and it was interesting to hear the different 'takes' on certain aspects.
3 people found this helpful
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Laraine
4.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book.
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2019
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4 stars. This book was a Richard and Judy (UK) Book Club selection and I thought it was a very interesting read. Rachel Kelly is a brilliant artist with bipolar disease and a lot of secrets. Her past life a mystery, Rachel's life is shown in chapters with notes from a posthumous exhibition of her art and every chapter begins with a note and then there is a story about Rachel's life around that time, so bit by bit, her life story is unfolded and those of her family as well. This book was so well written, and tells the story of Rachel and her marriage and her family and what impact her illness had both on her and the people she loved. I really enjoyed this book.
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Sian
4.0 out of 5 stars Ashendon Book Group says...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 18, 2008
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This is a good choice for a book group - everyone enjoyed reading it and we all took different things out of it. Some of us didn't switch on to the style of writing at first (i.e. what the `notes' were all about) but soon got the hang of it. It was an easy to read book though not necessarily a page turner. There were some intriguing twists and plenty of tension throughout.

The story of a talented, artist Rachel Kelly with her strong yet disturbed character is told through an almost visual description of her own and the lives of those she influenced and is well illustrated by the `notes'.

The other central character Anthony clearly loved Rachel and his strength of love is what holds their family together. Though Rachel was a Mum she was not really very good at it and certainly was not a good role model. Anthony, on the other hand, was a great Dad and an excellent role model for their children.

Rachel was not without love for her children howeverand little things in the book remind the reader continually of this.

Patrick Gale connects with his readers throughout the book. One good example of this is again beach day - every one of us have had `stones `moments with our own parents or children.

There were so many characters and each stood out from the others. There was no one character we couldn't love - big parts and small.

The `twists' in the tale are superbly constructed and entwine through the book.

Those of us who know Penzance were able to visualise the setting for much of the story and this made it quite special. Do take the opportunity to do the walking tour at the end of the book if (when) you visit Penzance, it takes about 2 hours and it's recommended. And the cinema is exactly as described in the book. So, go see a film there is you get chance.

We say, read it and enjoy. And we also recommend `Rough Music' by Patrick Gale
4 people found this helpful
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