Notes from an Exhibition - Patrick Gale

I first came across this book in a shop on the Richard & Judy Book Club stand. Reading the back of the book it sounded interesting so i put it on my wish list. So when my vouchers came through, Notes from an Exhibition was bought. The book tells the story of a famous artists life, Rachel Kelly. She is bipolar and her family have had to grow accustomed to her behavior. She is something of an enigma to her husband Antony and her 4 children. The story gets going when Rachel is found dead in her Penzance studio leaving behind a set of marvelous paintings, the family crave for answers. Her Quaker husband goes on the internet looking for information about her ...  Read the complete review

To try to describe the plot of Patrick Gale's novel "Notes on an Exhibition" is as difficult a task as to try to explain what a piece of abstract art is about. In fact, this novel is less of a story than it is a portrait of a personality and the life around her. The action of this book revolves around Rachel Kelly, an artist who came from Canada and lived most of her life in Cornwall. What's more, Rachel is bipolar (manic-depressive), and this effects not only her own outlook on life, but also all those around her as well as her art. To tell you more than this, would be counter-productive, since nothing is truly obvious from the outset of this book, and you ...  Read the complete review

Notes from an Exhibition was one of the many books that I purchased with book vouchers a friend gave me for my birthday. Although this event was over 6 months ago now I have just finished reading the book. Now although I enjoyed reading the book and found author Patrick Gale's style to very pleasant to read I don't think it is a book that I could read again. So what is the book about? Well the book tells the story of a famous artist called Rachel Kelly. Rachel is bipolar and so her moods can be rather erratic although it is these moods that she accredits some of her best work to. Throughout her life she has remained an enigma to her husband Anthony and ...  Read the complete review

I have read several books by Patrick Gale and enjoyed them all. This is his most profile one to date as it was chosen as a "Richard and Judy" recommended read. It tells the story of Rachel Kelly, a successful artist who is bipolar and her family, including her husband Anthony and her grownup children. It does not give too much away to say that it starts with her death and then tells her life story and the impact she has had on her children's lives by selecting key points in their lives. It also describes their varying reactions to her death with the backdrops of their own current situations. Each section begins with the titular ...  Read the complete review

I used to be stuck on the same authors and never read a book by someone I didnt know. However it was the begining of my holiday I was in the airport and I saw this book so I bought it and I'm so glad I did. The book is about the life of a woman with bipolar and how her family coped. Within the first chapter she commits suicide, the story is tells of a grieving family unfolding the mysteries of there mothers life. Its an incredibly moving story, although it concentrates on Rachel Kelly and her life with bipolar it has so many side stories about her children and how Rachels disease affected there lives. It was a dificult and sensitive ...  Read the complete review