The Exhibitionist
Author: Charlotte Mendelson
Published by: Mantle
Pages: 322
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
Published by: Mantle
Pages: 322
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★★
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 there: beautiful Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; sensitive Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and insecure 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.
The longer the marriage, the harder truth becomes …
His three children will be there: beautiful Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; sensitive Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and insecure 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.
The longer the marriage, the harder truth becomes …
My thoughts:
The Exhibitionist is a rich and dark portrayal of a monstrous painter and his family living in their wonderfully crumbling house.
The novel opens with Ray Hanrahan, patriarch and painter, who lives in a large house in north London amid the chaos of ‘books everywhere, wizened tangerines and cold coffee’, declaring that “Tolstoy was an idiot.”
Ray believes himself unique as an artist and his wife and children unique in their devotion to him. The novel takes place over the weekend on which Ray has summoned his adult children, his brother and family, and an assortment of friends to celebrate the opening of his first exhibition in a decade. He wants to flaunt his career, his ownership and neglect of a big house, his wife’s loyalty and his children’s submission. The story is told as the countdown to the big event looms, when slowly but surely everything spirals to total disorder.
It quickly becomes clear that none of these things is as it seems to Ray, but nonetheless he dominates the novel and the thoughts and behaviour of all the characters. A washed-up artist, a former hot prospect who’s long since lost the plot, he now delights in manipulating everyone around him, venting his narcissistic rage on his long-suffering family, especially his wife Lucia.
Ray and his daughter Leah are the defence team, isolating and sidelining mum Lucia, who hides her artistic talents to protect Ray’s very flimsy self-esteem. Lucia has also suffered from cancer and that adds a raw and defining element to her story, whilst she slowly begins to fall in love with a local MP, Priya. Ray meanwhile has previously had affairs of his own.
Mendelson paints brilliantly observed characters who you’ll either want to throttle or embrace. I often raged at Lucia’s inability to prioritise her own needs. I wished for Ray’s demise throughout and couldn’t fathom how others accepted his strange behaviour. The author offers a subtle examination of family dynamics, played out over the weekend when Ray is due to have his first art show in well over a decade. This is his weekend, and everyone will bend to his will to mark an extraordinary comeback.
Mendelson’s crafting of the text is fantastic, and the voices were cleverly interwoven. Despite the infuriating cast of characters, I enjoyed the cleverness and humour within Charlotte Mendelson’s writing and flew through this in a couple of sittings.
The novel unfolds like a slow car crash as you keep turning the pages, knowing there will be carnage, but hoping some will save themselves. 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: I finished the book wanting to know more.
Charlotte Mendelson’s story is an intriguing snapshot of an exceptionally dysfunctional bohemian middle-class family. Once I got started, I couldn’t put it down. Darkly funny, a gripping and stressful read about psychological abuse and toxic relationships. A page-turner, but harrowing.
Overall reaction:
The Exhibitionist is a rich and dark portrayal of a monstrous painter and his family living in their wonderfully crumbling house.
The novel opens with Ray Hanrahan, patriarch and painter, who lives in a large house in north London amid the chaos of ‘books everywhere, wizened tangerines and cold coffee’, declaring that “Tolstoy was an idiot.”
Ray believes himself unique as an artist and his wife and children unique in their devotion to him. The novel takes place over the weekend on which Ray has summoned his adult children, his brother and family, and an assortment of friends to celebrate the opening of his first exhibition in a decade. He wants to flaunt his career, his ownership and neglect of a big house, his wife’s loyalty and his children’s submission. The story is told as the countdown to the big event looms, when slowly but surely everything spirals to total disorder.
It quickly becomes clear that none of these things is as it seems to Ray, but nonetheless he dominates the novel and the thoughts and behaviour of all the characters. A washed-up artist, a former hot prospect who’s long since lost the plot, he now delights in manipulating everyone around him, venting his narcissistic rage on his long-suffering family, especially his wife Lucia.
Ray and his daughter Leah are the defence team, isolating and sidelining mum Lucia, who hides her artistic talents to protect Ray’s very flimsy self-esteem. Lucia has also suffered from cancer and that adds a raw and defining element to her story, whilst she slowly begins to fall in love with a local MP, Priya. Ray meanwhile has previously had affairs of his own.
Mendelson paints brilliantly observed characters who you’ll either want to throttle or embrace. I often raged at Lucia’s inability to prioritise her own needs. I wished for Ray’s demise throughout and couldn’t fathom how others accepted his strange behaviour. The author offers a subtle examination of family dynamics, played out over the weekend when Ray is due to have his first art show in well over a decade. This is his weekend, and everyone will bend to his will to mark an extraordinary comeback.
Mendelson’s crafting of the text is fantastic, and the voices were cleverly interwoven. Despite the infuriating cast of characters, I enjoyed the cleverness and humour within Charlotte Mendelson’s writing and flew through this in a couple of sittings.
The novel unfolds like a slow car crash as you keep turning the pages, knowing there will be carnage, but hoping some will save themselves. 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: I finished the book wanting to know more.
Charlotte Mendelson’s story is an intriguing snapshot of an exceptionally dysfunctional bohemian middle-class family. Once I got started, I couldn’t put it down. Darkly funny, a gripping and stressful read about psychological abuse and toxic relationships. A page-turner, but harrowing.
Overall reaction: