The Exhibitionist

I was very emotionally involved in this novel. My husband kept hearing me say I hope someone kills him, not my usual reaction to a book. Ray is such an odious character and the depiction of the hold he maintained over his family is realistic and horrible. Over the past 7 years, we have seen horrible behavior and no one stands up to the bully in question. This is the same but on a much smaller scale. Read it to find out what happens.

Two artists: husband and wife. Two egos. One stronger than the other one: the husband, of course.

It’s a story with dysfunctional family members – mainly the husband, Ray, a miserable, seriously maladjusted self-loving artist. It’s like watching the news with a full view of an anguished, troubled soul.

Ray feels entitled and tries his best to undermine anyone in his path. He refers to his kids with a nickname. His oldest stepchild, Patrick, or Patch is quiet and tries to ignore him. His daughter, Leah, adores everything about him. And the youngest, Jess, lives as far away with her husband as she can. Lucia, his wife, seems to worship Ray even though he wants nothing to do with her sexually after she had breast surgery.

Some may find show more this book entertaining thinking about all the people they know that may fit into this category where the husband is King and can do nothing wrong. Ray was constantly commenting on the way people looked. I smiled wondering what this meant: “menopause jewelry.” Seriously? I had a good image of the characters. However, I wish there was a little more discussed about the art.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of July 4, 2023. show less

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.

Many poor reviews, just noticed that this was originally published in 2022. I don’t know if revisions were made but it clearly hasn’t made much difference. These characters are so un-relatable that I often found myself cringing when they spoke. It seems no one has a “vertebrae” as Lucia would call it. I found it to be an outrageous story told by unreliable characters with a ridiculous, unresolved ending.

Interesting story about a dysfunctional family and the wife's subservience to the husband. Professional jealousy abounds, and I can imagine this to be true. The two daughters and the son seemed a little less believable but a marriage relationship such as this could have some pretty dramatic consequences for the children. There were some aspects of the writing that I didn't like, but I would probably try another of Mendelson's books if it fell into my hands at the local library.

It took me awhile to get interested in this story. It was hard for me to understand for quite awhile the characters and the roles they played.
After more than halfway through, I did find the story interesting and looked forward to getting back to the book.
What a sad story and situation. Lucia and Ray and their relationship…and even Priya - quite believable and convincing. Leah..not so much. Why is all I have to say about that.
Hated the abrupt ending

Great book about family dynamics. Occasionally funny. Characters were very well drawn and credible. Story line moved at a pace. No word waster. I read it in 3-4 days.