The Exhibitionist

May 1, 2023
For the suffering members of an English family crushed by its artist patriarch, a weekend of so-called celebration leads to implosion. Ray Hanrahan is a monster, "a one-man chorus of contempt" whose withering criticism and ceaseless manipulation of his wife, Lucia, and younger daughter, Jess, have caused the first to self-sabotage and the second to flee London for a teaching career in Scotland. Originally her tutor, Ray used to nurture Lucia's artistic gifts, but he has become so jealous of her success that she, drowning in loyalty, must dodge the limelight in order to keep the domestic peace. Ray and Lucia's other daughter--32-year-old Leah, who's never had a boyfriend and still lives at home--has created a comparatively safe space by devoting her life to her father's needs and wishes. Now the family is preparing for an important event: Ray's first solo art show since the mid-1990s, which he hopes will rekindle his fading reputation. Meanwhile, stable things are shifting. Lucia is "stupid with lust" for a woman she met at a party, and her gallerist is trying to reach her with important news. Both Jess and Leah have secrets of their own, and so does Patrick, Lucia's first child, Ray's stepson and another lacerated victim of his heedless disdain. Mendelson stuffs every page of her three-day-long comic parable of dysfunction with a high pitch of discomfort, squirms, plots, and wounds while delineating her characters--especially the toweringly horrible yet compelling Ray--with a broad brush. The repetitive dilemmas and submission of those surrounding Ray will be a test of some readers' patience, or perhaps a cause of sympathy if the characters are viewed as in thrall to their emotional abuser. The writing sparkles with perfectly judged perceptions, but by the novel's conclusion its rigid structure and underlining can seem oppressive. A relentless black comedy, excellently phrased but formally frustrating.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 1, 2023

Paranoia, narcissism, serious illness, supreme pettiness, and a character's rediscovery of lesbianism constitute the key elements in this British family drama by Mendelson (When We Were Bad). When quasi-famous has-been artist Ray Hanrahan mounts an exhibition of his latest work at his home studio, everything goes wrong; the caterer never arrives, and most of the guests are Ray's "enemies," who inwardly deride his poor showing of only four paintings. Ray's wife, Lucia, is a sculptor whose talent has earned her a place at the Venice Biennial, which makes the unsupportive Ray monumentally envious; he rages on and on, like a character out of a Shakespeare play. Ray has no sympathy or feelings for anyone but himself, and he's driving everyone away--his three children too, including his eldest, who has always championed him, and the two younger kids, who are beginning to break away. Meanwhile, Lucia is making some big decisions of her own. VERDICT Intense emotions flood the characters in this scathing tale of family dysfunction, with everyone seemingly crying or screaming at all times despite the dry British humor that pervades the narrative. For readers who like things over the top.--Lisa Rohrbaugh

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from May 8, 2023
Mendelson’s brilliant latest (after Almost English) offers an eviscerating portrayal of an unhappy family in London. With scalpel-sharp prose, the author dissects each of the Hanrahans, beginning with the clan’s patriarch, Ray. A pompous artist well past his prime, Ray showers his family with abuse, blaming his failures on his wife, Lucia, who is also an artist. Lucia has spent her whole married life catering to Ray’s ego, playing down her own talents for fear that any success of her own might derail her husband. Their older daughter, who is in her 30s, still lives at home and indulges Ray’s self-pity, while the younger one has escaped to Edinburgh to teach—a profession Ray disdains—but has been coerced back to London for the opening of an exhibition of Ray’s work in 2010, the first in many years. Meanwhile, Lucia’s son from a previous relationship, Patrick, is preparing Ray’s gallery for the show of his work, though Ray has verbally lacerated Patrick for so many years that he barely functions. Everyone has secrets, Lucia’s by far the most intriguing. Not only is she desperately in love with a female MP, but she’s not told anyone yet that she’s been offered the chance to represent Great Britain at an international art exhibition, news she knows would destroy Ray. Mendelson shines especially when depicting the inner life of Lucia, who must reconcile a passionate vocation with the rigors of domestic responsibility. This crackles with female fury, insecurity, and desire.