Customer Reviews
A very clever book - By: J. Dean, 13 May 2008 
This is the first Patrick Gale novel I have read. I rather think it won't be the last. I was attracted by the subject matter. The link between creativity & mental health is fascinating and, given such a vast topic I think this book works brilliantly. It brings living with a mental health disorder into everyday terms & made it real; accessible without being patronising or facile. In terms of the writing quality, I was very impressed with the apparent ease with which Gale moves between perspectives; each character has a very distinctive voice of their own that is reflected in the narrative & adds to the absorbing quality of the book. By the end some gaps have been filled but there's no sense of every loose end being tied up - the realism doesn't let up for an instant. I feel I want more but know that "more" would be too much. The final scene, which should be harrowing, is sublimely beautiful.
Notes from an Exhibition - By: Ms. Belinda A. Evans, 13 May 2008 
This is a lovely, tender , powerful book.
The intricate relationships that make up a family are slowly revealed as you read , so that graduallly the picture of each family member's interdependency & shared life unfolds .
Its a beautifully structured book that little by little alllows each piece of the jigsaw to falll into place , each character draws you in a little further to understanding .
Patrick Gale writes hauntingly from a child's perspective & also from that of a troubled , passionate artistic mind .
I loved it from beginning to satisfying end & it made me long to be walking again on the Cornish coast land that's so vividly described as a background to the family's story .
Dross - By: F Ravanelli, 13 May 2008 
Dreadful, dragged on & on. Didn't seem to have any point at alll & then just finished with no conclusion. YUK!
