Patrick Gale, author of Notes From an Exhibition

Patrick Gale is the author of Notes From an Exhibition, a fictional novel whose central character, Rachel, is a famous artist who has bipolar disorder. In a review on Guardian, this book is described as a “psychologically astute tale about a troubled artistic mother” and Rachel as “a creature alternately wonderful and terrible to her gentle Quaker husband Antony Middleton and her four children.”

I haven’t read this novel yet because I just discovered it today when I was reading a Time’s article, “Patrick Gale on bipolar disorder, religion and why writing is like therapy.” Obviously the title of the article caught my attention, but the first line sucked me in. “Patrick Gale pauses to reflect on his trade, then announces: ‘Most novelists are mentally ill.’” I found the piece to be a very interesting discussion of the author’s personal experiences, which informed the writing of this novel. I’ve bumped this book to the top of my must-read list, but in the meantime I’m curious. Have any of you read this novel? What did you think?

~ Kimberly