The Exhibitionist: A Novel

Written by Charlotte Mendelson

Narrated by Juliet Stevenson

This program is narrated by multi-award-winning actor Juliet Stevenson.

THE TIMES (UK) NOVEL OF THE YEAR
Named A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by the Guardian, the Telegraph, and the Sunday Times (UK)

Charlotte Mendelson's The Exhibitionist is a "furiously funny" novel (Sunday Express, UK) about a marriage between two artists, Lucia and Ray, which begins to unravel over the course of one weekend.

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: eldest daughter Leah, always her father’s biggest champion; son Patrick, who has finally decided to strike out on his own; and daughter 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 about which desires to follow.

The Exhibitionist is the latest, extraordinary novel from Charlotte Mendelson, a dazzling exploration of art, sacrifice, toxic family politics, queer desire, and personal freedom.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Jul 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781250905680

Charlotte Mendelson

Charlotte Mendelson's novels include Daughters of Jerusalem, When We Were Bad, Almost English, and The Exhibitionist. She has won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, has been longlisted for the Man Book, and has been longlisted and shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. She is also the author of one work of non-fiction, Rhapsody in Green, and is the gardening correspondent for The New Yorker. She lives in London.

Reviews for The Exhibitionist

[thomas cooney · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The reader lacked the ability to carry a French accent or a male
Voice

[wendy1hughes-320431 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The characters and story are well written, just miserable and depressing. Don’t expect a happy ending….

[DeviantAngel · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book was so hard to get through!! I had to stop myself several times from giving up on it, but I kept hoping that at some point, there would be a redemption, a reason to stick through it. But nope! It never got better.

The book is full of characters that have no redeeming qualities. There's probably only 2, maybe 3, that are just a tiny bit relatable or likable, and they're minor characters! The rest of the characters are either narcissistic, misogynistic, delusional, co-dependent, self-loathing, or have the spine of a snail.

The whole book is centered on one weekend where an entire family and friends gather around to stroke the ego of the narcissistic piece of crap patriarch, where he mentally, emotionally, and verbally abuses his wife and children. It doesn't even have a happy resolution or any kind of resolution at all really. Like seriously! What was the freaking point of this book?! What did I miss?!