The Exhibitionist by Charlotte Mendelson

I set myself a personal reading challenge to read and review all eight novels on the shortlist for the Comedy Women in Print Prize 2023.

The Exhibitionist opens with a quotation from Tolstoy - ‘….every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ Formerly successful artist Ray Hanrahan, a domineering patriarch and determined narcissist, believes his family are ‘famously happy’. In fact they are all miserable. This does not sound like the premise for a humorous novel, but it works, and the novel becomes even funnier as the plot develops. Much of the humour comes from Charlotte Mendelson’s witty descriptions of her characters. Ray’s wife, Lucia, hides her own success for fear of bruising his ego. He has bullied all self-confidence out of his stepson. One daughter has escaped but reluctantly visits home in a show of family unity. Her sister devotes all her energy to fulfilling Ray’s wishes and persuading everyone else to do the same. This guilt-tripping is so effective that the entire tribe of Hanrahan, including cousins and an ex-wife, gather to support Ray when he opens his first exhibition in years.

The Exhibitionist will resonate with anyone who has had to tiptoe around the likes of Ray ‘on eggshells’ in fear of a tirade of verbal abuse. When he was a young genius his temper was excused, but now he is just a resentful old has-been. Ray has no boundaries so he says whatever pops into his head. His rudeness is shocking but hilarious. Anyone who has suffered the invective of a controlling narcissist like Ray Hanrahan knows that laughter helps to break their spell. There are plenty of laughs while Ray’s emotional hold over his nearest and dearest slowly weakens.

Mendelson writes beautifully, so there are many memorable lines in The Exhibitionist. My favourite is Lucia’s comment on her new crush - ‘She had the sort of brain one wants to fall inside.’

The winner of the Comedy Women in Print prize will be announced on 17th April. Follow the link below for more details.

https://www.comedywomeninprint.co.uk/2022-prize