I listened to The Exhibitionist audiobook last year (read by Juliet Stevenson - fab), and really enjoyed it. The reviews for it seem to be very mixed, though I can see how that's the case - pretty much all of the characters are hugely unlikeable which is really jarring to get past. I found the portrayal of a powerful man who takes his younger, talented female student under his wing and marries her, then forces her into a position where she's not allowed to outshine him interesting and believable, almost in a 'can you believe this?' unbelievable kind of way, and told in a way that isn't heavy or emotionally draining, more of a cocked thumb and eye roll commentary, which I thought to be quite unique and smart.
That said, I haven't seen Succession, so my experience of the book wasn't compared to that!
Interesting! Thing is I do love an unlikeable character and in fact my favourite might have been Ray because I found him the most believable and with the most depth and consistency. I agree with you that the Lucia storyline is interesting but I found her character so predictable and border on cliche, and I thought Leah was ludicrous, particularly when it came to dialogue about her dad. I enjoyed the first half of the novel and Lucia’s scenes with Priyah/ her internal monologues about her cancer but the second half I thought really fell apart just in terms of believability - that scene when they all bump into each other in the fog in the wood and start yelling! But it was shortlisted for the women’s prize and people do seem to love it so maybe I was in a bad mood! On a different note I’ve also just finished Homefire which I thought was brilliant.
I read all of the Women's Prize longlist last year and there were some I really didn't like - I think they have such a spectrum in there it's impossible for everyone to like all of them! Perhaps I liked The Exhibitionist because I read it after one I didn't like, ha. I haven't read Homefire but the blurb sounds great so I'll add it to my list!
I listened to The Exhibitionist audiobook last year (read by Juliet Stevenson - fab), and really enjoyed it. The reviews for it seem to be very mixed, though I can see how that's the case - pretty much all of the characters are hugely unlikeable which is really jarring to get past. I found the portrayal of a powerful man who takes his younger, talented female student under his wing and marries her, then forces her into a position where she's not allowed to outshine him interesting and believable, almost in a 'can you believe this?' unbelievable kind of way, and told in a way that isn't heavy or emotionally draining, more of a cocked thumb and eye roll commentary, which I thought to be quite unique and smart.
That said, I haven't seen Succession, so my experience of the book wasn't compared to that!
Interesting! Thing is I do love an unlikeable character and in fact my favourite might have been Ray because I found him the most believable and with the most depth and consistency. I agree with you that the Lucia storyline is interesting but I found her character so predictable and border on cliche, and I thought Leah was ludicrous, particularly when it came to dialogue about her dad. I enjoyed the first half of the novel and Lucia’s scenes with Priyah/ her internal monologues about her cancer but the second half I thought really fell apart just in terms of believability - that scene when they all bump into each other in the fog in the wood and start yelling! But it was shortlisted for the women’s prize and people do seem to love it so maybe I was in a bad mood! On a different note I’ve also just finished Homefire which I thought was brilliant.
I read all of the Women's Prize longlist last year and there were some I really didn't like - I think they have such a spectrum in there it's impossible for everyone to like all of them! Perhaps I liked The Exhibitionist because I read it after one I didn't like, ha. I haven't read Homefire but the blurb sounds great so I'll add it to my list!
Definitely feel your thirties piece!
oh good!