Welcome to Litsy!

My second #roll100 read for Feb and this didn‘t really do it for me. Didn‘t feel believable in the least, and although there were darkly comic moments it failed to grip me.

This story of the dysfunctional family of a narcissistic artist is much funnier than that description makes it sound! My favourite thread in August #12BooksOf2023 @Andrew65

Lucia is married to Ray. Both are artists, but Ray‘s star is fading. Lucia has always had to coddle Ray‘s fragile ego and put her career aside. This novel is about family dynamics and how narcissism affects everyone in the orbit of a narcissist. The author is British and the book is very good, but I found the ending to be rather disappointing. Still I give it five stars.

I enjoyed this tale of a dysfunctional family whose lives have all been affected by narcissistic tendencies of the father.

4th finish in the #Rushathon #readathon, which may not sound much but recently I‘ve been averaging 2 books a month so this is a good total for me!

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES

This dysfunctional family drama takes place in a bit over 24 hours as a 2-artist family prepares for the comeback exhibition of Ray, stepfather of Patrick, father of Leah & Jess, & husband to Lucia. The strong egos here are enthralled to Ray‘s tyranny. None of these characters are particularly sympathetic & the grand event is exactly the let-down the artist deserves. An abrupt ending and some annoying head-hopping further slowed the pace for me.

I kinda hated it but I also couldn't stop reading it.

Why do people keep putting holds on my library books? 😑 I haven't even had this all that long. 😇 (Ok, to be fair I have done the same to others 😅 and not being able to renew a book is frequently what it takes for me to get around to reading it 🤪)
So. Emergency reading of The Exhibitionist this weekend.
(Think maybe I'll get through the 2022 Women's Prize longlist before the 2023 one is announced? 😆 #readinggoals )

Disappointing to be honest. What horrible humans. Not a good read when you‘re not in a fabulous mood, actually a bad idea too, it will put you in a lousy mood.

I can see why this #womensprize nominee has mixed reviews. It‘s only for those who like reading about unlikeable characters. Ray Hanrahan is a faded artist who is one of the most obnoxious protagonists I have ever met, although perhaps descending into parody occasionally.

We join his family as he puts on a private viewing, seeing family life from many different perspectives; his sculptor wife‘s star is on the ascendant, his kids take sides ⬇️

Once in a while I do buy a book for its cover