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See the Stars by Eleanor Ray #Review

  See the Stars by Eleanor Ray will be  published on February 5th 2026 by Piatkus .  Do you ever feel that life isn't going to plan?   When Alice Thorington collapses in the street after a particularly hellish day at work, she must finally admit to herself that her outwardly happy life - steady relationship, well-paid job, beautiful flat in the city - isn't everything she'd hoped it would be. Burnt out by long hours and living a life that doesn't fulfil her dreams, Alice returns home to Yorkshire.  Her childhood home brings complicated family dynamics, a rediscovery of her passion for stargazing and two new friends: Berti, a boy who finds it easier to count the stars than interact with people, and Matt, her brother's best friend and Alice's teenage crush. With each of them facing their own struggles, can the stars that meant so much to Alice in her past help them to find their way in the present?  Filled with heart and warmth, this uplifting novel...

Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick Gale

In Notes from an Exhibition, we are presented with Rachel Kelly, a renowned artist and her complicated family. Each of the chapters begins with notes from a retrospective on her work which highlights an object or painting from her life and relevant to the chapter. We become like detectives, piecing together their story as the narrative moves back and forward through time. We see the effect that Rachel's bi-polar condition had on her personally and the people around her. I thought that this was a very clever way of structuring the story and so illuminating.

    As the narrative progresses, we learn that Rachel has a mysterious past which her husband knew nothing about. All her family have their own story which is gradually revealed. We are given their perspectives at different times and this makes for a richness and depth which draws you into the book and which keeps you reading. It feels right that it is set in Penzance, just the place that someone like Rachel would have settled.

    After the end of the book, I found the author's notes on links between the story and people in  his life very interesting. The novel weaves together several issues : the artistic process, mental illness, parenthood, sexuality, religion and all of them emerge from the interactions between the characters, threaded throughout the story. I have not read anything by Patrick Gale before but realise that that has been my loss.

In short: a haunting but uplifting look at family dynamics. 
 

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