- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (May 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0142004421
- ISBN-13: 978-0142004425
- Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,141,682 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Photograph
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
One of Lively's most satisfying novels: cleverly conceived, artfully constructed and executed with high intelligence and sensitivity. ("Los Angeles Times") An ingenious premise for a novel and Penelope Lively... spins it out with expert skill. ("The Washington Post") Engrossing... engaging. ("San Francisco Chronicle") Lively's [novel] maintains the high standard her fans have come to expect. It's another shining winner. ("The Boston Globe") Original... bracingly intelligent. Rarely has a subject as elusive as life's messiness been pursued with such unflagging rigor. ("The Atlantic Monthly")
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
Product Description
Searching through a little-used cupboard at home, Glyn Peters chances upon a photograph he has never seen before. Taken in high summer, many years earlier, it shows his wife, Kath, holding hands with another man. Glyn's work as a historian should have inured him to unexpected findings and reversals, but he is ill-prepared for this radical shift in perception. His mind fills with questions. Who was the man? Who took the photograph? Where was it taken? When? Had Kath planned for him to find out all along? As Glyn begins to search for answers, he, and those around him, find the certainties of the past and present slip away, and the picture of the beautiful woman they all thought they knew distort.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
Kath. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Kath. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Glyn Peters - academic, 'landscape historian' and sometime television presenter - chances upon an envelope marked 'DON'T OPEN - DESTROY' whilst ferreting away in his landing cupboard. He ignores the warning to reveal a photograph, the contents of which propel him, somewhat obsessively, to seek out people directly and indirectly connected with an earlier period in his life and to re-examine his most significant relationship. It would spoil the considerable suspense in 'The Photograph' to reveal more than this skeletal outline of the plot. Suffice it to say that on the fairly simple premise of one unearthed photograph, Lively has crafted a highly plausible, intelligent, absorbing and ultimately very moving account of the interaction between a bubbly, beautiful and unaffected woman and a range of well-developed characters who entered her world. Strongly recommended.
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Although Glyn has been married to the beatiful Kath for many years , there is a side to her that he never knew , a side which only unravels itself after her death.
I found The Photograph an honest and fascinating insight into the many layers of people's lives . If you've ever remembered something about a special day , and a friend has perceived it completely differently , then you will identify with it . I would recommend you read this if you enjoy the minutiae of ordinary people's lives and loves .
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I've been a fan of Penelope Lively since I first happened upon "Moon Tiger" two decades ago. I've never been disappointed in any of her writing; fiction, essays or children's books. I especially adore and recommend "Passing On"---it is an astonishing book. "The Photograph" is in the same league. A heartbreaking story about the effect one person has on many lives. A person we come to know those many lives never really knew. Shimmering!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sensitive story but not her best
It was only relatively recently when I discovered Moon Tiger that I realised how good Penelope Lively's writing is. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Suzie
A superb novel
"The Photograph" by Penelope Lively is a deceptively simple novel to read, and yet it works on many levels. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Jl Adcock
Emotionally wringing - 4.5 stars
The Photograph
Glyn is a widower, his wife Kath having died some years ago. While sorting through papers, he finds an envelope on which Kath has written `Don't Open -... Read more
Glyn is a widower, his wife Kath having died some years ago. While sorting through papers, he finds an envelope on which Kath has written `Don't Open -... Read more
Published on 17 Nov 2009 by SusieH
WAS THAT IT?
This is yet another Novel of People's Relationships. My problem with those is that there are just so many of them, and after a while one comes to seem very much like another. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2007 by DAVID BRYSON
Lost interest
I read this novel for a reading group I attend. If I didn't have to finish this book I probably would've stopped reading half way through. Read more
Published on 14 May 2005
Absorbing
A beautifully written, very readable and absorbing study of the nature of relationships, perception and (mis)understanding. Read more
Published on 12 Dec 2004 by G. L. Haggett
Too slow
I'm a voracious reader & love all kinds of books (except romance & such fluff).
I'm midway through this book and I must say that although the plot is interesting, it's an... Read more
I'm midway through this book and I must say that although the plot is interesting, it's an... Read more
Published on 7 July 2004
Ruminative and Suspenseful
"The sight is the same as ever it was, except that it is informed by new wisdoms, and he looks differently. Read more
Published on 12 Jun 2004 by prisrob
Look deeper
Following a review in the Times, I looked forward to reading this book and was not disappointed in any way. The chapters were concise and the plot moved along very well. Read more
Published on 25 Mar 2004 by Mrs. Judy Blake
Not perfect, but very good
This is a powerful book with probing questions. It's not perfect, but extremely good. The prose is poetic, melodic and plainly beautiful. Read more
Published on 2 Mar 2004 by Andrew Sanger
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