Save on pre-loved Smartphones
Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Sarah Salway
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Getting the Picture Paperback – 23 Mar. 2010

by Sarah Salway (Author)
3.5 out of 5 stars 207 ratings
Purposefully moving into the same retirement home as the husband of his deceased lover, retired pinup photographer Martin reviews decades of his never-sent love letters and resolves to learn why the woman he loved chose to stay with her husband. By the author of The ABCs of Love. Original.
Read more
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    222 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ballantine Books
  4. Publication date
    23 Mar. 2010
  5. Dimensions
    13.11 x 1.57 x 20.29 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    0345481011
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0345481016
Next slide of product details

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ballantine Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 23 Mar. 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 222 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0345481011
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0345481016
  • Item weight ‏ : ‎ 198 g
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.11 x 1.57 x 20.29 cm
  • Best Sellers Rank: 1,177,821 in Literature & Fiction (Books)
  • Customer reviews:
    3.5 out of 5 stars 207 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Sarah Salway

Sarah Salway

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Sarah Salway's recent book is a collection of very short stories, NOT SORRY, published by Valley Press, October 2021. She is the author of three novels, SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH, TELL ME EVERYTHING and GETTING THE PICTURE, one solo collection of short stories, and two poetry collections, DIGGING UP PARADISE and YOU DO NOT NEED ANOTHER SELF-HELP BOOK. She curates the Everyday Words newsletter, and can be found via her website, www.sarahsalway.co.uk, and on Twitter and Instagram at @sarahsalway

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
207 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the book entertaining and witty, with likeable characters and a clever use of letters to tell the story. The writing style receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the poetry in the narrative. They appreciate the story complexity, with one review highlighting the intricately woven lives of the characters.

Select to learn more

Story complexityReadabilityWriting styleCharacter development
9 customers mention ‘Story complexity’7 positive2 negative

Customers appreciate the complexity of the story, with one mentioning its intricate weaving of lives and another noting its strong message about life.

"Using a series of letters to tell a story is a novel approach but I found it made for a confused read...." Read more

"...but I found the way in which the author chose to deliver this story quite intriguing...." Read more

"...magnificently, seeming to be light-hearted, but yet giving us a strong message about life...." Read more

"...Predictable twist and the end was rather corny and not that believable." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Readability’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and witty, describing it as a lovely and gently funny read.

"...SARAH SALWAY ‘Getting the Picture’ is an enjoyable book to read...." Read more

"This is a lovely lovely witty gently funny book. Who but Salway would think of setting a novel in an old people's home?..." Read more

"The style was good and quite amusing. Predictable twist and the end was rather corny and not that believable." Read more

"...The eye of the camera teases...Altogether, they are delightful cameos, intricately woven lives." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Writing style’5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing style of the book, with one noting its clever use of letters to tell the story, while another mentions its poetry and wit.

"This is a lovely lovely witty gently funny book. Who but Salway would think of setting a novel in an old people's home?..." Read more

"The style was good and quite amusing. Predictable twist and the end was rather corny and not that believable." Read more

"Clever use of letters to tell the story, though an awful lot of characters to begin with. Loved it, though." Read more

"...There is poetry in the stories and an underlying sexual frisson...." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Character development’4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the characters in the book, finding them very likeable, with one customer noting how the author deftly creates their particular voice.

"...The characters are plausible and likeable and the author manages to illuminate many moments of human darkness by highlighting the very real..." Read more

"...But always gripping and so very human." Read more

"...Deftly she creates their particular voice, in the language of their age. There is poetry in the stories and an underlying sexual frisson...." Read more

"...letters between various characters and believable and mostly very likeable characters too. All in all a good read." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • oscarsmum
    3.0 out of 5 stars A novel approach but not for me
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Using a series of letters to tell a story is a novel approach but I found it made for a confused read. It also lacked punch and substance and I felt prevented the reader from becoming absorbed into the tale being told. I managed to read to the end which is why I have given 3 stars but it's not a book I would recommend.
    Helpful
     Report
  • The Mother Booker
    4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable Read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 April 2015
    Verified Purchase
    GETTING THE PICTURE

    BY

    SARAH SALWAY

    ‘Getting the Picture’ is an enjoyable book to read. This book may not be to everyone’s taste but I found the way in which the author chose to deliver this story quite intriguing.

    The story of George and Maureen’s marriage and Martin’s obsession with Maureen, or Mo as he calls her is told through letter writing, emailing and recorded phone messages. I found this method of revealing all the unfolding events interesting and novel.

    This book may prove confusing at times for some readers as it demands a generosity from the reader to engage fully with the author in getting to know the characters which switch dramatically and quickly as the story unfolds.

    The story itself is not complex. It is everyone’s story. The dynamics of every family but told in an usual way giving this book an allure all it’s own.

    Lost love, vulnerability, misunderstanding and the ability to see things in a very different light, along with the numerous human relationships are just some of the subject matter explored in this book. The photographic scenes in particular cast a captivating glow enabling the reader to gain insight into a truly tantalising world of photography.

    The characters are plausible and likeable and the author manages to illuminate many moments of human darkness by highlighting the very real possibility of coming out of the shadows and Getting the Picture!

    I would score this book 8 out of a possible 10.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Dr Gillie EJ Bolton
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is a lovely lovely witty gently funny book. Who but Salway would think of setting ...
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 April 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is a lovely lovely witty gently funny book. Who but Salway would think of setting a novel in an old people's home? And get away with it not only successfully but magnificently, seeming to be light-hearted, but yet giving us a strong message about life. Her characters are, as always, extraordinarily strange and yet familiar. Perhaps they are not as peculiar as they appear. Perhaps Salway has the gift of uncovering the dottiness, selfishness and generosity that is in all of us. The story is unexpected, with odd twists and turns, as you'd expect from Salway. But always gripping and so very human.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Loreana Baylis
    2.0 out of 5 stars A struggle
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2016
    Verified Purchase
    The idea behind the story was a good one but it didn't materialise for me. I felt that the book lost its way and because of the letter style, didn't really get into the depths of each character enough to make it gripping.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Bronwyn Wyatt
    3.0 out of 5 stars Nice enough
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2016
    Verified Purchase
    The style was good and quite amusing. Predictable twist and the end was rather corny and not that believable.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Rachel Green (author)
    4.0 out of 5 stars Silver Love
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Clever use of letters to tell the story, though an awful lot of characters to begin with. Loved it, though.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Steve Walter
    5.0 out of 5 stars Skilfully written - a gem!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 March 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Sarah tells the story of relationships in and about a retirement home through letters, notes, emails, ansaphone messages, across the generations, and touches on love, pregnancy, photographs. Deftly she creates their particular voice, in the language of their age. There is poetry in the stories and an underlying sexual frisson. Competently, sensitively her craft embraces whole lives and emotions, becoming so very real. From Florence: "I was one of them proper women I used to look at in Graham's magazines." The eye of the camera teases...Altogether, they are delightful cameos, intricately woven lives.
    Helpful
     Report
  • S. Levin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Inventiveness from a Writer's Writer
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I've been intrigued, inspired and disturbed by Sarah Salway's work since her first novel, Something Beginning With. What I love about her work is that she does things with writing that make it feel effortless, and just when you think you're relaxing into the narrative, something happens that startles you, that thrills. Getting the Picture is all that - quiet, quirky, ominous, precise, inventive. I loved the inventiveness of the novel - I read it when it first came out in the US in 2010 - and how it kept making me think: ah! I could do THAT with writing. Read it to be moved by the story and to expand your kit of writerly skills!
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • Pieroschka
    4.0 out of 5 stars Something different
    Reviewed in Germany on 27 November 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I was surprised at the outcome of this story. Did not know very much about it, but I liked the style and the letter writing.
    Report
  • Kathy Harvey
    4.0 out of 5 stars Story does want you to read on despite unusual format...
    Reviewed in Australia on 17 June 2015
    Verified Purchase
    I was not sure I'd keep reading this at first because it in letter form from the various characters... However the characters and solid story line does become clear and you want to know how things turn out...
    Report
  • margaret egan
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on 10 July 2015
    Verified Purchase
    what a sad waste of life
    Report
  • Jacky from Germany
    3.0 out of 5 stars Expected more
    Reviewed in Germany on 12 July 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Considering the praise that Neil Gaiman has for this author, I expected more from this book. Still, the characters were depicted in depth and the way your viewpoint changed as the story progressed keeps the reader on his toes. Not sure about the format - all those letters and e-mails made for very bitty reading, but it was certainly lively.
    Report
  • Tung-Ying Hsieh
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on 5 February 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Great
    Report