Rating: 
Summary: A Good read
Review: I really enjoyed this book - however was a little disappointed in the end - I expected a bigger surprise for some reason - the only surprise was how she died & then you begin to think about how truly self absorbed Glyn & Elaine really are.
Rating:
Summary: A Good read
Review: I really enjoyed this book - however was a little disappointed in the end - I expected a bigger surprise for some reason - the only surprise was how she died & then you begin to think about how truly self absorbed Glyn & Elaine really are.
Rating: 
Summary: Lively's prose is poetic, melodic and plainly beautiful
Review: Kath ... died.Glyn and Kath had quietly grown apart over the years of their marriage. A photograph found among Glyn's papers, in an envelope provocatively marked "Don't Open - Destroy", shows him just how far apart they had, in reality, grown. For a time, he sits immobilized, taking in myriad possible implications. In an effort to understand and share this hurtful knowledge, he reveals his discovery to sister-in-law Elaine. Oldest of the two sisters, Elaine is a selfish and humorless contrast to Kath. A landscape consultant, she no longer sees any charm in Nick, her husband of too many years. He is the epitome of a free spirit, entertaining grand ideas that he cannot bring to fruition. Nick dances through life, letting his imagination lead him, to Elaine's utter frustration. She, on the other hand, takes a businesslike approach to everyday existence, driven by her success and irritated by Nick's lack of it. Now in her prime, looking back, she makes excuses as to why she made the choices she did, excuses that come across as exceedingly lame. Kath, six years her junior, was underfoot during their growing-up years, an annoyance, like a gnat flying around one's ears. Elaine found her bothersome despite her startling beauty, or maybe because of it. Elaine always had a plan, a blueprint if you will, with a severe order to it, and Kath's spontaneity grated on her nerves. And Kath, in adulthood, remained irksome to her big sister. Widower Glyn meets with Elaine to try to sort through the tatters left by Kath's death --- and Glyn's disturbing discovery --- remembering with a touch of guilt a time when they entertained fantasies of each other. They deal with the news in their personal, and opposite, manners --- Elaine, swift and without brooding; Glyn, drawing it out and obsessing. Then there's Nick, indulging in some deep soul- searching, and Kath's niece, Polly, viewing her aunt from a surprising new angle. One small revelation builds upon another until each individual in Kath's life reassesses the person they thought she was. Kath takes shape through the others' memories, but the picture of her never quite focuses. She remains just beyond one's grasp, leaving an impression of herself without satisfying substance. While involved in their story, an introspective look can hardly be avoided. And that's one of the best things about this book: finding snatches of one's own personality among Lively's characters. It is also one of the most disturbing. Self-examination is quite literally unavoidable, and the results, for me at least, are eye opening. The book, while not quite wonderful, is very, very good. The prose is poetic, melodic and plainly beautiful --- a delight to the ear. It has a haunting quality that will niggle at you long after you've laid it down. You will likely find yourself revisiting Kath's life time and again in your endeavor to sort the whole thing out.
--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers
Rating:
Summary: How blind people can be
Review: Kath is dead. That is known from the beginning. The reader's quest is to find out why. The main characters in the book - Kath's husband, sister, niece, brother-in-law - are less interested in why she died - who was she? what did she feel? - than in how she may have decieved or betrayed them while she was alive. A narcissistic pack, they are. Kath, who was so imminently lovable, seems to have lived without love. Only her close friend seems to have any insight to her - and it is to her they all flock in the end, more to resolve issues in their own lives than anything to do with the poor dead woman. This book made me very sad. Starkly written, lovingly crafted, this novel is a little jewel describing the hard human heart.
Rating: 
Summary: Poignant and Wise
Review: Never heard of this author. Picked this book out at local library based on cover and blurb on inside jacket, just looking for something new to read. Boy, am I glad I did! What a talented writer Penelope Lively is. Her characters are so well drawn, familiar, but not stereotypes nor caricatures. The way she slowly unravels her story, the emotions running hand-in-hand with the unfolding of past events, and the way earlier foreshadowing comes full circle, is masterful while subtle. It's not a new idea-that below the surface of "normal" lies buried troubles, disconnections, emotions suppressed, loneliness-but Lively uses it in a brilliantly understated way, so that nothing is obvious or cliched, just painfully true to life. The last few chapters are very moving, filled with an inevitable ending that left the reader feeling like one of the main characters: that something was gone before we knew to miss it. Highly, highly recommended!
Rating: 
Summary: Boring!
Review: Oh my goodness, this book was just so slow and awful. I hated the main characters. Glyn was just so boring and you don't wonder why Kath strayed, but you do wonder what she saw in Nick. She seemed the nicest person in the book, even though she's only described in flashbacks, etc.!
I couldn't put this book down - I was too anxious to reach the end; I'd hoped it would pick but it just dragged on and on....my first and last book by this author.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Lively on the elusiveness of identity
Review: Penelope Lively is one of that rare breed of writers who never disappoints. Her latest, "The Photograph", is an intriguing little novel about the elusive nature of identity in life and its amorphous quality when resurrected from the collective memory of family and friends in death. We know nothing directly of the dead Kath except from the impressions of Glyn, Elaine, Nick, Polly and others. Despite its intensely intimate quality, the story pans out as a mystery or a near whodunit with the promise of a tell-all at the end, and that unfortunately may be its weakest aspect because "the truth about Kath" as revealed by her friend Mary Packard in the last chapter is strangely predictable and less than earth shattering. Everyone seems to be in agreement that Kath is this artless beauty whose free spirited soul sets her apart from the rest who must deal with the ordinary mundane matters of life and career, so when the real Kath finally emerges, it turns out she isn't what we expect. Loneliness and the lack of genuine warmth and intimacy finally claims her life too. In their separate attempts to get to the bottom of circumstances surrounding the incriminating photograph, each of the others reveal more of their own ugly nature than of the ghostly Kath, eg Glyn's selfish conceit, Elaine's cold-bloodedness, Nick's weakness, Polly's lack of filial feelings, etc. Is it any wonder that we never caught the real likeness of Kath from the secret ruminations of the others. "The Photograph" is a beautifully written novel and an immensely enjoyable read. Don't miss it.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: Some of the reviews on this book are way to harsh. This author, Penelope Lively, is one of the best for pulling the reader into the characters minds and letting the reader experience the feelings of those they are reading about, and this book is no different. Loss, betrayal, sadness, then finally understanding. The Photograph will take you through a range emotions in a situation that would rip most people apart. An excellent book for a rainy day.
Rating:
Summary: a book and character that will haunt you
Review: The book begins simply. A husband searching through his old papers comes across a photograph of his wife holding hands with her brother-in-law and understands they must have been lovers. Through each chapter, as he angrily interviews friends and relatives for details of the love affair, a question begins to softly arise. Beneath the accusations, the denials and the love of those he questions, something begins to whisper not so much "What's the truth about what Kath did?" but "Who really was Kath?" Kath who died young, who was such a free spirit, not pulled down by life. But in the end what Kath did or did not do is secondary; it is the truth of who she was, and that all these people talking and fussing and denying and befriending, did not know her. I have looked about me many times since reading "The Photograph" at people I know well, and wonder what they allow me to see. In the end of this remarkable novel, all the busy characters seem to fall away and the spirit of the illusive Kath remains alone gazing at the reader. We wonder how we can assume we know someone so well, and never perhaps even after many years know them at all.
Rating:
Summary: Ruminative and Suspenseful
Review: The sight is the same as ever it was, except that it is informed by new wisdoms, and he looks differently." so thinks Glyn Peters, the husband of Kath, as he thinks of his life in a new manner. Penelope Lively has written a hugely pleasurable novel in "The Photograph". A deceptively simple book, sometimes understated, sometimes humorous, but always intriguing. Penelope Lively was born in Cairo in 1933, and moved to England when she was 12. She read Modern History in college and went on to write 16 books. She won the prestigious Booker Award for her novel, "Moon Tiger". She is a talent to be reckoned with. Kath is an enigma. She is beautiful, striking, and when she enters a room, everyone turns to stare. But she was a simple person, and she had a darkness that many over looked. Many did not see beyond the surface, and Kath did not share her inner most feelings with those she loved the most. Kath was the wife of Glyn Peters and sister of Elaine. The two people who apparently knew her the least. Glyn Peters comes across a photograph of Kath and Nick, her brother-in-law, holding hands in a loving pose. This photo is found after Kath has died, from a suicide, that most of her family does not understand. Glyn undertakes a search to try and find out about the Kath that he didn't know. He first meets with Oliver. Oliver is a past business partner with Glyn. Oliver, it seems has taken the photograph and had sent it to Nick who gave it to Kath. Oliver is not very forthcoming, except to agree, that yes, there was an affair between Kath and Nick, long over and he feels not too serious. Elaine, the sister of Kath, is the second person on Glyn's list. A seemingly cold person, who plays things close to her vest. Elaine is understandably upset and confronts her husband, and she asks him to leave, at once. Nick is astounded, but he leaves under duress. He moves in with Polly, their daughter, and appears to go through a deep depression. The situation with Polly is not to her liking. Her father does nothing, and even though she loves him, he is in her way. She is young and has a life to lead. Nick is too much, and she tries to mediate with her parents. Glyn finally moves on to Mary Packard, Kath's best friend. Mary has the best perspective and knows her friend the best. She shares with Glyn several insights and information that Glyn had no knowledge of and these insights are disturbing. Elaine and Oliver also visit with Mary Packard. Elaine is taken up short as was Glyn. Mary's vision of Kath is not the sister that Elaine knew. Oliver understood Kath better and is not surprised by the relevations. He and Mary get on well and sit into the night talking about their friend, Kath. This novel gives us insight into the humans we live with. We really may not know the people we love. We live our lives trying to build our careers, sometimes in isolation, sometimes forgetting how much we love each other. Each day is a gift, and we do not know what lies ahead. Pay attention to your loves, people. Great book, great writer. prisrob
|
