The Photograph

I picked up Penelope Lively's book The Photograph as I had not read anything by Lively and having won the Booker Prize for Moon Tiger I thought I would try this one first before proceeding to the more famous of her works. This was a good choice for a read on a Saturday as it was a simply organized and readable book that kept you wanting to turn the pages and find out why one picture created such a stir in the lives of so many people.The book starts with Glyn Peters--a professor--organizing a massive mess at his house and finding a picture of his dead wife Kath holding hands with his brother in law Nick. Glyn can't figure out what this is all about and being a methodical thinker, he sets out to solve the mystery. He visits Kath's sister Elaine who is a successful botanist. He traces the life of Kath back to Elaine's former partner Oliver, Elaine's daughter Polly, several unimportant and transitory characters, and about midway through the book we find out more about what this picture is all about. We think that Glyn will spiral down into a defunct state but the surprise of the book to me was that Glyn moved to being in my mind a secondary character to Nick whose life is dissected and is eventually thrown to the curb by his wife Elaine--something she probably wanted to do years ago. I loved Lively's writing. It is concise, it is powerful, and she moves from character to character easily and in a way that both keeps you hanging but also whets your palette so you know enough to make an assumption that may or may not be true. A very solid book that I definitely recommend.

At first glance, this appears to be a straightforward book but as you enter into the world occupied by Glyn, Elaine, Nick, Polly and Oliver, you get a very different sense. It is told by the different characters, each reliving the time they spent with the departed Kath, and we see her through their eyes and with their perspective. It's a book about how we think we know what we are seeing and experiencing but how appearances can be deceptive. It's also about love, in all its forms.

Brilliant, haunting, and beautiful, but not surprising. A photograph opens up a Pandora's Box of emotions and relationship revelations. The various characters respond to how their pasts are shaken and changed. The actual course of events, the results of all the changes, and the life & death at the center of the action is obvious from the start. Still the ride as the characters come to grips with what they knew, didn't know, didn't want to know, didn't see, saw, assumed, etc. makes a wonderful, character-driving story.

On the surface, this is an interesting little story about a widower who finds a photo indicating his dead wife had had an affair with her brother-in-law years before and how people react to the discovery. But it is SO much more. It is the portrait of how little attention we pay to those we “love,” how much we conveniently assume from surface appearances to absolve ourselves from responsibility for their pain, and how cold we are. It is noteworthy and tragic not because it is the story of an exciting, extraordinary adventure but because it is the truth of everyone’s life, particularly now when the brief digital communication of social media has largely replaced personal human connection. We ignore the pain of those around us to the point that we don’t know it exists, and even after we learn about it, we go on virtually unchanged. It is one of the most deeply tragic works I’ve ever read because it is a tragedy we inflict on each other every day, and all we need to do to avert it is to care about each other. In our current culture that is based entirely on garnering financial wealth, this novel makes a statement we need to listen to and learn from.

This is my second journey through this wonderfully moving novel. I had read it a few years ago at the recommendation of a novelist friend and enjoyed it immensly. Unfortunately, I lent out my copy to someone who did not return it. I wanted to re-read it recently so I went out and bought another copy. I love it even more now than I did the first time I read it. This novel is a moving journey through the intimate lives of several people. The protagonist discovers a photograph (as the title implies) of his late wife in an embrace with another man; this discovery sends him on a quest to discover what other secrets his wife had hidden from him. In the process, skeltons are exposed from the closets of various characters, including the protagonist. This book has forever changed the way I see people. It gives credence to the question of how well we really know someone, regardless of how close we are to the person. This is my second time reading it and I am quite positive there will be a third, a fourth, and a fifth after that. It is sobering and very revealing; a work of intelligent, moving fiction.

Yikes... talk about book let-down... I truly went onto auto-pilot while reading the “The Photograph” by Penelope Lively, and only finished it because it was my book group selection this month.Lively puts together a portrait of Kath, a woman who took her own life; a fact not known until near the end of the book. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character who knew Kath; all too preoccupied with themselves, and too self-absorbed to see or hear her when she was alive.The premise in the book leaves the reader with the thought... 'Are we all this erratic with our own memories and inward thoughts to see and hear others' needs?' However, what really bugged me was the thought... 'Why didn't Kath try to make something of her life?'The novel also fell flat for me because I didn’t much care for any of the characters; and left me wondering did any of them ever learn a thing by their memories of Kath?

It was only relatively recently when I discovered Moon Tiger that I realised how good Penelope Lively's writing is. Moon Tiger immediately joined my favourites of all times and I have since been reading her other books. The Photograph isn't quite up to the same standard, but then, Moon Tiger is exceptional in my view.The eponymous photograph has lain buried in a cupboard since before Glyn Peters' wife Kath died 10 years ago. Glyn discovers it by chance while searching for some offprints. It is concealed in an envelope in a cupboard where it should not have been, and bears the enjoinder not to open it but to destroy it. Human nature being what is it, Glyn ignores the warning, and his life and his perceptions of Kath and of their relationship are changed forever.As he becomes obsessed with discovering more about the act of betrayal that has been revealed to him, Glyn pursues the truth, tracking down those who knew Kath at the time, or who might have known her. Slowly, Kath's story is pieced together through the eyes of her sister Elaine, her brother-in-law Nick, her niece Polly, who adored her, and various associates who Glyn suspects might have an inkling of what happened all those years ago. But at what cost?Penelope Lively writes so sensitively and intelligently about the issues that are closest to people's hearts that her books are a joy to read. Even so, this one, although I'd recommend it, is not in my view one of her best.

Self indulgent claptrap based on a very peculiar premise. Who would hide an envelope in her husband's study and write on it 'Do not open. Destroy'. Of course he opened it, found possibly incriminating photo and ended up causing havoc with other lives. Add to this peculiar beginning mostly unlikeable characters and a meandering tale, this is certainly far from the authors best!

The plot was interesting and that was the reason why I bought the book, but when I started reading everything got less and less interesting. Characters with very little inside. The betrayal, which is huge, treated as something very minor! And there is also a happy ending and a reconciliation after a very sad suicide. I don't know how I Managed to finish it.

The Photograph is yet another book by Penelope Lively which is an excellent read.

A story which reminds us how little we know those we think we love and how they are seen by others. In death, after the eulogies, the truth will out. A favourite I re-read just in case the story has been changed since the last time.