Sophia C. reviewed on 6/18/2012 + 289 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

The Photograph is deftly written but depressing. Glyn discovers an envelope marked "DON'T OPEN–DESTROY" in which there is a photograph of his deceased wife Kath holding hands with another man. Glyn pursues this mystery like the academic landscape historian he is. The reader learns about Kath, an enchantingly attractive woman along the way, through the memories of Glyn, her sister Elaine and her family. Booker Prize-winning author Penelope Lively has interesting points to make about memory, beauty, love, and life through well-worded passages, but the effect is haunting. There is very little character interaction as each person tries to reconcile what they knew now and then about Kath and the story winds through various perspectives. This is a book I admired more for form than content because it was so sad.

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