The Photograph by Penelope Lively begins when a recently widowed man finds an envelope marked, "DO NOT OPEN-DESTROY". Of course he opens it, inside he discovers a picture of his late wife, with a group of others, she is holding hands with a man he does not recognize. He wonders, as anyone would, if his wife was having an affair. He begins to think back on his marriage, he undertakes serious detective work trying to uncover the truth, was his wife a serial adulterous?
This was an interesting book. The characters are educated successful people, presented in real depth.
I am four posts behind now so I will end this now. I bought this on sale as a kindle edition for $1.95. I bought it as I wanted to read one of her novels. I am glad I read it but i hesitate to endorse the purchase of this novel at the now Price of $9.95 to those who I do not know.
Dame Penelope Margaret Lively DBE FRSL (born 17 March 1933) is a British writer of fiction for both children and adults. She has won both the Booker Prize (Moon Tiger, 1987) and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books (The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, 1973).
Mel u
5 comments:
Mel, THE PHOTOGRAPH does sound like a good story. Although the theme may have been tried before, in both book and film, it'd be interesting to read how the husband handles the situation.
i read Moon Tiger and liked it, but i tried another recently and was put off by bad language on the first page; i'm not very prudish, but i do pick up proclivities that indicate future realities...
This does sound like it would hold my interest. I've heard of this author but haven't yet read her work.
She is a favourite author of mine but I have many of her books left to read. I read this one from the library and recall quite liking it, but I don't have a copy with flagged pages.
Here is a favourite passage flagged in my Moon Tiger: "But truth is tied to words, to print, to the testimony of the page. Moments shower away; the days of our lives vanish utterly, more insubstantial than if they had been invented. Fiction can seem more enduring than reality. Pierre on the field of battle, the Bennet girls at their sewing, Tess on the threshing machine – all these are nailed down forever, on the page, and in a million heads"
Her interest in history - personal and on a broader scale - really appeals to me.
Buried in Print. I have now added Moon Tiger to my one day list.
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