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Book Review of The Photograph

The Photograph
The Photograph
Author: Penelope Lively
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
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THE PHOTOGRAPH by Penelope Lively was the January 2014 pick in my neighborhood book club.

Clearly the author was in love with Kath. Kath, Kath, Kath. 50 Shades of Kath. Unfortunately I was NOT in love with her. So getting through this (for the love of book club) sucked mightily. :)

Here's what happened: A decade after Kath's death, her husband Glyn finds a picture that reveals she'd been having an affair with her brother-in-law, which is naturally a great premise, but the execution left much to be desired. We end up getting Kath, Kath, Kath! From everybody but the local milkman's perspective!

That being said, my main issue with this story was the rambling nature of the narrative. Boring forays into the past would stop a scene dead in its tracks, making a 230-page book feel like 530, with each character thinking almost exactly alike.

And so in the end, the premise fell dreadfully flat, with the whole boring story being hollow, dull and pointless. The end. (D)