''The Photograph'' is a novel by

Penelope Lively Dame Penelope Margaret Lively (née Low; born 17 March 1933) is a British writer of fiction for both children and adults. Lively has won both the Booker Prize (''Moon Tiger'', 1987) and the Carnegie Medal for British children's books (''The ...

, published in 2003. It was Lively's 13th novel. In it, character Glyn Peters must grapple with his recollection of his deceased wife, Kath, after learning that she had an affair.

Plot

In ''The Photograph'', character Glyn Peters finds a photograph of his deceased wife, Kath, suggesting that she had an affair with her brother-in-law. Glyn decides to unearth more details about his wife and the affair by interviewing those who knew her in life. The narrative is structured around Glyn, Kath's sister Elaine, and Elaine's husband, Nick. The novel contains "a multitude of Kaths," as Kath's friends and family had unique perceptions of her that sometimes shifted over time.

Themes

One theme of the novel is that people sometimes do not truly know those who they are closest with, such as how Glyn did not truly understand his wife, Kath. Lively also implies that those capable of harming someone the most are those who profess that they love them. A recurrent theme in several Lively works, which surfaces again in this one, is the idea and expression of identity. A person's identity can be expressed as a combination of the perceptions of others, or "made up of previous personalities, laid down like rock strata over time."

Critical response

A ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' review took issue with Lively's portrayal of the deceased Kath, saying Kath's character had "little depth." A review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' stated that the book was similar to another Lively novel, ''Perfect Happiness'', but told in reverse. It went on to state that the character Elaine was "a supreme piece of character-drawing in the classic Lively mould." Despite repeated themes and overlap with other Lively novels, it noted that "there are some grooves worth sticking with." Salley Vickers of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' noted that few of the characters were sympathetic.

Valerie Martin Valerie Martin (née Metcalf; born March 14, 1948) is an American novelist and short story writer. Her novel ''Property'' (2003) won the Orange Prize for Fiction. In 2012, ''The Observer'' named ''Property'' as one of "The 10 best historical no ...

called the novel "engaging."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Photograph 2003 British novels Novels by Penelope Lively Viking Press books