THE PHOTOGRAPH

While searching through a closet, Glyn discovers a photograph of his wife, Kath, secretly holding hands with her brother-in-law. He can't demand an explanation, for Kath has been dead for a year. Instead, he sets out to query all who knew her, thereby unleashing a cascade of unintended consequences. This thoughtful story by the exquisitely talented English novelist Penelope Lively is about how little we attend to the people we purport to love. It's a book with a surface calm and an undercurrent of tension. Husband and wife narrators Gerroll and Kalember read adequately, even well sometimes, yet overall, they are too affected by the story's apparent placidity. They both employ an uninflected tone and do not differentiate between voices. One doesn't want drama, just some sense of engagement. Then again, the book is about how distant we are from each other, so perhaps they're just right. A.C.S.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 04]