The Girl in the Photograph

by Gabrielle Donnelly

Book Overview

In this haunting and humorous novel, starring a likable, unpretentious (protagonist) who admits to her weaknesses with charming candor (The New York Times Book Review), Donnelly explores how perceptions of sin and habits of lies can form and change a family.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425170586
• ISBN13: 9780425170588
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

FANTASTIC!

Having been a reader of over 50 years most fiction bores me. I could not put this book down. I got so absorbed in it I was thinking it was Sunday evening because in the book it was a Sunday evening. It was actually a Thursday.

Too Close To the Flame, Perhaps?

The variety of opinions, obviously emotionally held in many cases, about this book are as fascinating as the book itself. It was not anti-Catholic, not anti-single woman as some reviewers have suggested; it was the story of a horribly dysfunctional family that happened to play out its generations within the confines of the Catholic faith. And while it may have been slightly predictable regarding the protagonist's mother's long ago actions, the full explanation of who her mother was was quite unusual. I do wish she had gone into the protagonist's emotions as she heard it, but I couldn't put this book down. She, Donnelly, does as good a job as I've ever seen at proving the truth of Auden's lines from "Song of the Master and Boatswain," "...The nightingales are sobbing in the orchards of our mothers, and hearts that we broke long ago have long been breaking others."I can't imagine anyone reading this book without reflecting painfully upon how evil and stupidity in families echos down the generations. Look at the ever rippling effects of her mother's being the way she was, and look even beyond that to why she was as she was.And as for those who wanted a neater ending, there are no neat endings in dysfunctional families.

The Girl in the Photograph

The Girl in the Photograph was a lyrical look into the lives of warm, intriguing and very real characters. I was kept in suspense as the mystery of the photograph slowly unfolded; the impact it made on the main character was believeable and poignant. Donnelly weaves a keen mystery into the fabic of the story of a proud family, secretive, protective, at times, distant, yet always loving. I look forward to reading more books by this author, and recommend this one heartily!

Terrific storytelling

Thirtyish Allegra O'Riordan leaves her Chicago home to attend the funeral of her father. While going through his things, Allegra comes across a picture of her mother that stuns the single woman to the core of her soul. Instead of the prudish, cold woman she vaguely remembers having died when Allegra was three years old, the photograph contains a smiling, very happy, and extremely beautiful woman. The inscription, which includes the word "love", is to someone who is a complete unknown to Allegra.Allegra needs to learn more about her mother. She goes to Los Angeles where her mother lived. However, friends and relatives empathize with Allegra, but avoid responding to her inquiries. However, the insistent young woman continues her quest to uncover the mystery behind Theresa Higgins O'Roarke.THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH is an interesting quest for one's roots that will elate and anger readers. For most of the novel, the story line is a crisp, personal mystery. The novel is laden with large doses of Catholicism, but that actually adds to the personal endeavor of the female lead. Allegra is an appealing character who, for the more part, acts as an amateur sleuth would be expected to behave in trying to ferret out family secrets. However, the ending is somewhat of a disappointment because of the lead protagonist's reaction to the mystery of her mother, making a fabulous tale take a slight dip in the level of excellence.Harriet Klausner