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The Photographer Wife Suzanne Joinson author 9781408840788 Books

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The Photographer Wife Suzanne Joinson author 9781408840788 Books

Set in the tumultuous period between the two world wars, The Photographer’s Wife is a complex story of political intrigue, marital strife and an innocent girl caught in the debris. Eleven year old Prudence –sent for by her father after her mother’s mental breakdown- has gained a reputation for watching and listening in the hub of post-World War 1 Jerusalem’s British colonial life. Soon ‘friends’ from all sides are using her to gather information- maps, letters and photos are passed through her hands, while her physical and emotional well-being are totally ignored. I find Suzanne Joinson’s work intriguing, compelling even, but over-all unsettling. Prudence the child, and later the adult is damaged. The cavalier way in which she was raised allows unspeakable hurts to occur and though later provides a gateway for her art, it also makes her vulnerable to further damage and lackluster parenting of her own. I recommend this book for series readers only.


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The Photographer Wife Suzanne Joinson author 9781408840788 Books Reviews

The Photographer’s Wife pulses with what seems like a purposeful inner rending. While there are times where putting the characters in a story into an almost constant state of disequilibrium makes for engrossing reading, that device unfortunately did not work here.

People and situations are not quite what they seem at first blush … or well into the narrative, for that matter. The story arc also keeps the reader off-balance almost throughout by this I mean the characters’ disjointed choices and actions, not the hopscotching in time, which author Suzanne Joinson handles well.

Several motifs are central to the story, and they contribute to the artistic tension. The non-spoiler motif I can mention is Joinson’s use of spirals – those found in nature, as well as those brought to life by characters who revisit situations or seem unconsciously prone to repeating a certain type of choice or action or interpretation of a situation.

Joinson is effective at bringing a mood or moment to life with just a few well-crafted phrases, and as I flip through my copy of the book, I find that I've underlined several of them and jotted thoughts and questions in the margins. Unfortunately, she does not make good use of this artistry and instead has frittered away her potential by striking a self-congratulatory tone as she arbitrarily impacts the world she has created.

All too often, Joinson holds herself – and her readers – at a distance from the characters. Perhaps this is in part because most of the principal characters are not appealing. The two that are, she also keeps at a distance, and despite rereading key sections of the book I have not figured out why. It’s too bad, because this choice definitely weakened the book.

In addition, in several places the language is unexpectedly crude. Perhaps she intended these to be startling jolts, but they neither advanced the story nor illuminated the characters. Instead, they were needless and gratuitous.

I was torn between two stars and three on this review and ended up going with the lower of the two because Joinson’s vocabulary, invocation of motif, and ease of creation of mood all prove that she can be an adept writer, but sadly did not do justice to herself or the period or place about which she chose to write.
The Photographer’s Wife is an interesting story of characters living in tumultuous times in Jerusalem between the two World Wars. The story begins in 1920 in Jerusalem as an architect Charles Ashton develops odd plans to partly redesign the Holy City by creating English style parks. A naïve but keen observer of the interaction of the characters is Ashton’s daughter, 11 year old Prudence, who takes her own photographs and writes her impressions (in codes) of events. She observes the relationship of Lieutenant William Harrington, a pilot hired by her father to take aerial photos of Jerusalem and Eleanora Rasul wife of an eminent photographer Khaled Rasul. Complicated personal relationships develop mirroring the volatile social/political situation in the Holy City.

Jerusalem is similar to Alexandria at the time, with a rich fusion of British, Eastern, and European characters all striving to meet their personal needs and to influence the future of the region according to their own political motivations. Similar to the situation in Alexandria depicted in the Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell, Joinson describes growing resentment of Colonial British activities by competing factions in Jerusalem.

Jumping from 1920 to 1937, “Prue” is an artist and single mother living quitely in Shoreham by the Sea, Sussex. She and her son have escaped the pressures of the London art world in the aftermath of the Surrealist impact on exhibitions, and Prue is recovering from a tumultuous marriage breakup. Lieutenant Harrington comes back into Prue’s life causing her to review her early life in Jerusalem considering secrets important in her personal life and the political history of the Middle East region between Wars.

Joinson’s style of writing in The Photographer’s Wife keeps the reader at a distance from the characters. Readers may find it difficult to identify with the characters living in Jerusalem or even care much about them in the beginning. British colonials, exiled Armenians, and Greek, Arab, and Jewish officials all vie for personal gain and political power. This is also true of Durrell’s four volume work in which readers are held at bay relying on the narration of characters living in Alexandria who are caught up in contemporary circumstances and unconscious life choices in a city with a long and complicated history. A large part of the international crisis in the Middle East today may be due to the impossibility of understanding all of the chaotic personal and political interactions that make up the history of the region. Up until now, there has been a failure of Western/European world leaders to see the negative consequences of being kept at a distance from the inherent intrigue of the area.

Of course, Joinson does not attempt to match the scope, insightful character development, and intense style of Lawrence Durrell. But, the novel will be interesting and engaging for many readers.
Beautifully written, thougt provoking and able to reach beyond the surface of everyday thinking and life
Very difficult to follow
I enjoyed this book. Then I purchased the author's first book which was also a good read.
I'm having a really hard time getting through this book for Book Club. I will finish it, but I haven't enjoyed the characters, the plot or the writing. I don't recommend it.
An insightful book about identity set in British occupied Palestine. The message is haunting and lingers long past turning the last page. "What makes an artist?" is a key theme.
Set in the tumultuous period between the two world wars, The Photographer’s Wife is a complex story of political intrigue, marital strife and an innocent girl caught in the debris. Eleven year old Prudence –sent for by her father after her mother’s mental breakdown- has gained a reputation for watching and listening in the hub of post-World War 1 Jerusalem’s British colonial life. Soon ‘friends’ from all sides are using her to gather information- maps, letters and photos are passed through her hands, while her physical and emotional well-being are totally ignored. I find Suzanne Joinson’s work intriguing, compelling even, but over-all unsettling. Prudence the child, and later the adult is damaged. The cavalier way in which she was raised allows unspeakable hurts to occur and though later provides a gateway for her art, it also makes her vulnerable to further damage and lackluster parenting of her own. I recommend this book for series readers only.