Out of the Picture

Out of the Picture

by PollySamson (Author)

Synopsis

'Picture this, says Lizzie. The door is open and my father, that's my real father, Jack is standing there at the end of the bathroom, silent as a ghost, watching my mother and me through the steam. He drops his arms by his side, as though gravity has got the better of him. This is more than I deserve, he says, and leaves. Forever.' Quite unlike her fair stepsisters, Lizzie is dark and secretive: 'Just like your father' says her mother. But what was her father like? Photos of him are hidden away; snatches of overheard conversation between her mother and her stepfather deepen the mystery. Only her best friend Savannah - also abandoned by her father when she was a baby - knows what it feels like to wonder, to try and piece together an earlier story. But when events propel Lizzie alone to London she stops wondering and starts searching...Beautifully evoking the ache of childhood loss, the scrappy joys of chaotic families, and the hurt and relief of understanding, Picture This reveals Polly Samson's talent for laying bare the uncomfortable truths that lie just under the skin - in every family, in every secret.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 256
Publisher: Virago Press Ltd
Published: 13 Apr 2000

ISBN 10: 186049787X
ISBN 13: 9781860497872

Media Reviews
'With OUT OF THE PICTURE, Samson has earned herself a place on people's shelves next to Rafaella Barker, Esther Freud and Barbara Trapido. Between them, they have the market in complex, bohemian families cornered and pinned down' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY. 'Talent and a writing style that feels as natural as air' THE TIMES 'She pinpoints the telling detail in character or landscape and brings her prose to life with evocative scents and colours' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A fine debut novel.' ESQUIRE 'OUT OF THE PICTURE is an elegant, well-written page turner... a crisp, unsentimentally poignant stare into the heart of abandonment and loneliness.' DAILY MAIL 'A haunting story of love and betrayal that ever so gently gets under your skin.' DAILY MIRROR 'She's a natural storyteller and if she were a dot.com share, I'd be investing very heavily.' TATLER 'A compelling and moving exploration of the way secrets and lies can breed obsession and unhappiness.' SUNDAY TIMES 'An essential read.' SUNDAY EXPRESS
Author Bio
Polly Samson has worked in publishing and as a journalist. This is her first novel.