The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop: ‘There is never only one version’

Cover image for The Anniversary by Stephanie BishopI reviewed Stephanie Bishop’s The Other Side of the World back in 2015 describing it as an unexpected treat. The novel’s cover had suggested a light diversion but it turned out to be much more than that which is what made me want to review The Anniversary despite its chunkster proportions. Bishop’s new novel sees a golden couple celebrating their wedding anniversary on a cruise interrupted by a devastating event.

We were complicit in this: what was to his liking was generally to my liking too, at least I came to see it this way, and if not at the time, then after the fact.

J.B. and Patrick have navigated their way through a rocky patch in their marriage. Her plan to celebrate their wedding anniversary with a cruise which will take them to Japan is an uncharacteristic one, but she hopes it will put the seal on their renewed intimacy. Patrick is a celebrated filmmaker in his early sixties. Once his student, she’s a successful novelist writing fiction that draws on her own life, not least the sudden departure of her mother when she was a young child. Just before they set off, J.B. is told that she’s won a prestigious literary prize, news which is under embargo even from Patrick. Used to the glaring spotlight of fame, these two enjoy the relaxation of days spent on deck, drinking martinis, spending time together with ease until Patrick receives a message that seems to change him. When the ship is hit by a violent storm, they’re quarrelling about the deeply personal author’s note she’s added to her latest novel. Patrick ignores both the broadcast advice to remain below deck and J.B.’s urgent pleas for him to come back to their cabin, disappearing overboard. Dazed and confused by shock, J.B. makes her statement to the Japanese police, sleepwalking her way through the New York prizegiving ceremony despite her publisher’s concern.

The memory of the book and the memories of my life slide across one another. I can no longer tell if I am recalling a memory or a scene from the book, or if the scene from the book is a memory.

I’m a little wary of giving too much away about this novel as part of its enjoyment is the gentle clicking into place of small details dropped into J.B.’s story which explores the creative process and marriage within the framework of a dramatic event. Both Patrick and J.B. are each other’s first readers, a creative collaboration within a complex marriage whose balance of power seems uneven. J.B. draws deeply on the loss of her mother in her fiction, writing about it in several of her novels to the annoyance of her sister. There’s a good deal of detail on the process of writing fiction – the blurring of personal, intimate detail with creativity without permission – delivered in elegant prose although a little wordier than my usual taste. It’s an absorbing novel, full of memories, contemplation and reflection, all within a shifting narrative which sometimes brings you up short. I found it quite addictive, speeding through it much faster than I’d expected.

Weidenfeld & Nicolson: London ‎ 9781474626132 432 pages Hardback (Read via NetGalley)

13 thoughts on “The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop: ‘There is never only one version’”

  1. Agree with your assessment, particularly your last line (“I found it quite addictive, speeding through it much faster than I’d expected”) because that was my experience too.

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