‘It was always hard to tell where our marriage ended and my work began. I often dream now that I am drifting in a dark sea, the water around me lukewarm, like blood.’

Novelist JB Blackwood is on a cruise with her husband, Patrick, to celebrate their wedding anniversary. Patrick is older than JB, formerly her professor. He is a film director. A cult figure.

But now his success is starting to wane and her art may overshadow his. For days they sail in the sun. They lie about drinking, reading, sleeping, having sex. There is nothing but dark water all around them.

Then a storm hits and Patrick falls off the ship. JB is left alone, as the search for what happened to Patrick – and the truth about their marriage – begins.

My Review

Initially I had very mixed feelings about this book. At one point I almost gave up. It’s not that the writing isn’t wonderful and beautiful – it is – it just spends so much time looking inwards and I probably don’t have the patience. Maybe if I was on holiday, lying on the beach, with nothing else to do I would have been more invested. I just wanted the story to move forwards.

But – the last part of the story was totally engrossing and unbearably sad. I can’t say more without giving anything away. I’m just so glad I didn’t give up.

We first meet JB when she is Patrick’s student at university. She, like everyone else, idolises him. He seems taken with her, to the annoyance of other students. Not only is he her professor, he’s also at least 20 years older than her. But they are soulmates, each helping the other to become the best at their art. Until Patrick’s fame starts waning, while JB’s career as a novelist is on the up.

On their anniversary – it never states how many years exactly, though at one point she says she is roughly the same age as Patrick was when they met – they go on a cruise. Then tragedy strikes, there’s a storm and Patrick falls overboard. Incidentally I didn’t like Patrick one bit. I found him to be controlling, selfish, narcissistic and secretly misogynistic.

The Anniversary looks at the truth about that fateful night as well as the truth about their marriage. It’s a fascinating insight into relationships, fame and jealousy.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

Stephanie Bishop is a widely acclaimed novelist and critic. She is the recipient of multiple prizes, including The Readings Prize for New Australian Writing, the Literary Fiction Book of the Year Award, the Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards (shortlisted), the Christina Stead Prize for fiction (shortlisted) and the Stella Prize (longlisted). She is a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.