- Hardcover: 306 pages
- Publisher: Atria Books (20 Feb 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743293975
- ISBN-13: 978-0743293976
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,832,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Review
"Andrew Wilson leaves us with an intimate glimpse of his subject... [he] is an unintrusive narrator, but has tackled his first-rate book in a distinctive way" Daily Telegraph "Wilson does a terrific job when it comes to conjuring up atmosphere... Wilson pulls no punches" The Times "An absorbing and terribly sad book... sometimes, it was in the small, and absolutely bizarre, detail in this book by Andrew Wilson that one felt one had glimpsed the very odd imagination of the person who wrote those marvellous books" Evening Standard"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Val McDermid
'Reading The Lying Tongue is like walking across the shifting
floor of a funfair Haunted House. Andrew Wilson wrongfoots the reader every
chance he gets. It's gruesomely mesmerising.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
floor of a funfair Haunted House. Andrew Wilson wrongfoots the reader every
chance he gets. It's gruesomely mesmerising.'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Effective psychological thriller, part-set in Venice,
By Maxine Clarke "Maxine of Petrona" (Kingston upon Thames, Surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Lying Tongue (Paperback)
I thoroughly enjoyed this creepy psychological thriller. The story is classic: a young, recent graduate, Adam Woods, wants to be a novelist. He studied art history at university so he jumps at the chance to go to Venice to teach a teenage boy English, as he will be able to write his great work in the afternoons. Things rapidly go wrong, though, as the boy gets a maid pregnant and so he is bundled off to relatives in New York by his parents in order to avoid any repercussions, leaving Adam unemployed. Adam is at a loose end in Venice, but decides to stay - the author draws in the reader with descriptions of this beautiful city, its history and its art, as Adam wanders about wondering what to do. Eventually, he finds a similar job. A reclusive and famous English author, Gordon Crace, lives in Venice and needs a housekeeper-cum-secretary. Crace wrote one novel in 1967 which was a huge bestseller, but has produced nothing since. Adam is intrigued by the older man, and sets about making himself indispensable by cleaning up the long-neglected house and cooking simple but delicious meals, as well as pandering to Crace's neurotic needs. Again, the author describes this process of rehabilitation of the house with simple brilliance. It doesn't take long before Adam, whose own novel is not going well, realises that he is in a unique position to write a biography of the obsessively secretive Crace. He has access to all the older man's papers, and learns that there has been a scandal associated with the famous book - a young man who lived with Crace committed suicide soon after publication - or did he?Adam pursues his detection of Crace's life with a compelling, if nauseating, mix of academic research and deviousness. Gradually we realise that Adam himself has certain secrets, and is possibly not the nice young man we are initially led to believe. He fools Crace into letting him visit England, ostensibly to go to his grandmother's funeral but in fact to dig out all the details of the older man's past. The section in England is particularly compelling, as we are drawn into just how far Adam will go to find out the truth. But there are plenty of twists in store that keep us guessing about not only the truths of 40 years ago, but about who is manipulating who in the present narrative. I was extremely impressed by this novel. As others (not least Kate Mosse on the cover blurb) have pointed out, it has elements of the power and perverse charm of Patricia Highsmith's Ripley novels and is also reminiscent, at least for the first half, of Diane Setterfield's wonderful THE THIRTEENTH TALE. But THE LYING TONGUE is not a derivative novel; the author has a fresh, assured voice and writes superbly and with a great sense of pace. One of the many reasons I liked this book is that it is a well-written story that depends for its punches on plot, atmosphere, tension and character, rather than on gadgetry, cliche or action sequences.
3.0 out of 5 stars
A lightweight thriller,
By Kiwifunlad (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lying Tongue (Paperback)
Adam, a young budding writer goes to Venice to write his first novel and is employed by an obsessive eccentric recluse, Crace. Crace lives in total seclusion in his Palazzo never leaving the property. The novel revolves around Adam trying to find out about Crace who 40 years earlier had written a very successful novel but had never written anything since.The Lying Tongue is an appropriate title but I found that I was not drawn into the narrative due to the main protagonists' relationship which became increasingly improbable. The Venice setting was little more than a light travelogue and lacked atmosphere. The events became more and more far fetched and the end was a welcome relief. Overall, a light but unsatisfying read.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
good enough to want to read more by this author,
By
This review is from: The Lying Tongue (Paperback)
I was hooked immediately by this book - I was right there in Venice with Adam and his strange experiences getting to know the reclusive author.I liked the gradual exposition of Adam's past and I expected some twists in the tale - and there were plenty of them that I didn't see coming and delighted me - but the ending left too many unanswered questions - Still good enough to make me want to read anything else this author writes.
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