When you live on an island as small as Guernsey, it's hard to imagine that secrets can stay secret. But they can and they do. And fifteen-year-old Catherine Rozier knows the best one yet. It's about the night her friend Nicolette disappeared on the cliffs by Clarence Batterie. Catherine wants to take the blame for what happened, but the story she starts telling isn't hers alone. There are other people on this island who have got away with murder, and Catherine thinks it's time the truth came out. Are these just the wild imaginings of a lonely teenager? Decades earlier, someone else stood on these cliffs, at this very spot. Charlie Rozier was almost Catherine's age when Guernsey was occupied by the Germans. He trusted the one friend he shouldn't have. Did Catherine make the same mistake? Dwelling on the dark and difficult truths hidden within a family and on an island during the Second World War, The Book of Lies spins together the ? stories told forty years apart ? of Catherine and Charlie, who come to understand that no truth is as simple as it seems.
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Review
The misplaced loyalties that often drive the adolescent mind are expertly depicted. --Hilary Clare O'Hagan, The National
Horlock's use of dual first-person narration lends immediacy and apparent authenticity. --Sean O'Brian, Times Literary Supplement
Cathy's teenage voice is a joy - funny, endearing and credible, it bursts with attitude. ... Horlock has created an authentic adolescent voice and, in the process, not only illuminated the history of a small island but also thrown light on the subjectivity of history, truth and memory.
--Lelya Sanai, The Independent
Horlock's use of dual first-person narration lends immediacy and apparent authenticity. --Sean O'Brian, Times Literary Supplement
Cathy's teenage voice is a joy - funny, endearing and credible, it bursts with attitude. ... Horlock has created an authentic adolescent voice and, in the process, not only illuminated the history of a small island but also thrown light on the subjectivity of history, truth and memory.
--Lelya Sanai, The Independent
Book Description
New from Walker/Canongate: an uncompromising debut about the trials of growing up and the dark histories we all harbor.
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
By Clare Combe
Format:Paperback
I was given this book as a present and read it, in the whirl of London life and work, within three days, using every free moment I had. It is a gripping story, impresssively told, deep and complex - a rare exploration of an important moment of real history, kept under wraps for decades, in the suspenseful style of a crime novel with memorable characters and racy language. The Book of Lies is about history, but also about the darkest corners of the human psyche, the desire for truth and the dangers of both truth-telling and lying. It probes into the dark side of an oppressed, constrained society, teenage angst, viciousness and resilience with a power that made me think of Lord of the Flies.
A very rewarding read. Unputdownable.
A very rewarding read. Unputdownable.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By A. READER
Format:Paperback
I read a lot - in my lunch hour, in bed, in the bath, while I cook supper - my books take a lot of punishment! Rarely do I find one that I sinmply CANNOT put down but The Book of Lies was one of these rare treasures. It really became quite inconvenient, between my desperation to find out what happens to Cat and, in the parallel story, to her Uncle Charlie, I read far too late into the night, while the water cooled and saucepans overflowed - oh yes and I also nearly got into trouble at work! The voice of Cat is utterly convincing and chilling and yet (especially the footnotes which I loved) somehow at the same time very funny. The historical background to Guernsey's Occupation has obviously been thoroughly researched and friends who live on the Island tell me that - unlike some other books - it is very accurate. So despite the title of the book, no lies there. Having reached the end I was then immediately compelled to read it again so I could relish the wonderful use of words and pick up on nuances I had missed the first time. A truly brilliant book by a new author - I cannot wait for her next one!
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Victoria
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a hard book to become thoroughly absorbed by, partly because the dual plots aren't equally engaging, and partly because the two narrators, Catherine and Charles, are both rather unappealing characters. Catherine is cold, self absorbed and a self-confessed murderer. Charles is bitter, has a slightly odd declamatory style, and throws in Guernsey patois so liberally that it's hard to follow what seem to be some pretty crucial bits of his narration. Translations are not given in the footnotes (which in the Kindle edition appear at the end of each chapter and thus are almost redundant), and even with a decent grasp of French, the dialect, spelt phonetically, is difficult to read.
The depiction of Guernsey is interesting, and Mary Horlock conjures up a great sense of place, but her characters lacked warmth for me, I had to check the back of the book half way through to remind myself whether this was teen fiction or not. (Nothing wrong with teen fiction, and I do occasionally read some). It's not, but Catherine's emotions are presented in such a limited way that I thought it might be aimed at that audience.
There are some funny moments, but for me the novel lacks the thrills of a good thriller, and its twists and turns never really hit home emotionally. This isn't a book that I'd return to, though it passed a couple of hours on a train journey!
The depiction of Guernsey is interesting, and Mary Horlock conjures up a great sense of place, but her characters lacked warmth for me, I had to check the back of the book half way through to remind myself whether this was teen fiction or not. (Nothing wrong with teen fiction, and I do occasionally read some). It's not, but Catherine's emotions are presented in such a limited way that I thought it might be aimed at that audience.
There are some funny moments, but for me the novel lacks the thrills of a good thriller, and its twists and turns never really hit home emotionally. This isn't a book that I'd return to, though it passed a couple of hours on a train journey!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful Book
Such a great book, full of endless possible answers to the book and keeping your imagination fueled completely. Its a great book, well reccommended.
Published 2 days ago by Daisie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really good read
A compelling and credible character leading a rich plot that switches back and forth between 1980sand 1940s. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Ce Murphy
3.0 out of 5 stars
bought for book club read.
found it difficult to get into and not as intriguing as blurb suggested. I would not recommend it to friends.
Published 4 months ago by Louisa
3.0 out of 5 stars
The Book of Lies
A very informative read, and thoroughly enjoyable. Provides a powerful insight into an important part of the history of Guernsey, as well as an idea of what it would be like to... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. Y. Szymanski
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent fiction
This is the very interesting story of a 15 year old,angst ridden,girl who believes she has killed her best friend (later enemy) and writes the story of her life and her families... Read more
Published 7 months ago by G. I. Forbes
1.0 out of 5 stars
Couldn't get into it
I couldn't get into this book at all. Its rare for me not to finish a book once i've started it, even if I'm not enjoying it all that much I will usually persevere to find out how... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mrs H
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great new voice in Young Adult fiction
Here we have two stories skilfully woven together to form one brilliant debut novel. One story takes place on the island of Guernsey in 1985 and Catherine, our wonderfully... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jan
5.0 out of 5 stars
book of lies
i really enjoyed reading this book , it was a mixture of fiction and non fiction, put together very well. Read more
Published 8 months ago by ptost
5.0 out of 5 stars
An @kindlescout 'Good Writing' recommendation
'Sampling Kindle so you don't have to', Twitter @kindlescout trawls for low cost, high quality, contemporary fiction on Kindle, and recommends The Book of Lies, simply for its good... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Atlantic
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book of many layers
This was an excellent book, a first in two ways - my first Kindle read and a first novel for the author Mary Horlock, who was born in Guernsey and moved to the mainland at the age... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Miss J. M. Austin
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