- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Canongate; paperback / softback edition (1 Jan 2008)
- ISBN-10: 1847670849
- ISBN-13: 978-1847670847
- ASIN: B002C1NQXS
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format: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.
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.
Format: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.
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.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Decent read. Compelling if not particularly sympathetic main protaganist. Interesting that the author who is a biographer himself, seems to be arguing against those who make their names through airing others dirty secrets.
It does the trick of keeping the reader turning the pages. The ending does cast some serious doubts over how much of what happened actually did, which for me adds to the entertainment value of the novel. I'd be interested to read the author's next novel, if only to see what other ideas he has.
It does the trick of keeping the reader turning the pages. The ending does cast some serious doubts over how much of what happened actually did, which for me adds to the entertainment value of the novel. I'd be interested to read the author's next novel, if only to see what other ideas he has.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Good Story But Not Very Likely
Well written and a good read.
There are some gaping holes in the logic- are we to believe Crace never leaves the palazzo, yet knows so much about Adam's doings in... Read more
There are some gaping holes in the logic- are we to believe Crace never leaves the palazzo, yet knows so much about Adam's doings in... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Troy Beal
Gripping Page Turner
This is just a good read
I really enjoyed it. Easy to read without being facile, yet descriptive enough to evoke the tension and atmosphere of Venice. Read more
I really enjoyed it. Easy to read without being facile, yet descriptive enough to evoke the tension and atmosphere of Venice. Read more
Published 23 months ago by danfox01
Superior Holiday Novel
This first novel is an entertaining and engaging gothic thriller. Plausiblity and realism take something of a backseat to atmosphere and plot. Read more
Published on 4 July 2008 by wolf
good enough to want to read more by this author
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. Read more
Published on 7 Jun 2008 by G. THORBURN
Unexpected
I picked this book up in Waterstones on a mere whim, something which has not yet failed to bring me a new and intriguing novel. Read more
Published on 27 May 2008 by TheEmperor
tedium
After an intriguing beginning and some good suspense sequences at the palazzo, the story descends into the tedious and downright unconvincing. Most of the observations are banal. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2007 by Dominic Swayne
creepy and compelling crime classic....
I was gripped by this book from the first page, with its evocative descriptions of the fading grandeur of venice and the sinister yet charismatic lead characters. Read more
Published on 31 July 2007 by Layla Cambridge
creepy and compelling crime classic....
I was gripped by this book from the first page, with its evocative descriptions of the fading grandeur of venice and the sinister yet charismatic lead characters. Read more
Published on 5 July 2007 by Layla Cambridge
"I am she who everyone in the world longs for"
Inspired by the works of Patricia Highsmith, author Andrew Wilson pens a riveting psychological thriller; the pages are imbued with a gothic atmosphere, the book impossible to put... Read more
Published on 27 April 2007 by Michael Leonard
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