The Lie

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Daniel's experience of the war is approached obliquely. As he coaxes Mary Pascoe's land back to life, he retraces in memory the course of his friendship with Frederick, from their games as children to the ill-conceived sortie that almost cost both their lives. He learns that Frederick's younger sister, Felicia, now a war widow with a baby, is still living in the Dennises' old house. Though divided by class, they are bound together by their grief for Frederick, and find some tentative comfort in sharing memories.

But their growing intimacy is nothing so straightforward as a romance, though it excites the sharp-eyed village gossips, who are already whispering about Mary Pascoe's illness. Dunmore has made a speciality of depicting the individual tragedies that make up the horrors of war. Daniel's voice feels entirely natural throughout; a poet's feeling for language shines through the descriptions of the landscape he loves, while elsewhere he is unsparing about the brutality of warfare: Dunmore allows glimpses of hope and redemption, even as the inevitable consequences of Daniel's lie begin to close in on him.

I don't mean nervous laughter either. I'm talking full-on "lost our patience" laughter. Sarsgaard and Enos are exceptional actors, but as with The Killing, Sud's focus on character over plot gradually tips The Lie into preposterousness - and the plot of We Monsters strained credulity in the first place. There are no featured reviews for The Lie at this time. More Top Movies Trailers Forums. Season 7 Black Lightning: Season 2 DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 4 Doctor Who: Season 11 The Flash: Season 5 This Is Us: Jan 27, Lisa rated it it was ok Recommended to Lisa by: Naomi The Writes of Women.

Malcolm Forbes, who reviewed it for The Australian, thought that: Jun 24, Jo rated it liked it. I've read most of Helen Dunmore's novels, but her recent ones haven't bowled me over, this one included. I found it a depressing read. I didn't feel much empathy for Dan and regarded his actions as rather foolish.

His relationship with Felicia left me frustrated, urging him to 'just get on with it'! I didn't find his feelings for Frederick particularly convincing either. There is very little plot here and the ending left me feeling 'so what'? It's very well written, as you'd expect from Dunmore I've read most of Helen Dunmore's novels, but her recent ones haven't bowled me over, this one included.

I'm not sure I dare try Helen Dunmore's next novel for fear of being disappointed once again. Sep 03, Helen rated it really liked it. Another deeply moving book by a writer who never disappoints.

Few characters invade this book leaving it clear to concentrate on our hero whose flashbacks to the trenches, the loss of his childhood friend and his torment post war, are at times hard to bear. Skillfully written this book nevertheless lacks any edge of seat excitement. It is like a beautiful painting, in front of which we stand, stare, wonder and move on. Jun 28, Izzyreads added it. Beautifully written and a fast read. It might not be in the same league as Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy about WW1 but I enjoyed it and will watch for further titles from Helen Dunmore.

Jan 21, Fernanda rated it it was amazing.

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I will also do a video review here at my channel: He lives his days in solitude, working on the land, but he cannot forget the horrors that he survived and the best friend that he lost. First, I won this through Goodreads Giveaways. I was really hoping this would be a 5-star book. Let me say this: If anything, the writi I will also do a video review here at my channel: If anything, the writing is beautifully done.

Even the location of Cornwall is atmospheric and haunting. And for the most part I enjoyed reading from Daniel's point of view and getting introduced to the characters of his past. I think where this book failed was with how short it is and the fact that there's nothing really going on. It's less than pages long and I kept waiting for the narrative to go somewhere, but it never did. The novel simply explores Daniel as a character, his trauma from the war, and his relationship with his friend Frederick and Frederick's sister, Felicia. And that would be fine and all, but I needed something more to flesh out the story.

This is a novel with character, but no plot. The novel also hinges on it's title: For the whole book I thought the lie had to do with Daniel lying about the death of Mary Pascoe, an old woman who he was living with until she died of sickness. For some reason, Daniel lies to everybody that she's sick and lying in bed healing.

I didn't entirely understand why he lied about that. Couldn't he tell the authorities she died, he buried her, end of story? Instead he felt like everybody was out to get him and that he would be hanged for her death which made no logical sense to me. The title of the book could also have further meaning too, I suppose. Daniel not only lying about Mary Pascoe's untimely death, but also lying about his trauma. Lying about his secret love towards his friend Frederick.

I'm a bit confused about what I'm supposed to be feeling about this novel and I feel like I've misunderstood something. It was believable, it was terrifying, it was done tastefully. I also liked the use of Frederick's spirit form haunting Daniel. I think my favorite parts of this novel were the flashbacks to the war, and quite honestly, I would have liked the book to have been just the war. Helen Dunmore did a fantastic job displaying the grittiness of trench warfare and the relationships between the men who needed to watch each other's backs.

I think that's where the plot needed to rest rather than the aftermath of the war. I haven't spoken of Felicia much yet, Frederick's sister, but I did like her as a character. She's a character with her own demons and issues, a woman trying to make her way in the world now that her husband is dead.

Her and Daniel definitely have a complicated relationship. Overall, this novel was a bit of a disappointment, which I hate saying because I think there was some great stuff going on but it just lacked a moving plot. Also, it was called "The Lie. I'm still glad I read this though and won it through Goodreads.

I wouldn't recommend not reading this book. I think I would still recommend it, but don't head into it with grand expectations like I did. Read it for the character of Daniel and for Helen Dunmore's beautiful writing, but don't expect more than that. A quite nice, diverting read. A bit depressing, but nonetheless intriguing for the war pictures the author manages to paint. Not quite sure about the point of the story.

Maybe there is no point. Just the same pointlessness war possesses. Although I find the blurb a bit misleading. The Lie in my opinion is not at all the centre of the story. It leads to the end, but the end was inevitable anyhow so Jul 09, Lisa rated it it was ok Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.

To view it, click here. Daniel returns from the trenches of World War I to his hometown in Cornwall. He struggles to cope and finds some measure of comfort in tending the gardens of Mary Pascoe, an elderly recluse. Haunted by the ghost of his beloved friend, Frederick, he also finds himself drawn to Frederick's sister, Felicia, a war widow with a young child.

The writing was utterly fantastic, the visuals arresting. When I finally got my hands on the book, I devoured it, loving every moment of it — the astonishing writing, the fantastic visuals. And then I got to the final chapter and I just sat there for a long moment, contemplating throwing the book across the room.

I mean, seriously, everything in the book was meant to lead up to that? I can't talk about this without delving into spoilers so please beware that the resolution and most of the mysteries in the book will be spoiled if you continue to read on. Frederick is Daniel's commanding officer in the war and leads them on a raid of a German trench that goes horribly wrong and Frederick is badly wounded. Daniel tries to get him back to the British trenches and, at the final stage, makes the decision to leave Frederick in No Man's Land while Daniel goes back to the trenches and gets help to recover Frederick.

Daniel does, but just as he identifies Frederick's location, a shell hits and Frederick is killed. Daniel comes home believing himself to blame for Frederick's death, that he should have left Frederick closer to the trenches or continued to struggle on with him. Daniel stays with Mary Pascoe for a time and nurses her as she too dies from pneumonia and then buries her on her land at her request.

For some reason — a wish for solitude? These lies grow more and more elaborate as her absence goes noted and Daniel grows closer to Felicia, Frederick's sister. Eventually, Daniel tells Felicia everything, about Frederick's death — she assuages his guilt — and about Mary's death and his cover-up of it.

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As they grow closer, Daniel decides to listen to her and go to London and build himself a new life. The penultimate chapter has him planning for this new life in London, with the promise that Felicia and her daughter will come and visit him once he's settled.

Ah, I think, he's finally healing and ready to get on with life. The final chapter has the townspeople coming to the house en-masse, a scene of mob violence, apparently to bring Daniel to justice for his lies about Mary Pascoe, and the book ends with Daniel committing suicide. And I sit there and think: What is the point of Daniel going through everything in this book and looking forward to the new stage of his life if the next chapter of Helen Dunmore's novel features him chased by a mob and jumping off a cliff to his death?

Is the point is that World War I veterans can't and shouldn't heal in any small way, and if they do, they should be hounded to their death? That's a disgusting message. I suppose I could buy that it shows how society treated WWI survivors as something not to be talked about. But if that is the case, then Dunmore failed to actually illustrate it.

It just seemed to me like it was bad storytelling, as though Dunmore had written a more optimistic story and had to find some way to make it all come crashing down. The plotline about Mary Pascoe's death and Daniel's lie seemed unnecessary to me — sure, there's drama in it, but the compelling parts of the narrative were Daniel's experiences in the war, his friendship with Frederick and his relationship with Felicia.

But, judging from the title and the final chapter, the important part of the novel was the lie about Mary's death? I just don't understand and I want to, so I can stop feeling so angry and short changed. The sheer beauty of everything beforehand can't make up for the ending. View all 14 comments. Oct 06, Kirsty rated it it was ok Shelves: Her prose style and storylines seem rather inconsistent from one book to the next, and that is certainly true when one reads The Lie.

The Lie by Helen Dunmore – review

The novel is told from the first person perspective of Daniel Branwell, a young man who has returned from France after a stint in the Army. His narrative voice from the start is not a realistic male one, and it certainly sounds far too feminine to be anything close to plausible at times. The relationships formed also seem rather awkward and stilted at times. Apr 14, Jane rated it liked it Shelves: More of a 3. The languid pace of the novel may not suit everyone, but it fit my mood. A young man, Daniel Branwell, returns to his native Cornwall after serving in World War I, unscathed physically, but shell-shocked and broken in mind.

There are three main strands of the narrative: Dan, growing up with Frederick and Felicia, who are siblings in a higher-class family, where Dan works as a gardener and Dan's mother as a housekeeper; World War I; and Dan's postwar [] life back home. Scenes i More of a 3. Scenes in the present alternate with flashback memories, triggered by the smallest incident or remark.

The muddy figure of Frederick, who died in the war, often appears at the foot of his bed at night. The novel explores the nature of guilt; Dan still holds himself responsible for Frederick's death on their last mission together. A lie is covered up and as time passes, throws a shadow over the story. Postwar 'action' is minimal: The postwar story was weak, but the war scenes were evocative and gripping.

I had to get used to the author's switching from one time period to the other, often in the middle of a paragraph.

A psychological study of Dan and his emotional fragility, the novel to me was a cautionary tale: Emotion was conveyed vividly, as were descriptions of the landscape and people. The writing was exquisite. I liked how the quotations from different poems, as well as the epigraphs from the British Stationery Office of that period on the war, were worked into the text.

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Each had something to do with whatever chapter in which they appeared. Homoeroticism was hinted at. I thank Goodreads first-reads for sending me this book. This is her newest and I loved this novel about the Great War. No wonder all the shouting about this author.

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