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“But absence is, first and foremost, silence. A vast, enveloping silence that weighs you down and puts you in a state where any unforeseeable, identifiable sound can make you jump.”

Release Date: April 30th 2019

Genre(s): Fiction, contemporary, LGBT

Publisher: Scribner

Pages: 149

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Synopsis

Lie With Me follows Philippe, who encounters a man who looks strangely like his first love. The book continues into a recollection of his earlier years, and the hidden affair he’s had, and the relationship he will never forget.

Review

Lie With Me, while short, creates a very impactful story. It’s a story that’s primarily written in past tense, with glances at the future, in terms of the past. This is a novel where you know that the outcome will be, at the very least, somber. But it’s what happens along the way in this book and the exploration of what Philipe has experienced in each stage of his life that is so powerful.

I wish I hadn’t listened to this on audiobook, solely because I don’t know how to highlight quotes on audiobook other than writing them down (should probably figure that out, huh?). But on a more serious note, there were several times where I had to stop and process a quote because of how it resonated with me. And the words I couldn’t relate to, naturally, were just as powerful.

In a sense, I’m also conflicted about the way it was written despite this. It is evidently showing more than telling throughout. And while this book captured me all the way through, I do wish we had that little bit more from the writing. It feels conflicting in itself to say this when the writing is absolutely beautiful, but at the same time, I do feel like that one element was missing and that impacted character development a bit.

I also found the pacing very interesting with this book. It’s divided into three chapters; each one getting shorter and shorter. For example, the first chapter lasts for about half the book. I thought that this was an interesting and unique stylistic choice for this book. It definitely creates anticipation to how the past will connect to the present, despite this book being more about the journey than the destination.

Overall, Lie With Me was absolutely worth the read. It’s an emotional, heart-wrenching story that manages to say so much with so few words. And if you’re less familiar with audiobooks like I am, definitely pick up a physical or digital copy – I have a feeling there’s a lot of quotes you’ll want to keep with you, too.