- Barbara Copperthwaite
Review: SOMETIMES I LIE, Alice Feeney
‘So many twists it makes corkscrews look straight’
THEY SAY
My name is Amber Reynolds. There are three things you should know about me.
1. I’m in a coma
2. My husband doesn’t love me any more
3. Sometimes I lie
I SAY
If you need characters to be likeable in order to engage with a story, then this probably isn’t for you. You won’t like the characters, mainly because you won’t have a clue who is telling the truth, or who is telling a version of events that is totally warped to suit their means. Seriously, this book has so many twists it makes corkscrews look straight.
This is not a book to be gulped down in one fast sitting. If you’re to stand any chance of straightening out this twisted tale, then you’re going to have to sip it a little. You can’t skim it or skip over bits in your eagerness to reach the end – because if you do the end will make absolutely no sense. You’re going to have to think a bit (or a lot) with this book, because nothing, nothing, nothing is as it seems.
The skill of the author to manipulate the reader down so many false roads and cul de sacs leaves me full of admiration. It’s like holding a mirror up, thinking you’re looking at your own reflection, then having it wave back at you – THAT’S how surprising this book is, that’s how little you can take anything for granted.
Need me to sum up? Utterly compelling, skillfully woven, and it will haunt you for days after you’ve read it, wondering if you’ve got it straight in your head. But that’s the fun of it.