Narrator Ajjaz Awad becomes the teenage Nofar, full of angst, foibles, and a longing to be seen. Awad’s characterization is light, allowing us to hear Nofar's boredom as an ice cream shop attendant. As we feel both pity and amusement at her plight, Awad moves us capably through seemingly inconsequential moments at a rapid pace so that the novel's darker turn comes as a surprise. Listeners are drawn into a swirl of confusion and delight as a dilemma arises over a lie that Nofar has told. The heroine’s complicated emotions are perfectly captured by Awad in the girlish voice she uses for Nofar's interior monologue. We don't judge her as harshly as we would otherwise. When Nofar is joined by an older liar, Awad's dexterity—and our interest—is heightened. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
The Liar
Narrated by Ajjaz Awad
Ayelet Gundar-GoshenUnabridged — 8 hours, 14 minutes
The Liar
Narrated by Ajjaz Awad
Ayelet Gundar-GoshenUnabridged — 8 hours, 14 minutes
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Overview
One afternoon, a terrible lie slips from her tongue. And suddenly everyone wants to talk to her: the press, her schoolmates, and even the boy upstairs. He is the only one who knows the truth, and he is demanding a price for his silence.
Editorial Reviews
07/29/2019
Lies take life in this excellent novel about a young Israeli girl who finds power in deceit. Nofar Shalev is 17, exceedingly unremarkable, and stuck in the shadow of her beautiful younger sister, Maya. She spends her summer evenings working at an ice cream parlor and hopes to be noticed by her high school crush. Instead, she encounters Avishai Milner, a winner of a televised singing contest who is now washed up and without future prospects. After Avishai lashes out verbally at Nofar, the teenage girl flees to the alley behind the shop, and Avishai follows and grabs her, causing Nofar to scream. When asked by police if she had been assaulted, Nofar says yes. This lie snowballs into an unstoppable force, garnering media attention and sweeping up friends and family members along with it as Nofar battles between her building guilt and her fear of rejection if she comes clean. Though some characters fall to the wayside and leave the reader curious as to their purpose in the story, Nofar’s internal journey makes up for it. This tender and satisfying coming-of-age story leads readers to question how a split second can change lives. (Sept.)
"Evocative... Moving...Gundar-Goshen writes sensitively of inner turmoil and loneliness."—Teddy Wayne, New York Times Book Review
"Riveting...Rich and delicious...I slipped into The Liar like falling into a velvet milkshake... While Gundar-Goshen paces it like a thriller, you read The Liar for its playfulness and for its wisdom about truth and lies and guilt."—Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times
"A poignant, thought-provoking tale of the #MeToo era."—People
"A brilliant fable about the lure of lying and the lure of fame. The writing is wonderful—I was impressed and delighted at every turn. I came out feeling how much I'd learned from it—its astute way of being cynical and kindly and farsighted all at once."—Joan Silber, National Book Critics Circle and PEN/Faulkner award-winning author of Improvement
"Such a good book that touched me so strongly and deeply...Wonderful."—Amos Oz
"Is it possible to marvel at/enjoy/admire every page of a novel? I swear to a Yes, in the case of the joy-read that is The Liar. It takes a rare skill to create characters who are all at once sympathetic and unforgivable—beautifully brought to life in writing that is both darkly funny and profound. What a talent! What a wonderful book."—Elinor Lipman, New England Book Award-winning author of Good Riddance and The Inn at Lake Devine
"Perceptive and exquisitely observed...Gundar-Goshen skillfully explores various dynamics of power...and portrays with great compassion and insight the humiliation, loneliness, and rage of society's outsiders."—Hannah Beckerman, The Guardian (UK)
"A moral mystery for the thinking reader...It makes an art of probing moral questions while sacrificing neither narrative propulsion nor complex storytelling."—Lucy Scholes, Financial Times
"A psychological page-turner, rich in setting, character, and wisdom...The author unfurls her ironic fable—simultaneously timeless and contemporary...with captivating authority and in lush prose."—Kirkus Reviews
"The Liar has the momentum of a psychological thriller...Gundar-Goshen carefully shades in the grey between the black and white, allowing our sympathies to slide around."—Claire Allfree, Daily Mail
"Slyly edgy... Gundar-Goshen explores the thin line between lying and story-telling... Both sardonic and touching, the novel raises questions of morality for which there are no easy answers. Its timely subject matter and intriguing, unpredictable plot are sure to prompt discussion among readers."—Booklist, (starred review)
"This tender and satisfying coming-of-age story leads readers to question how a split second can change lives."—Publishers Weekly
Narrator Ajjaz Awad becomes the teenage Nofar, full of angst, foibles, and a longing to be seen. Awad’s characterization is light, allowing us to hear Nofar's boredom as an ice cream shop attendant. As we feel both pity and amusement at her plight, Awad moves us capably through seemingly inconsequential moments at a rapid pace so that the novel's darker turn comes as a surprise. Listeners are drawn into a swirl of confusion and delight as a dilemma arises over a lie that Nofar has told. The heroine’s complicated emotions are perfectly captured by Awad in the girlish voice she uses for Nofar's interior monologue. We don't judge her as harshly as we would otherwise. When Nofar is joined by an older liar, Awad's dexterity—and our interest—is heightened. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
★ 2019-07-06
One very hot summer in an Israeli city, two lonely people discover the life-changing power of a lie.
"In the ice cream parlor next door, the girl went behind the glass counter and began handing spoons of ice cream to those who wanted to taste, knowing that summer vacation was about to end and no one had yet tasted her, the only girl in her class still a virgin, and next summer when the fields yellowed, she would be wearing a soldier's army green." Nofar's name means "water lily" but she thinks of herself as "zit face." Her friends have dropped her, her younger sister is more beautiful and popular, and when a rude customer cruelly insults her, she loses it entirely. She rushes from the store screaming, the customer follows her, a crowd forms, the cops arrive—and a charge of attempted rape of a minor is made. Only an unhappy boy watching from his apartment knows it didn't happen. As his attempt to blackmail Nofar turns into her first romance, she's also becoming a national celebrity, lauded for her bravery and supplied with free designer outfits for TV appearances. Gundar-Goshen (Waking Lions, 2017) pauses Nofar's story to introduce Raymonde, a resident of a senior citizens' center who assumes her dead best friend's identity so she can take a trip the other woman was about to go on. She didn't realize this would entail becoming a speaker about her (nonexistent) experiences surviving the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Like Nofar, Raymonde's lie brings her magical good fortune. Ah, if it were only that simple. The author unfurls her ironic fable—simultaneously timeless and contemporary—from a God's-eye view, with captivating authority and in lush prose. "His heart had pounded furiously all night, not even letting up at dawn, as if a new branch of a twenty-four hour supermarket had opened in its chambers."
A psychological page-turner, rich in setting, character, and wisdom.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170350629 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Hachette Audio |
| Publication date: | 09/24/2019 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 522,018 |
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