The Book of Lies

May 9, 2011
Horlock's strange and inviting debut revolves around Catherine Rozier, a plump teenager with few friends growing up in the 1980s on Guernsey island, and her proclamation that she killed her fair-weather best friend. The Nazi occupation of Guernsey left an indelible mark on the psyche of the island's inhabitants that, 40 years later, plays nearly as important a role in the novel as the antic and two-faced characters making up Horlock's ensemble. Catherine, whose father recently died, becomes close friends with the popular Nicolette, but after Catherine tells lies about an affair with a teacher and crashes a party, their friendship sours, leading to Nicolette falling to her death from a cliff and Catherine's musings about her role in the death. Catherine's narrative is embroidered by writings from her uncle, Charlie, who was held prisoner in a German concentration camp and died young. Charles's writings reveal he had a similar love-hate relationship with a friend and suffered from guilt after a family tragedy. The key question becomes, are Catherine and her uncle as guilty as they lead themselves to think? Catherine is at the same time sympathetic and off-putting, and her razor-sharp humor gives the book a pleasing, offbeat charm.