The Liar

Starred review from July 15, 2019
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.

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July 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.

Starred review from August 1, 2019
This slyly edgy second novel from Isreali author Gundar-Goshen (Waking Lions, 2017) explores the repercussions of a split-second decision by a socially awkward 17-year-old. When Nofar, working for the summer at an ice cream parlor, is insulted by a formerly popular singer, she runs into the alley behind the store. He follows, she screams, and everyone around assumes that he has attempted to assault her. Nofar goes along with the story, and is swept into becoming something of a national heroine for her bravery in standing up to him. Her decisions impact the lives of the teenage boy who witnessed the non-attack, the jealous younger sister who resents Nofar's newfound popularity, and, eventually, an elderly woman who has told some lies of her own. Gundar-Goshen explores the thin line between lying and story-telling, and considers whether lying may ever have positive consequences. She writes with detached affection for her misguided but essentially well-meaning characters, skipping nimbly among their points of view, and introducing new ones along the way. 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)