The Lie

Starred review from February 17, 2014
In this moving and complex novel from Dunmore (Orange Prize winner for A Spell of Winter), 21-year-old Daniel Branwell has returned to his small Cornish community after World War I, haunted by the specter of the close childhood friend he lost, whose ghostly manifestations seem so real that Branwell can actually smell the vile combination of “shit and rotten flesh, cordite and choloride of lime.” After the death of Mary Pascoe, a reclusive elderly neighbor who allowed Branwell to build a shelter on her land, he moves into her cottage, fulfilling one of her final wishes. The move should have given the returned veteran some stability, but nothing is that simple for him; he keeps Pascoe’s death a secret, believing no one would care about her passing, and tells those who ask that she is unwell and that he’s taking care of her. Flashbacks graphically depict Branwell’s grim experiences during the war, even as, in the book’s present, he fears that his lie cannot be sustained for the long term. Dunmore does a superb job of capturing her lead’s inner torment, even as his story creeps toward a shattering conclusion.

February 1, 2014
Orange Prize winner (A Spell of Winter, 2001) Dunmore, whose prolific output ranges from grim realism (The Siege, 2002) to spellbinding fantasy (The Greatcoat, 2012), offers the heartbreaking internal struggle of a young soldier adjusting to life at home after World War I. Daniel has returned to the ingrown, rigidly class-conscious Cornwall community where he grew up. Since his mother died while he was overseas, he moves to the isolated farm of Mary Pascoe, an ailing old woman. By the time the novel opens, Mary has died of natural causes after telling Daniel he can have the farm. Following her wishes, he has buried her on her land. The problem is that he hasn't reported her death to the authorities. And the longer he waits, the harder it is to tell anyone, even Felicia, the younger sister of his best friend, Frederick. Frederick and Daniel always considered themselves blood brothers despite their differences in class and intellect. Frederick grew up with Felicia in a big house full of books that Daniel devoured as a child even after dropping out of school at 11 to support his already ailing mother. Giving up the scholarship he deserved, Daniel worked as a gardener while Frederick, a terrible student who could barely read, went off to boarding school. But their friendship persisted. When war came, Frederick became an officer. Daniel, a gifted marksman, chose not to become a specialist and found unexpected camaraderie in the company of other enlisted men. Now, despite the moments of respite, even joy, that Daniel experiences with Felicia--who has suffered her own losses--Daniel is haunted by memories of Frederick and unwarranted guilt. From the first page, Dunmore shares Daniel's inner life, building an increasing sense of dread while exposing the tragedy of great promise thwarted by forces beyond Daniel's control. Dunmore's crystalline prose is almost too good; the pain she describes is often unbearable to read, yet the emotional power resonates, and Daniel is impossible to forget.

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 15, 2013

Orange Prize winner Dunmore plays to the current interest in World War I with the story of Daniel Branwell, home safe in Cornwall in 1920. But he's haunted by a lie he told and a relationship left behind in France.

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 1, 2014

Many men who come home from war physically unharmed are so emotionally scarred that they have no clear idea how to live the rest of their lives. When he returns to Cornwall in 1920 at the end of World War I, Daniel Branwell has lost his mother, his home, and his dearest friend, Frederic Dennis. So when an old neighbor falls ill and dies, Daniel quietly buries her, moves into her cottage, and tends her small farm, laying low and hoping to escape notice. Plagued by childhood and wartime memories, he seeks out Frederic's sister, having grown up with the Dennis children despite the vast difference in their circumstances (Daniel's mother worked in the grand Dennis home). But the war separates Daniel, a private, and Frederic, an officer, until Frederic's company is wiped out and the two friends end up together in a deadly battle. VERDICT As the 100th anniversary of World War I approaches, there will be many new books about the conflict. Orange Prize winner Dunmore's sad and searing portrait of a young man shattered by his experiences and haunted by his losses will be one of the standouts. [See Prepub Alert, 10/28/13.]--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2014

Many men who come home from war physically unharmed are so emotionally scarred that they have no clear idea how to live the rest of their lives. When he returns to Cornwall in 1920 at the end of World War I, Daniel Branwell has lost his mother, his home, and his dearest friend, Frederic Dennis. So when an old neighbor falls ill and dies, Daniel quietly buries her, moves into her cottage, and tends her small farm, laying low and hoping to escape notice. Plagued by childhood and wartime memories, he seeks out Frederic's sister, having grown up with the Dennis children despite the vast difference in their circumstances (Daniel's mother worked in the grand Dennis home). But the war separates Daniel, a private, and Frederic, an officer, until Frederic's company is wiped out and the two friends end up together in a deadly battle. VERDICT As the 100th anniversary of World War I approaches, there will be many new books about the conflict. Orange Prize winner Dunmore's sad and searing portrait of a young man shattered by his experiences and haunted by his losses will be one of the standouts. [See Prepub Alert, 10/28/13.]--Barbara Love, Kingston Frontenac P.L., Ont.

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.