We make a substantial shift for our next book; from the dusty streets of Sydney in days gone by, to the dark recess of modern day New York. But are the differences really that great?
My theory is that, whilst there is, superficially, a huge difference between The Winds of Heaven and Liar, these books share more than one would expect.
Both books deal with the pains of growing up and dealing with family secrets. They explore the repercussions that can arise from the weaving of lies and the creation of false personas. More than anything else, both books show how families can, and do, fail each other. As a side, note, Liar is also a 2010 CBC Book of the Year nominee, (hence its presence in my reading diary) – although this doesn’t necessarily suggest anything.
That said, one book is about growing up in the isolated outback of New South Wales, whilst the other is about werewolves in New York City, so lets try not to get too carried away with constructing connections!
Liar is a book concerned with stories and lies – how we invent and use stories to influence how people see us, change who we want to be and hide the truth about ourselves. These are things we all do, all the time. Justine Larbalestier simply amps this idea up to eleven, weaving a narrative that slips and slides around, until the reader has no clue what is truth and what is fabrication. Which is brilliant. And frustrating. But mostly brilliant. I loved that I couldn’t guess what was going to happen and that the twists (particularly the very large one in part two) were genuine surprises. It also meant that I had to read the book in record time, simply to try and figure out what was going on; this was a book I just couldn’t put down.
Micah, the novel’s protagonist, is the quintessential ‘unreliable narrator’ – her opening words baldly state that she is a liar (albeit one determined to, apparently, finally ‘tell the truth’) She then proceeds to spend an entire book lying to us. She is a frustrating protagonist; always elusive and often unlikeable. But she is fascinating, which makes up for a lot. And she’s never completely obnoxious, which is vital for a book told in the first-person.
The other really interesting aspect of this book was its setting. I was a bit confused to read a book shortlisted for the Australian Children’s Book Council Awards that was set in New York. Yet, really, this book couldn’t be set anywhere else. New York is such a myth for so many of us; it really seems like it is the city where anything could conceivably happen. This is essential for Liar, which is a book that relies on subverting reality. New York, with its parks and boroughs, cramped flats and palatial apartments, becomes another character.
Justine Larbalestier states on her blog that she was influenced by thrillers, with no mention of any science fiction or fantasy. This, I think, is the strength of this novel. It isn’t trying to tap into the post Twilight craze regarding all things romantic and supernatural. Instead, she places her supernatural characters in a gritty and realistic world, and treats them as people, rather than as genre stereotypes. And I, for one, deeply appreciated it.
As a small side note – here’s a really interesting post on Justine Larbalestier’s blog regarding the cover of the US edition of Liar. Larbeliestier gives us some pretty interesting insights into her characterisation of Micah. Moreover, she goes into a really interesting discussion about how important covers are to YA books and highlights the apparently still prevalent action of ‘white-washing’ in American publishing.
Finally, here’s a discussion of Liar from a slightly different source, Larbalestier’s husband Scott Westerfeld (of whom you may have heard). Here you can see him discussing Liar, as well as the advantages that come from having two crazy creatives work in such close proximity.
Justine Larbalestier Liar Allen & Unwin; Crows Nest, 2009.
Meanderings of a Bookish Nature 
