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A Liar's Tale

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What if every lie you ever told became a reality, as long as someone believed it? Money, sex, love, you name it - all is yours if you simply master the skill of deceit. No longer would you have to bother with the truth and the sacrifices it entails; then again, from suffering can come growth. And a world built upon lies, like a house of cards, inevitably comes crashing down upon itself.

Those are the central themes in "A Liar's Tale," the wonderfully inventive, thought-provoking first novel by Andre Coleman, who, as a journalist (the city reporter for the Pasadena Weekly), has dedicated his life to a search for the truth (one of many delicious ironies infusing this story).

The setting is modern-day America, whose rhythms of life and speech - from the forbidding back alleys of homelessness and the claustrophobic confines of prison to the working class apartments of New York City and the oak-paneled courtrooms of justice - Coleman apparently effortlessly captures with veracity and immediacy.

The central character is Scott Hampton, a young black man originally from an upper-middle-class family. His father is as hard and cold as the marble floors in their spacious home. His mother is warm and supportive, yet in the shadow of the father. His older brother, Kevin, is the apple of his parents' eye, successful in all he does. And Scott, the chronic underachiever, has become a habitual liar (although there is more to the genesis of his prevarication, as we will learn).

One evening, Scott sneaks out of the house and into the park, where he chances upon a mysterious, cold-eyed figure, the Rastafarian, in the first of several appearances throughout the story. He appreciates Scott's sense of suffocation in his real life and appeals to his overly developed sense of fantasy: With the gift of some very exotic sticks of incense ("truth and lies"), the Rasta man offers to make all of Scott's dreams come true. Fearing perhaps a Faustian bargain - which indeed will be the case - Scott runs back to his dysfunctional home; after watching his hero Batman on TV, hidden from the world by his mask as Scott is by his lies, he lights the incense (or, rather, it lights itself) and falls back in bed.

Over the years, his father became a judge; his mother, a published professor; his brother, a professional football player; and Scott, an artist who didn't want to suffer for his art. Living in New York City, as far away from his family as possible, Scott becomes a technician in a hospital (where there has been a series of "mercy killings" of elderly patients). Living in an apartment, he shares brotherly banter, laughs, and thought with "his boys," Darius and Rich, and love with his long-suffering girlfriend, Dorene, who never knows when to believe her boyfriend: Scott is as uncommitted to the truth as he is to her.

At this point it is worth mentioning that Coleman has said: "I don't write heroes and villains. Instead I try and write flawed people." As with everything else in "A Liar's Tale," Coleman has created characters whose imperfections only heighten their reality.

Which only heightens the believability and, thus, the impact of the unreality that is about to come.

Scott has tempted fate far too long, his words in effect playing God, by creating false, new identities and histories for people in his life every time he has gotten someone to believe that he couldn't be at work because his brother was in the hospital, or he was worth sleeping with because he owned a Porsche, or he couldn't turn in his school report because his dog ate his homework. The day of reckoning finally arrives.

In the course of a day, because of his lies, Scott loses his job, his girl, and almost everything he owns. "I was suffering, and I hated the suffering," Scott laments, "It's fate's joke, and once fate finds a sucker it doesn't let up and it keeps laughing at you even after you've been defeated."

Digging through what is left of his belongings, searching for his emergency cash to make his way, tail between his legs, back home, Scott comes across the mysterious incense. "Truth and lies," he thinks to himself, as the incense ignites itself and fills the room with colorful smoke.

Scott arrives at the train station, but you can't go home again. Rather, from this point onward, Scott embarks on a Kafkaesque adventure in a world turned upside-down, where every lie he has ever told that anyone has ever believed has come true, with profound, often disastrous consequences for all concerned. ("It's like throwing a rock in a pond and watching the ripples it creates.")

Far be it from this reviewer to reveal the intrigues that threaten to overwhelm our increasingly enlightened and repentant central character; but suffice it to say that Coleman has crafted a marvelously creative, modern-day morality tale, involving the gain and loss of all the wealth and love one could hope to enjoy, solving a murder mystery created (appropriately enough) by deception within deception, and utterly dripping with irony (For example, at one point Scott is hooked up to a lie detector to prove that he truly believes that his lies have become true).

Ultimately, "A Liar's Tale" is a classically heroic tale, of growth through adversity; indeed, it examines that very premise by standing it on its head! Again, Mr. Coleman has written a decidedly intelligent, wondrously inventive novel, whose elements of fantasy as well as reality work only because he describes every scene and portrays every character - most especially his or her very individual manner of speech - with a clarity and attention to detail that place you right there with them (a quite shocking realization in the very first scene).

But at the core of the book is the conscience of Scott, asking questions of others or simply of the fates that each of us asks, often in the most trying times of our lives, but rarely has answered - especially "Why does God let people suffer?" In the end, Scott concludes: "Suffering is the road to revelation. We travel on it to realize our dreams. When we lie to make the journey easier, we veer off the road."

"A Liar's Tale" is a road well worth traveling.

"A Liar's Tale" grabs you by the throat immediately and does not release you until after you have been taken on a wild roller coaster of emotions. The writing is so enticing, so vivid, that the readers will feel as if they are watching a film rather than reading a book.
The story evokes every basic human emotion, ranging from fear to joy to anger to sadness to triumph. It helps us delve so deeply into the very core of people from such a wide range in life that we feel as if we have moved in and become a part of a new community. We get to *know* the characters that Mr. Coleman writes about; we learn to care about them, we worry for their outcomes, we eagerly anticipate their next actions... and often, the unexpected consequences of Scott's lies send us reeling right along beside him into a fuzzy whirlwind of confusion and instability. The reader will constantly wonder, "How is this all going to end?" Prepare yourself for some pleasant and not-so-pleasant surprises... just like real life hands us every day.
I like the book so much, I really can't find the words that seem to do it justice. I just hope that some very INSIGHTFUL people will have the wisdom to have this wonderfully creative story made into a movie soon! Congratulations to Mr. Coleman on such an amazing first novel; I look forward to many, many more.

A Liar's Tale is a very fast-paced, gripping read. The story does an excellent job garnering sympathy for the title character in spite of his habitual lying. The way the consequences of his lying are brought to life is very thoughtful and insightful. A very well crafted story and highly recommended.

It is a tale that takes you on a long, interesting, self reflective trip. At first it appears to be a simple read however once you are well into the book you can not stop trying to figure out where the trip is taking you. It is a book that continues to keep you thinking well after the last page has been turned. It makes you want to read all over to make sure you did not miss another meaning. I would highly recommend it!

Thanks Andre!
Jp-Ohio

The opening chapter of "The Liar's Tale" signals what is to come, and then author Andre Coleman "soft peddles" (my emphasis) the character through a few chapters. Then, as a result of his lies, Scott Hampton is catapulted into a surreal nightmare with many well-executed twists.

Scott lies so many times that he cannot remember them all, that is until they all come back to haunt him, one horrifying event after another. Scott says in the novel, "So many lies, they were too hard to keep track of. Every time one of them came true, it shocked me." That is the core of this paranormal story.

Who is the person who allows these lies to come true, knowing they will kill his soul and affect his mind? I was left wheeling from sequence to sequence; never knowing what's come next. The author knows his facts in the prison sequence and in the courtroom. Tough love is definitely a part of this chilling story, not preaching, just telling truths about Scott's lies.

You could say Scott's lies put him on the bridge to nowhere. (Patron the pun.) I vowed after reading "A Liar's Tale" never to lie again. This novel shook me. Andre Coleman is an excellent writer--his product is right up there with the better paranormal fiction.

I was captivated from page one! Reading about the consequences of Scott's lies took me on an emotional roller coaster. This novel has excellent detail, depth, and dialogue. I truly loved the drama and fantasy it contained. I've added Andre Coleman to my list of favorite authors!

Amazon.com connected my book and his. I dropped by to see how our books related. From the plot, I didn't see any similarities but curiosity lead both of us to contact each other. I wanted to know who was this author. So, I read his book. I couldn't be more delighted and flattered that I am somehow connected to this publication. I read books like fish swim, so usually when I pick up a book, I try to figure out what the ending will be just from the gist of the beginning. There are many books that I read and don't remember much afterwards. There is no doubt in my mind that I will always remember this one. This book took so many leaps and turns to the point where I was caught up in trying to ride the rollercoaster of words. Speaking of words, this author couldn't hide his poetic capability if he tried. It wasn't just the fact that the book took a unique spin on a boy who loved to tell lies and became a man who had to face the consequences of his lies. It was the WAY the writer's flavor of writing lead the man to face the consequences. Sudden actions and descriptions throughout the book were vivid and engaging. If the character's shoulder hurt, my shoulder hurt. When something happened to his nose, I touched my own. When he cried, I blinked furiously. The description of the tattoo did it for me though, because I have one, and there is no better way to describe that sensation than how the author did. THAT'S when you know that you're into a story, when you start fancying yourself that character. If I type too much, I'll tell the story, but I am extremely impressed with this book: the detail, the depth, the morality (without preaching!), and the description made this a solid read. I will definitely recommend this book!

"A Liar's Tale" is a mind-bending look at a simple question: What if all the lies come true? This novel is an intriguing character study of a young man who has a penchant for fabricating stories to manipulate situations and people. Without giving anything away, I'll just say that his journey into the surreal world his lies formed and back again pulls reader into his head. You can almost feel what he is feeling, and you want to know what happens next. You see how even the insignificant "little white lies" prove to have dire consequences for the protagonist. You may want to feel sorry for him, or want to smack him upside the head. Either way, you will feel something. As soon as I picked up the book, I didn't put it down until the end. It's not a long novel, but it is one you want to read slowly so that you don't miss any details. This is a great first novel for an up-and-coming author. I highly recommend this book.

The person who did this book's typesetting did a questionable job and the end indulges in a bit too much moralizing. Other than that, there is not much to complain about in this well-paced, highly artistic, wonderfully insightful novel.

This is not the happy, happy adventure of one of life's big winners. In fact, it is the tale of a rather average guy--an artist who does not want to suffer for his art--in a family of life's biggest lottery winners. Dad is a judge with a good shot at becoming governor of California. Mom is beautiful and smart--a professor. Kevin, the brother, is a high school football hero for whom the future looks endlessly bright. And then there is Scott. And then there is Scott...

Since he was not born for glory, he makes short cuts for himself by making up his victories, the title. For Scott, the consequences for dishonesty come a calling, often with interest.

As a writer, I read other writers looking for lessons both good and bad. Out of professional courtesy, I do not review the books I pick apart.

This is a book that stands up to scrutiny on any level. The writing is fresh and sincere. The dialogue is extraordinary. Clearly Andre Coleman has a good ear for the way people talk. The story is a bit depressing; but then, I think that is doubly so for those of us who consider ourselves the "Scott" of our family.

I believe this book was printed in limited quantities, so I am glad I got mine. If this is a sign of what Coleman has to offer, I think he will go far.

"A Liar's Tale" is a delicious blend of fantasy and reality. The author has a definite talent for character development. His main character is so real that we can feel his pain, his confusion and his personal revelations as he gets so caught up in the web of lies he has woven that not even he can keep them straight. The book is a solid read from the first chapter to the climactic ending. Enjoy!