Customer Reviews

The Lying Tongue

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

I only read about this novel last Friday. The cover photograph caught my eye. Then I read what the book was about and that the author is the acclaimed biographer of Patricia Highsmith - a favorite. I knew I had to read it. I rushed out and found a copy and devoured it over the weekend.

Recently graduated from University, would be novelist Adam Woods can't believe his good fortune in landing a position as personal assistant to the reclusive writer Gordon Crace. Crace is an enigmatic figure. Forty years ago he published a phenomenally popular novel of murder at a boys school called "The Debating Society" before retreating into seclusion. An intensely private man, Crace wants nothing more than to be left alone with only the skeletons in his closet for company. However, one rarely gets what one wants - or deserves. Sensing an opportunity to exploit Crace and the mystery of his self-imposed isolation, Woods sets out to discover all he can about the man's past. As you can well imagine, what he finds isn't pretty.

Andrew Wilson has done Ms. Highsmith proud. His is truly a novel of suspence, equal parts "The Aspern Papers" and "The Talented Mr. Ripley." I could only put it down reluctantly. Rarely have I found a work of fiction as compelling. His writing is graceful and fluid. There isn't a word or phrase out of place. Each idea, character and situation is presented clearly and succinctly. My only regret is that I read it too fast.

Here's a first novel that really jumps out of the pack. Andrew Wilson, author of BEAUTIFUL SHADOW, the acclaimed biography of Patricia Highsmith, has now written a work of fiction that does much more than simply compare favorably to his idol. THE LYING TONGUE is a tale of insidious evil and murder that stands on its own merits. Wilson has a gift for straightforward, matter-of-fact suspense, and this story of an ambitious young writer and the legendary novelist he seeks to exploit builds in quiet intensity to a chilling finale. I don't know what Wilson plans to write next, but I'll definitely be reading it. Bravo!

Andrew Wilson's "The Lying Tongue" is narrated by Adam Woods, a young man who leaves London for Venice after completing his art history degree. Adam is at loose ends after breaking up with his girlfriend and his plans for the future are vague. He soon becomes the housekeeper and companion of reclusive and wealthy Gordon Crace, an author who produced one bestselling novel and never wrote another. The elderly and eccentric Crace lives an isolated life in his gloomy and unkempt palazzo. When he moves in with Crace, Adam announces that he wants to write a novel in his spare time. However, Adam is constantly busy tending to his cranky employer's insatiable needs, and life in Venice soon proves to be more lonely and claustrophobic than pleasurable. Crace never leaves his house and he becomes anxious when Adam abandons him to shop or even take a walk.

Wilson's detailed descriptions of the sights and sounds of Venice bring this unique city to life. With Adam, we take water taxis on its canals, eat in its restaurants, and stroll on its busy streets. Through his eyes, we see the paintings, altarpieces, and sculptures that attract connoisseurs of religious art. However, we also learn early on in the narrative, through the author's somewhat heavy-handed use of symbolism and foreshadowing, that amidst all of this beauty there is decadence and decay.

"The Lying Tongue" is a psychological thriller in which vital information is withheld that, when revealed, completely alters our understanding of the characters and events in the story. After Adam learns some sinister secrets about Crace's past, the two men become entangled in a game of cat and mouse that threatens to turn deadly. One of the book's key questions is: To whom do we owe our loyalty? Should we look out for own interests at the expense of others, or should we adhere to a personal code of honor, even if it means sacrificing what we want? When Adam hatches a scheme that he believes will make his fortune, he is tempted to step over boundaries that he had narrowly avoided crossing in the past, and the reader is held in unbearable suspense wondering how it will all end. Although the conclusion is not particularly surprising, it is a fitting finale to this dark and clever tale of sadism, selfishness, treachery, and madness.

I've been reading a lot of Venice specific books lately, trying to maintain the joy of a trip there last year. Wilson's dedicatory page intrigued me inthe bookstore," This is not the book I wanted to write. This is not how it was supposed to be at all"

To be honest, if you're expecting Venice to be intimately woven into the fabric of the story, it's not. As Gordon Crace says when explaining why, after living in Venice over thirty years, he's never been outside his front door, , "...it's the easiest city in the world to visit without actually going there." Crace spends his days reading accounts of that fair city which are hundreds of years old.

I was bothered by Wilson's phrasology at first.On the second page, this sentence "All around me I heard the constant clapping of pigeons; there was something faintly mocking about their tone," almost caused me to put the book down into the pile of 'not really worth the time to read' pile. In hindsight, the pigeon phrase reveals more about the narrator than I was expecting . Adam Woods, as he is slowly revealed through the pages of the book, is difficult to feel sorry for. Emotionally, he begins to mirror Crace, his subject matter.

The author is skilled at pyschologically manipulating the reader. If you like reading fiction where you can't identify with any of the characters (which is probably good in this instance) or if you're comfortable at experiencing a pyschopath slowly revealing the complexity of their being, you'll enjoy this novel.

I fear that too much has been given away in blurbs, which I didn't see before reading the movel myself. I was surprised at how much of the plot was revealed in those blurbs since part of the joy in reading this novel was letting facts unspool before me. As noted in other reviews, this stunning debut owes more than just a nod to Patricia Highsmith's Mr. Ripley. Rather, Adam Woods is the antithesis of Mr. Ripley, who was blessed wit and extraordinary good luck. Not to mention the evocative setting of the novel in Venice. There is also a nod to Thomas Mann's Death In Venice.

Ahh, Andrew . . . Why did you go moral on us right at the very end of this thoroughly enjoyable read? Despite a few plot contrivances you had me from the start moving at full reading speed ahead, until the scavenger game denouement. Ah well . . .

Readers, all is not lost. I did like this up until its ending. Andrew Wilson's amoral concoction, Adam Woods narrates "The Lying Tongue" with the glibness similar to that of Patricia Highsmith's talented protagonist Tom Ripley. As this was clearly novelist Wilson's intention (he is author of a prize winning Patricia Highsmith biography) he fails only in terms of a rather uncomfortable book-within-a-book plot device that converts a fascinating two/thirds of "The Lying Tongue" into a banal slip of the tongue in the final third. Disappointing indeed.

However, in all fairness, I am not saying that "The Lying Tongue" does not entertain. It surely does on many levels. The rather jaded environs of the J.D. Salinger-ish writer (I compare Gordon Crace to the eminent author of Catcher in the Rye only because both wrote critically acclaimed novels of great depth and then faded into voluntary seclusion) mesmerizes with its tawdry hint of the recluse's seductive past The brutally themed artwork and bittersweet literary allusions not only accurately depict a Venice seeping slowly into the aqua alta of time and past decadence but add to the illusion of corruptness that Wilson seems to wash over his entire scene like a water colorist blurring the edges of reality for the sake of simply skewing the picture. In fact, prior to my knowledge that Wilson was responsible for the Highsmith biography entitled Beautiful Shadow, I marveled at how easily Wilson created a character as wily as Adam Woods that reminded me so much of Highsmith's Ripley by offering the reader tidbits of information that do not fully disclose the character's deviousness until he returns to England in the second third of the novel.

Whereas Highsmith tells Ripley's tale from the less-penetrative vantage point of the third person, Wilson's use of first person narrative makes eluding the character's real motivation trickier to pull off. He works it admirably until the plotline runs dry; the reader gets a sense of Adam's past, the disappointment of his parents his failed love affair and his inability to move on from issues without having the last word. Like Ripley, Woods demonstrates the parasitic behavior of a conscience with no moral limitations. And as Highsmith demonstrates in her Ripley series, Tom lives a free, wealthy life embroiling others in his machinations as he pursues his desires. He pulls off the grand scheme that accounts for his dark side popularity. Adam tries, but ultimately perhaps because Wilson has some misplaced sense of right over wrong or he simply did not want to create a character too close to Highsmith's brainchild, becomes immersed and imprisoned in his own game.

Bottom Line? In "The Lying Tongue," Andrew Wilson offers a modern tribute to Patricia Highsmith's classic sociopath, Tom Ripley in his character Adam Woods. The plot like those of Highsmith's is riddled with homosexual overtones carefully woven into themes of retribution, misunderstanding and social immaturity. Wilson does a fine job of mixing art, literature and a glorious Venetian backdrop into a storyline that I would have liked to see continued in another volume. Recommended to those who like Highsmith with a moral twist.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"

Although I found it a bit difficult spending time with Wilson's two unpleasant villains, there was enough suspense to keep me turning pages until the absolutely astonishing ending. That final whammy redeemed any distasteful revelations along the way. Wilson has lept from acclaimed biographer of the uniquely glum and gifted Patricia Highsmith, to her peer in spinning dark tales.

Andrew Wilson's debut novel, THE LYING TONGUE, is a compelling tale of narcissism, greed, ego, betrayal, ambition, homosexuality and sociopathy that grips readers immediately. The young, rather unreliable narrator, Adam Woods, is a university dropout who travels to Venice to take a post as an English tutor, only to find that his charge has been sent to America, thus leaving him without a job. But his not-to-be employers know of a man, a reclusive writer, who is looking for an amanuensis. Woods immediately applies for the position and gets it.

Gordon Crace, Adam's employer, is a former teacher who wrote a "scandalous" novel years before that achieved both critical and popular success. THE DEBATING SOCIETY is the sad story of a scholarship student, at a lesser private school, who is tormented by his classmates' cruel bullying. The "fictionalized" instructor takes him under his wing, and the boy quickly becomes the teacher's pet. Then, when he is booted onto the debating team, he finds himself in the middle of the group who has been his harshest tormentors. The youngster tries to stay out of everyone's way and keeps his head down as secretary.

One day, just before the scheduled debate, the boys are talking amongst themselves when one "puts forward a motion to debate, in secret, the merits of murdering their respectable classics master. The students pass the motion, thinking it all a hoot until one day [one of the boys] lures the teacher into a forest and bludgeons him to death." What seems to be a senseless murder is never solved, and the boys, including the killer, complete their schooling and go on with their lives, never looking back.

What becomes clear, as the narrative unfolds, is that Gordon Crace overheard his students discussing the idea of murdering their teacher, and that bit of eavesdropping later became the inspiration for THE DEBATING SOCIETY. Strangely enough, no one made any connections between Crace's boys, the murdered teacher or the plot of his magnum opus --- at least not until Adam Woods stirs the pot by bringing strange secrets to the surface.

Of the many questions Woods becomes obsessive about is Christopher Davidson, the young man who was in Crace's employ before Woods stepped in. From letters and other written material, Davidson was beguiled and mesmerized by his mentor. On Crace's advice he left university and moved in with the author, who encouraged his ambition. Ironically the two fell in love and stayed together until Davidson died. Why? How? Where? And was he the only one of the former students under Crace's tutelage?

Another chapter opens when Lavinia Maddon, a successful biographer, enters the scene, repeatedly trying to contact Crace. She has plans to write his biography and is hoping for an interview. Crace "gets crazy" whenever something like this comes up. At this time, Woods is in a position to become the intermediary in any negotiations. Following his muse takes him down dark alleys of the mind --- his own and others. As he follows his twisted path, people die, lives are ruined and secrets as dirty as the waterways in Venice emerge with a vengeance.

None of the characters in THE LYING TONGUE is likable in any way. They are morally corrupt and without loyalty to anyone other than themselves. Crace is often described as reptilian, evil and barely human. The peripheral characters are also without any redeeming qualities; greed is the motivation for any move they make. These creepy people fit perfectly in this tale set against a gloomy and wet setting shadowed with dark images.

Nevertheless, THE LYING TONGUE is a riveting thriller in the spirit of SLEUTH. The book is imbued with the influence of Andrew Wilson's hero, Patricia Highsmith, about whom he wrote a biography, which reads as a homage. She would be proud to see how Wilson has used his talent to produce a novel that is unlike most of the usual fare.

The plot is full of twists and turns, which are expected in an exceptional thriller such as this. But the author takes the "expected" and turns it inside out. A completely off-the-wall conclusion ties up loose ends, leaving readers nodding their heads and thinking, "Of course, that's the only way this fascinating novel could end." We can only hope that Andrew Wilson is working on his next book.

--- Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

Who has the right to tell a story? The person living it? The best writer/ biographer? This is one of the underlying themes in this brilliant novel about a young man who travels to Venice to write a novel. However, when he arrives in Venice to find out the job he has waiting for him is no longer available, he decides to take on another role entirely, that of a caretaker to an esteemed elderly writer. I simply can't reveal anymore without giving too much away. Suffice it to say, the writing is spectacular, you'll be in the edge of your seat from the very first word until the very last sentence; the charachter development is really thorough- the reader is simultaneously "rooting for" and despising the same characters at various stages of the book; and the plot is extremely well-thought out and the story told in an increasingly suspenseful fashion...you'll be hooked!

I would group this novel in the same category as Donna Tartt's "The Secret History," and Marisha Pessl's "Special Topics In Calamity Physics," both also masterpieces and written by authors at the top of their game. All three deal with students, murders, truth, lying, greed, egoism, sexuality and coverings ones tracks, yet in the grander scheme, all are exceptionally written and must-reads!

I HIGHLY recommend this novel and hope to read more of Mr. Wilson's works!

I was attracted to this book because the plot line was a writer writing about a writer. About ten pages into the book I became mesmerized by the psychological undertones and very subtle but chilling suspense. I continued reading to the end because of the almost delicate writing that created three-dimensional characters and portrayed the traps of one's imagination and zeal.