Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Lies That Bind by Emily Giffin Narrator: Brittany Pressley, Vikas Adam, Will Damron, Simon Katz
Published by Penguin Audio on June 2, 2020
Genres: Life Fiction, Thriller
Length: 10 hours, 46 minutes
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
It's 2 a.m. in a dive bar on the Lower East Side, May 2001. Cecily figures it's the perfect place to order a beer and try to forget that she's just been dumped by the man she suspects she'll always think of as The One Who Got Away. Her best friend warned her to hunker down and avoid any risk of late-night drunk dialing, and she should have listened, because she's so tempted. . . .
"Don't do it," says the guy on the barstool next to her. "Don't call him."
He talks her off the ledge, and they have another beer. Then at last call, they toast to "moving on" before going their separate ways. Except as she's about to say goodbye, she decides to ask his name instead. And just like that, her life is changed forever.
But has she found her soulmate only to lose him a few months later?
I started listening to The Lies That Bind at about 6 pm when I went out to pull weeds, and continued to listen, finishing the book at 3am. The story is more life fiction than thriller. There is a progression for Cecily who has to learn what she really wants, how to build a relationship with actual communication and shared values, and how to tell who loves you and who to love.
This journey is one of complex intellectual and emotional aspects. It’s possible to love more than one person and to love in different ways. But in your most intimate relationships one expects honesty, kindness and support. Cecily, and her long-term boyfriend Matthew, break up at the beginning of the summer, because she wants to know they are headed in the same direction for the future. Matthew wants to just live in the present and not worry about the future.
Cecily meets someone else and they connect; it’s not like anything she has felt before. So without spoiling things, the relationship is very weird as the guy, Grant, ends up overseas for much of the summer because his twin brother is dying. They don’t communicate very often and Cecily is much calmer about it than I would be.
Grant comes back and sees her the night he arrives in town. The next day is Sept 11th and he disappears. Cecily finds out he is not at all who she thought he was. Maybe she didn’t know him at all. And when her family and friends check to make sure she is okay, Matthew also checks in with her. He wants to see her. Overall, I’m not so fond of Matthew or Grant.
Cecily really has so many feelings to process, about the terrorist attack, Grant being missing and probably dead, Matthew, and her desire to change her career, possibly moving back to Wisconsin where her family and friends are. Even as Matthew rekindles their relationship, she wants to know who Grant really was and if he really felt anything for her. Emotional, and puzzling, Cecily travels through a deep, heart-wrenching examination of her values.
Narration:
The performance of the narration was so excellent, I was completely in the book and paid too little attention to the narration. So the voices were comfortable and believable. Some characters had very distinct voices. I noticed Scotty, Amy and Matthew’s mother particularly. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip:
About Vikas Adam
Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over 200 audiobooks. He’s established himself as one who creates versatile, distinct, and clear voices for characters he embodies. Equally at home with a light piece of literature or a dark thriller, a short story or an epic novel (his longest—forty-nine hours!), Vikas’s audiobooks have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the Audie Award. When not recording, acting, or directing, he’s a lecturer in the Theater Department at UCLA. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- COYER-20
I really didn’t know about this one but it looks quite well done
It’s brand new, just out. The topic is not easy but it was an interesting personal journey in values and choices.
I’m glad you liked this one overall, Anne, because I’ve seen some mixed reviews. Good to know about the unlikable men. Wonderful review!
Thanks. I thought Cecily had a difficult journey deciding what mattered to her, what her values would be. It’s easy to fall into the let’s marry a cute rich guy and just go along with his plans. She was much more than that and the guys were not all that great, either of them. She struggled to make honest decisions. It’s not an easy story; it’s uncomfortable.
This sounds so interesting! I’ve only read one by Giffin before but I definitely want to read more. I’ll have to keep this one in mind.
It’s not an easy or comfortable story but I liked the journey she took for what her values would be. Cecily made mistakes, as we all do, but she struggled with them. She also didn’t have complete information, which mostly none of us do.
I think this author must excel at writing characters like this with the swirl of emotional storyline b/c I read one last January from her that had me fascinated, but not terribly in love with the characters.
YES! I didn’t love the characters but the tale was engrossing.
What a lovely review you have here. I just love seeing the complex balance of various elements that just builds your enjoyment of the story.
Thank you. It is possible to enjoy and like a book when you don’t really like the characters.
I’m liking the sound of this one. And I love it when there are multiple narrators.
I was so caught up in it I didn’t notice as much as I usually would. The majority was the female narrator as she was the main character.