Thanks for access to the new Manguso. I had only ever heard about her, and leapt at the chance to read her latest. It was visceral, propulsive and compelling. I finished it in just a few sittings.

On a sobering and intense tale of a marriage falling apart and what it does to a woman’s identity. I saw this book on a few lists and was thankful for this advanced reader copy. I think it’ll be one of the biggest works of fiction this summer.⁣
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The story is centred around the story of Jane and her 14-year marriage to John. Jane is an aspiring writer who meets John Bridges, a filmmaker, who seems to want the same thing as her. Not long after, they’re married and have a child, and Jane finds her role reduced to being a wife and a mother. She tolerates her husband’s ego, manipulation and emotional abuse, and lies to herself along the way. That goes on until John comes home one day and asks for divorce.⁣
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The book is filled with very detailed and astute observations of how a tumultuous relationship can fail a woman and do to the way she sees and believes in herself. At times, I thought I was reading a work of non-fiction. ⁣
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“I was proud of our family and of John’s career, so when he played video games all night, spent weekends painting, or stayed out bodysurfing in deep water while the child and I waited, shivering, on the beach, I didn’t push back. I multitasked and made my own needs as small as possible because, I thought, I was just more capable than he was. I assumed that made me valuable. ⁣
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I took three shits before breakfast and two tranquilizers before the mediation session. John said that he wasn’t to blame for the divorce but that his hand had been forced. He described me as volatile and unsafe for the child to be around. ⁣
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I wrote the word LIAR on a sticky note and stuck it onto the computer screen. It covered John’s face.”⁣
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Just what that could do to a woman? Anger, rage and so much more. The book is phenomenal.

Liars is an emotive read, I was sad, angry and despairing throughout. The story is addictive and enthralling. Following Jane through her relationships and health struggles is like wading through water. The writing is amazing and doesn’t feel like a piece of fiction. I loved the detached tone and haven’t read anything quite like this. It’s motherhood, marriage and being mortal all wrapped into one. Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Liars tells the story of Jane and John from the beginning of their relationship, through job changes and multiple long-distance house moves, having a child, and eventually the end of their relationship.

I'm a bit puzzled as to why I didn't like this book more than I did. It's a brutal but realistic portrayal of an emotionally abusive relationship, with a deeply feminist narrative that highlights the patriarchal nature of marriage and societal expectations of women. I saved many quotes throughout the book that really stuck with me. However I didn't like the lack of structure (no chapters), although presumably this mirrors the endless days in an unsatisfying marriage for Jane, days that blurred and merged together. I wasn't particularly gripped by the story, perhaps due to my views on marriage and men in general. I read it one sitting, more to get it over with than because I was compelled to keep reading.

I am going to keep thinking about why I didn't really like this book, because I feel like I *should* have.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my advance copy. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book, really loved it. It detailed the motions and emotions the protagonist experienced during her long relationship with her partner/husband. A talented writer who put her work aside to appease her ‘jack of many trades, master of none’, emotionally manipulative husband, she tries to get through each day with her son while trying to save their marriage.

I thought this was brilliantly written - I loved the writing style and all the details. It was very real and kept me glued to the e-pages until the end.

Gosh. This book was really interesting. I enjoyed it a lot and yet it was also frustrating.
The writing style felt like poetry at times. I liked that and I do think it served the narrative, but it took me a while to connect to the story because of this.
I had so many feelings about Jane. Several times in the first half I was incredibly irritated by the fact that she was still with him, and later on I was so angry for her. Honestly, sometimes it felt sort of bleak, but in a way that made me feel quite fired up too.
This was my first Sarah Manguso book and I will definitely be reading more of her work.
Thanks to Net Galley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC.

such an addictive read, even though it becomes heavy and sad at times. it tells the story of a woman, a writer, who chose freedom but found herself trapped in a marriage, bound by her husband’s insecurities and lies. it’s sad to think that jane, our main character, believed she would never go through something like this, yet somehow found herself in the very situations she despised.

the narrative unfurls continuously, devoid of chapters, mirroring jane’s diminishing patience and escalating anger. her storytelling feels like reading a mother’s diary, where she reveals only fragments of her day—as she barely had time for herself and her writing—before bursting out her frustrations.

connecting with jane isn’t difficult, right from the start i already cared about her, even unmarried or childless women can empathize with her and share her anger. this leads me to reflect on her revelation—that she married her husband believing his calmness to be wisdom, only to realize later that “it wasn’t the stillness of wisdom. it was the absence of empathy.“ how many times must women suffer at the hands of a society where men lack even a trace of empathy, only ego and insecurities?

it also makes me ponder why some people find it so hard to break free from the shackles of a toxic relationship, no matter how many times they’re asked why they remain. if they leave, they fear becoming nothing, as their entire identity is tied to this marriage. jane sacrificed her dreams to follow john, and leaving her marriage would only fill her with more regrets of not doing it sooner.

i don’t know much about the author, but this feels autobiographical. the emotions are so vivid, it seems like manguso poured a lot of authenticity into jane. even if it turns out to be purely fiction, it just shows how incredible she is at infusing this story with such authentic female rage.

I am completely in love with this book! A rallying cry to all women who feel that they have put their entire lives on hold to support their husbands and families only to be dumped on from a great height!

This book made me feel so many things, from anger, frustration, relief and joy. I felt so much for Jane and was rooting for her so much.

Answering important questions like who is responsible for the breakdown of a relationship? Who are the liars and what lies do they tell? Whether to themselves or others.

I could not put this book down and highly recommend it.

I was recommended this from a bookstagrammer who gave it 5 stars, so I looked forward to reading it, but unfortunately it didn’t work so well for me. The writing style is sort of detached (fragmented, like snapshots, also the child remains unnamed), so it made it a bit difficult for me to get attached and really feel for any of them. I get the message of the book, and I felt infuriated at the husband of the protagonist, of course. But the red flags were everywhere from the beginning and she was aware of them. But she stayed (even before the child came along) because she thought no better man would love her. She never loved him either. So that makes it really hard for me to feel sorry for her. But I understand the book is about the mysoginy and abusive relationship with a manipulative partner, and how low self-esteem makes an educated woman get stuck in a marriage knowing it’s not working.

This is the worst bookish cliché but I promise you that finishing Liars by Sarah Manguso felt like letting go of a breath I didn't realise that I was holding. This is a female rage, good for her, fast-paced literary read about a marriage on fire.

Liars is about Jane, an aspiring writer, who meets a filmmaker, John. He is very charming and she believes everything that she could want in a life partner. As they begin their relationship and we watch it blossom, we begin to pick up on some red flags that John is waving. As many people do, Jane finds a way to excuse this behaviour and moves on from it. They eventually get married and have a child and as their relationship goes through the years we see more and more how John & their marriage strips Jane of her identity as an artist, who happens to also be a wife and mother, and reduces her down to only being a wife and mother.

This isn't a thriller book but it's absolutely paced like one. Not only is it an extremely tightly wound and claustrophobic feeling story that had me breathlessly turning the pages but also Manguso formats her work in vignettes which I find keeps the pacing quick. If you have a day with nothing to do where you can commit yourself to read all day, this is a book that you could read in one sitting.

There is so much bitterness in these pages, it's the kind of book that makes you frustrated and angry as you read it. It’s a book about reducing a woman to her most basic stereotypes, it's about all the invisible work that a lot wives and mothers do, and it also felt like a good reminder to not accept mediocrity in our relationships and to pay attention to red flags. Reading this really made me so thankful to have a partner who is helpful and supportive in all of the things that I do.

Liars is a brutally honest representation of how marriages can end up. I'm not somebody who is often drawn to books that explore romantic relationships like this but I genuinely couldn't look away from this book. I think Sarah Manguso has such a knack for writing about the motions of life and without a doubt I will continue to pick up anything else that she releases.

LIARS is a searing portrait of a marriage, from beginning to disastrous end, told in vignettes and devastating sentences. I could not put this down!! This is in conversation with books like WE ARE TOO MANY and FATES AND FURIES, so if you loved those, don't miss LIARS. Manguso's writing is outstanding; I will be going back to read VERY COLD PEOPLE as soon as possible!

In Liars, Sarah Manguso deftly captures, in heartbreaking detail, the slow decay of a dying marriage. This novel makes for uncomfortable reading, but I mean that as a positive. I was deeply emotionally engaged with Liars, Jane and John's flawed relationship unlocking painful memories of my own failed relationships.

I found it an incredibly realistic portrayal of a woman so deep in her own lies that it's only near the end that she gains clarity and can see how her husband has also lied... not just to her, but to friends and family.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Told from the POV of Jane, an aspiring writer, who meets, falls in love and eventually marries John, a filmmaker and aspiring artist. What follows is a shockingly painful and harrowingly truthful account of life, marriage and motherhood. It makes for an uncomfortable and anger-inducing read with an alternative writing style that took some effort to get into.

Sarah Manguso’s writing style is wonderfully oppressive, much like Jane’s marriage, and at times I had to take a break and step away from this book because of the rage I felt at being a woman. I loved reading a piece of work that doesn’t conscribe to the typical setting/chapter/title format of novels, instead it was a fluid work that piled on assault after assault. It felt like the pages of Jane’s diary and although it took a while to get into this, I can see why Manguso used this particular style.

She articulates fantastically the sacrifices that women and mothers make daily to help their family unit without any sort of recognition, and this cut me too close to the bone at times.

“I was in charge of everything, and in control of nothing.”

Overall, not my usual type of book but a poignant piece of writing nonetheless. I gave it 3 stars (purely from an enjoyment aspect).

Exquisitely disturbing in its relatability, Liars is the portrait of modern society that no one really wants to face. Jane’s story is equal parts compelling and suffocating, and Manguso’s writing is unlike anything I have ever come across; it reads more like a biography than a fiction (and reminded me strikingly of the film Marriage Story), which is perhaps why it is so haunting. Just superb.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for this privilege.

Manguso surely knows how to write female characters and transport the reader to the characters’ minds. This is a quick read that stays with you longer than your reading time thanks to Manguso’s craft and the themes.

You will hate John, it is guaranteed.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC of this. Read this on a plane in a single sitting, absolutely tore through it. It is 100% a horror story, and the horror is heterosexual marriage. GOD, does this guy suck! He sucks even more than the guy in Soldier Sailor (who was also pretty trash). I really admired how the book condensed a 14 year relationship. It is a focused, propulsive, angry tale. FUCK THIS GUY. If the book is based on personal experience (very hard not to think this tbh) I hope he reads this and feels absolutely sick!!! LOSER!!!

‘I write it down again’

Liars is a fantastic explorative novel about how to be a woman in modern society.

Sarah Manguso gives a delectable, dark, and humourous account of marriage, motherhood and divorce.

Whilst the novel can feel a little repetitive at times, I believe it adds to its ‘charm’. It puts you in Jane’s shoes, showing how monotonous her life is with John in it - the never-ending cycle of narcissistic abuse.

I won’t say much more for fear of spoilers, but Liars is one of the first books I’ve read that succinctly puts how it feels to be inside a woman’s head down on paper.

It was a pleasure to read, and thank you NetGalley for giving me early access to this masterclass in womanhood.

First of all, fuck John. What an entitled, arrogant asshole who unfortunately reminds me far too much of several men I’ve met/been told about. This was a suffocating read, as I’m sure it was intended to be. While nothing dramatic actually happened, the writing was sharp, with a collection of snappy quotes that spoke to the struggle of womanhood and motherhood. I really enjoyed the continuous monologue style of writing, I felt like I was stuck with Jane in her life and struggling to find a way out. This was stifling and strong, a real breakthrough of a novel.

following the story of a woman as she loses herself during marriage.

the writing in this is so unique, quick and snappy it instantly draws you in. it captures and sets the scene for this kind of relationship so perfectly.

this a really powerful read that a lot of women will be able to relate to. as if feels like you are reading short diary extracts of a toxic marriage - as well as the aftermath of the marriage falling apart.

Very Cold People was one of my books of 2022. Written in spare, crisp prose, it’s a bleak novella about an abusive childhood, extraordinarily powerful. Liars is the equally bleak story of a dysfunctional marriage told from the perspective of the wife.
Jane and John meet in their thirties, their relationship growing out of a powerful physical attraction. He suggests they both apply for a year’s residency in Athens but while she is awarded the prize for writing he fails to win the art prize, joining her after a few months, unable to contain his jealousy of her success, flirting outrageously and sulking, setting a pattern for their future together. Neither had planned to have children, but a few years into their marriage Jane becomes pregnant with their son. Her successful writing career stalls in the face of childcaring, homemaking and hauling John out of various scrapes, her financial dependence forcing her to trail after him as he moves from one job to another. After fourteen years of telling herself she should be grateful for her happy family, the financial security John has somehow delivered and the resurrection of her career, she’s faced with the truth of her marriage’s dysfunction.
Manguso unfolds her fragmented narrative in stark, striking prose. We have only one side of the story and there are occasional hints that John may not be the only liar, not least from the title, but Jane’s lies appear to be to herself, convincing herself that her marriage is all that it should be. A tale of bad behaviour, manipulation, and misery, there’s a feeling of autofiction about it, borne out by a little internet research, although to what extent isn’t clear.