Liars Audiobook By Sarah Manguso cover art

Liars

A Novel

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Liars

By: Sarah Manguso
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
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About this listen

An “eviscerating” (The New York Times) novel about being a wife, a mother, and an artist, and how marriage makes liars of us all—from the author of Very Cold People and 300 Arguments

“Is divorce the new marriage plot? . . . [
Liars] pulses with a rare kind of anger, making it a compulsive, unforgettable read. Love stories, it seems, are out. Divorce as liberation? Very much in.”—Vogue

“A tour de force . . .
Liars makes an old story fresh.”—NPR

“A bracing story of a woman on the verge.”—
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A nuclear family can destroy a woman artist. I’d always known that. But I’d never suspected how easily I’d fall into one anyway.

When Jane, an aspiring writer, meets filmmaker John Bridges, they both want the same things: to be in love, to live a successful, creative life, and to be happy. When they marry, Jane believes she has found everything she was looking for, including—a few years later—all the attendant joys and labors of motherhood. But it’s not long until Jane finds herself subsumed by John’s ambitions, whims, and ego; in short, she becomes a wife.

As Jane’s career flourishes, their marriage starts to falter. Throughout the upheavals of family life, Jane tries to hold it all together. That is, until John leaves her.

Liars is a tour de force of wit and rage, telling the blistering story of a marriage as it burns to the ground, and of a woman rising inexorably from its ashes.

©2024 Sarah Manguso (P)2024 Random House Audio
Family Life Psychological Women's Fiction Marriage Emotionally Gripping
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Critic reviews

“A furious, propulsive meditation on wifehood, motherhood and artistic ambition.”—NPR

“Makes stirring observations about marriage and identity.”Time

“Painful and beautifully wrought. . . Manguso is a poet-novelist who knows brevity can whittle the sharpest knife.”—Vulture

What listeners say about Liars

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Excellent book - real and raw

This book has stayed with me and I want more - like what happens next but we all know what happens next - we keep going.

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Resonated with me

I’m going through a separation, so I picked this book as a way to work through some of the issues and feelings that I’m having. It was helpful for that, but I also enjoyed it on a narrative level. I found the storytelling technique of using small, disconnected snippets of narration—like snapshots that you might go through on your phone to reminiscing about the things that have happened to you or you’ve done—to be an interesting way to describe going back through your life and remembering the moments of a multi decade relationship. I also enjoyed the matter of fact tone that the author takes as she describes deeply emotional scenes. This reminded me of “Room” where the narrative voice as told from a child’s perspective gives you space between the horrors of the subject matter and yourself as the observer/reader. Just as I found myself wondering why the main character stays with her husband, there would be a moment of levity or affection in their lives. This too I found very effective as a narrative technique, keeping me engaged as the reader and able to experience her marriage without judging her outside of it. It was exactly what I needed for my situation right now, and it would also be an interesting read for a creative writing class exploring voice, tone, and plot.

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Truth Mirror

No one writes like Sarah Manguso—with such precision & honesty. This work might be a mirror or a cautionary tale, depending on the reader. Whatever the perspective, it is a story that will linger long after it ends.

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A hard listen

Beautiful narrator. No happy ending. A rough story of a marriage. Sad. Angry. Real. Made me grateful for my own relationship. Excellent writing.

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The love despite the dysfunction

This was very very relatable. And real. And triggering but also cathartic . Not just about the breakdown of a marriage that was dysfunctional from the start, but the loving and yearning for it to work in the giving and losing of oneself.

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Beautiful

This was one of the best books I’ve ever read/listened to. The writing is poetry in prose. I think it will start a much needed raw and thoughtful conversation about the state of modern marriage.

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Searing portrayal of a marriage unraveling

What a ride. The narrative flows like a stream of consciousness confession with some of the best prose I’ve encountered in years. The story follows a woman, Jane, and the erosion of her marriage that crumbles by degrees. Your blood will boil. Narrated wonderfully.

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Could not stop listening

A vital, crucial, and impeccable book about motherhood, marriage, and the devastation wrought by a covert, liberal, art-boy-man misogynist. What did we do to get “All Fours” and “Liars” in one summer?? There is a god. And she is a woman ready for a marriage apocalypse. Rave! Rave! Rave!

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Beautiful writing, misleading hype

I read the book after seeing glowing reviews in the NYT and elsewhere and equally glowing blurbs from some excellent writers. I appreciate the book, but it is not served well by the hype. I was expecting something more ambitious in structure or philosophy. The writing is definitely fantastic. The raw honesty is compelling. But there doesn’t seem to be much more than that.

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Thankful for honesty/kindred spirits

Honest and real- not always a fun time. A very well written account of an experience as one human earnestly puts all their efforts into building a home and then falling in love over and over with their child and unfortunately sharing this experience with a careless and lying man. I related to it so incredibly much. What was utterly essential and made this book extra special to me was that the author loves watching the blossoming of her perfectly beautiful child and revels in sharing small details about their time together. I feel this way about my children and rarely see such dichotomous stories - because I feel all that tension in my reality. I’m thankful for this book. And I felt so validated/seen/not alone reading it. It’s a gift to be so honest and it’s true art. So … huge thanks and respect to the author💞

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