Nicholas Searle: The Good Liar, 9780241206935, Viking Penguin, Penguin Random House UK

Viking Penguin advertises Nicholas Searle’s “The good liar” as their psychological thriller of 2016. I would not go as far as that but is  a pretty good read if you get over the dislike for the main character, Roy Courtnay which I could not in the beginning.

I hated this son of a bitch from the start; he is a real piece of work, a slime bag, out on the make for wealthy, lonely widows, planning to not only steal their hearts but naturally also their fortune.   The book opens up with Roy dating Betty, the widow of an academic who is looking for a new partner, still quite attractive, a woman accustomed to provide a comfortable life for the right man. Or so it seems.  Before you know it, Roy has moved in with Betty scheming when to make his next move with the help of his side kick Vincent. Her family watches him suspiciously. I found the beginning a bit boring but please stay with it – it all comes together in the end.

Flashbacks to Roy’s life in 1973, 1963, 1957 and 1946. Told in retrospect, fascinating chapters of Roy’s life are opened and leave no doubt; here is a man who has lied his entire life, making a living from being a conman. My dislike of him grew with the number of pages I read, stories unfolding of the lives he destroyed, his lack of conscience and clever scheming, occasionally meeting his own master, like in Lord Stanbroke for example.  The book becomes more intriguing as you go along but really begins to gather speed from page 176 onwards. It is the year 1938 in Berlin, the Nazi’s are on the rise and a boy called Hans and his socialist father Konrad Taub visit the wealthy Schröder family, landowners with 3 daughters, Charlotte, Hannelore, Lili being the youngest.

Anything I would reveal about the story from now on  would give up clues about the direction this novel might be taking.  I sensed the ending but it did not spoil the rest of the book, confirming some shocking developments I had guessed but surprising me with other turns the novel took. The last few pages I personally found a little weak, the thriller becomes more interesting as details of Roy’s and Betty’s past are uncovered. 

Erica Jong:  Fear of dying, 9781782117483, Canongate, paperback

Erica Jong is better known for her “Fear of Flying” which sold millions of copies all over the world in 40 languages, she is the creator of the coin word “zipless fuck” – a synonym during the sexual revolution and feminism in the seventies. This tells you my age of course, I read her as a young woman, a must read in those days.

“Fear of dying”, dealing with much more serious subjects, is written with the same sense of humor and light-hearted tone as in “Fear of Flying”. Those of us baby boomers who have either lost parents already or are dealing with very old parents seeing them in the last stages of their lives, can truly identify with this novel. Many times I found I had had similar thought (although this is fiction) but written very obviously based on some autobiographical experiences. Very ancient parents are not the only problem our New York Jewish heroine Vanessa Wonderman encounters.  The whole book is set in a very wealthy New York East Side enclave and has some fabulous Jewish humor. Vanessa’s husband Asher, the love of her life and soulmate she met and married in her forties after some sexually active years as a single, becomes seriously ill just as her parents are declining and dying, he naturally loses all interest in sex recovering from a life threatening illness. Not wanting to give up entirely that part of her life just yet and needing it very much as a life affirmation, Vanessa signs up to a casual encounter online site leading to some very peculiar meetings with men.  At her side with some sobering adivse is her trusted friend Isadora who happens to be the heroine in “Fear of Flying” – very clever Erica Jong!

Glinda, Vanessa’s wild child daughter, is about to present her with the next life change – Vanessa will become a grandmother soon.

Erica Jong’s novel is light-hearted, funny and yet serious, dealing with very heavy

thoughts and changes in life most of us encounter at one point especially after hitting our sixties.  I loved the book, it really struck a chord with me, and 266 pages read quickly. This is Erica Jong in great form, she tackles the big stuff fearlessly and with much humor, and you really feel more positive and alive having read the book. More of it please! 

The German edition is called "Angst vorm Sterben" by S. Fischer Verlag.