Lie With Me Lie With Me

Lie With Me

A Novel

    • 4.5 • 300 Ratings
    • $12.99

Publisher Description

“I remember the movement of his hips pressing against the pinball machine. This one sentence had me in its grip until the end. Two young men find each other, always fearing that life itself might be the villain standing in their way. A stunning and heart-gripping tale.” —André Aciman, author of Call Me by Your Name

A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice

The critically acclaimed, internationally beloved novel by Philippe Besson—“this year’s Call Me By Your Name” (Vulture) with raves in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, NPR, Vanity Fair, Vogue, O, The Oprah Magazine, and Out—about an affair between two teenage boys in 1984 France, translated with subtle beauty and haunting lyricism by the iconic and internationally acclaimed actress and writer Molly Ringwald.

In this “sexy, pure, and radiant story” (Out), Philippe chances upon a young man outside a hotel in Bordeaux who bears a striking resemblance to his first love. What follows is a look back at the relationship he’s never forgotten, a hidden affair with a boy named Thomas during their last year of high school. Thomas is the son of a farmer; Philippe the son of a school principal. At school, they don’t acknowledge each other. But they steal time to meet in secret, carrying on a passionate, world-altering affair.

Despite the intensity of their attraction, from the beginning Thomas knows how it will end: “Because you will leave and we will stay,” he says. Philippe becomes a writer and travels the world, though as this “tender, sensuous novel” (The New York Times Book Review) shows, he never lets go of the relationship that shaped him, and every story he’s ever told.

“Beautifully translated by Ringwald” (NPR), this is “Philippe Besson’s book of a lifetime...an elegiac tale of first, hidden love” (The New Yorker).

GENRE
Fiction & Literature
RELEASED
2019
April 30
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
160
Pages
PUBLISHER
Scribner
SELLER
Simon & Schuster Digital Sales LLC
SIZE
6.4
MB

Customer Reviews

wojo reads ,

Absolutely jarring

A true tale of how painful internalized homophobia can rule your perspective. Incredibly written, I’m almost without words. I read this in 2 hours, 10/10.

I saved so many quotes too.
It had a lot of words I’ve never been able to find about the experience of loving outside of societal norms and the thoughts and questions that come with it. Amazing

DCJon ,

Romeo and Romeo

There’s probably only so much that can be gotten out of a story of gay puppy love, but Besson gives it a good shot. The highly readable prose seems very French: a little stiff and controlled yet at the same time romantic, even grandiose—quite suitable for teenagers in love. It’s a good read, if somewhat less imaginative than the same author’s gay historical romance In the Absence of Men.

MacMan9876 ,

A great story

This novel was a pleasure to read. Couldn’t put it down. Great insight by the author.

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