Beautiful story of first love and the heady emotions it brings, before Besson rips your heart in two. A privilege to have read this book.

Philippe Besson's award-winning short novel Lie With Me has been published for the first time in the UK, translated from French by Molly Ringwald. I snuck this in as my first book of September after receiving an advanced digital copy from Penguin/Viking via NetGalley and it has left me broken.⁣ ⁣ The story begins with an unnamed famous writer reflecting on an intense love affair during his teenage years at a small French high school, after a chance encounter with a stranger who bears a striking resemblance to the boy he knew as Thomas. After an intense, exciting and sometimes joyful chapter set in 1984, the story moves swiftly across four decades to its heartbreaking conclusion.⁣ ⁣ I won't reveal too much more as I don't want to spoil the story for anyone, but on a personal note I found so much of this book relatable having spent my teenage years growing up secretly gay in a rural area (albeit a decade or so later than the characters here).⁣ ⁣ This is a must-read for fans of Call Me By Your Name, in fact that book's author André Aciman describes Lie With Me as "stunning and heart-gripping".⁣

The author is quoted as saying “I wanted to write a sadness.” He has certainly achieved that in the most elegant, graceful and moving manner. This is the story of a secret first love between two teenage boys, one of whom realises that they have no future together. The novel opens with a chance meeting between the narrator, Philippe, a successful novelist, and a young man, Lucas, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Philippe’s first love, Thomas. This prompts Philippe to recount the events of 1984, when he was seventeen and Thomas eighteen. Philippe was a studious and clever boy, son of a teacher. Thomas was a farmer’s son and resigned to the fact he too will become a farmer and be contained within his current environment. Very early on in their relationship Thomas says, “….you will leave and we will stay.” Throughout that summer they conduct a clandestine relationship which is described in poignant detail. Thomas, in particular, is scared of their association being discovered. When the narrative moves to the present day and Philippe’s encounter with Lucas, who actually is Thomas’ son, we gain a further understanding of how Thomas has led his life. The secrets he has kept and the sacrifices he has made. The ending is so, so, heart-breaking. The novel vibrates with loss and unbearable yearning. It reflects on a love which, at the time, must remain hidden and the sorrow that creates. It may or may not be a memoir but is it searingly beautiful with the most lyrical of prose. The translation from the original French is stunning. Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As somebody else has already mentioned - it's hard to avoid comparing this book to "Call Me By Your Name". They both feature a love story between two men, narrated by one on the brink of adulthood in the first person. Still, I'll admit I also liked "Lie With Me" much more. It's form is more condensed, the book itself is shorter, yet the story it tells no less impressive than the one of Elio, I believe that the main difference between these two, apart from the obvious cultural character, is said condensation. While "Call Me By Your Name" unfolds slowly, languidly even, like a long Italian summer, filled with long passages of poetic narration and internal struggle of the main character, "Lie With Me" is no less poetic, but at the same time filled with raw passion, which often requires no words or no lengthy descriptions. Sometimes it even feels cold and stark like the winter, during which part of the book takes place. Because of this, I feel that it hits harder, leaves a bigger impact and - personally - it just left me much more emotional in the end. Poetic, unbearably sad, brimming with hidden desire, shame, and unspoken emotions, it is a book as beautiful as thoroughly French.

A poignant novella of teenage love and loss A beautifully written novella, translated from French by the American actress Molly Ringwald. The story is one we can all connect with, first love and with that, the first heartbreak and loss, felt all the more keenly on the cusp of adulthood. The title has been translated as Lie with Me, instead of the original Stop With Your Lies, but the English title is a clever play on words. The two young men in the story keep their love affair hidden as they maintain the facade that they barely know one another, and this adds to the element of secrecy and deception. Philippe and Thomas meet in secret, discovering a passion that ignites a short-lived affair that shapes the rest of their lives. Philippe and Thomas lose contact with one another, but a twist of fate brings the past crashing into the present when Philippe encounters a young man that resembles Thomas to an uncanny degree. Philippe discovers the tragic truth about Thomas and the secrets that he carried for years as he lived a lie and never acknowledged his true self. The story reflects their youth, to a time when they both discover that they share deep feelings for one another but chose never to disclose these to their family and friends. This decision shapes the rest of their lives. A must-read, a coming of age story that lingers long after the last word has been read. Gillian Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review