Nofar was an ordinary teenager but one statement has flung her life into the spotlight. Taking her from a girl that felt invisible in the world to the focus of the media. The only problem was, she lied; what she said was just a slip of the tongue. Liar is a novel by psychologist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen that explores the fallout of lies in a contemporary world.

I wanted to write this review to vent about this book and turned to writing to try and understand my own feelings. Just as a warning, I need to spoil the lie in order to talk about the novel as a whole, so if you do not want spoilers, this is your warning. Nofar said she was raped by famous singer, Avishai Milner. Liar wants to explore the ripple effects of a false accusation. Which sounds like an interesting topic to explore, until you stop to think about it.

I feel like tackling this topic is a little tone deaf, particularly in a time where the #MeToo movement is still a big issue. Not only that, the fact that women struggle to be believed when it comes to sexual assault. When I think about the statistics, this novel makes me angry. Look at the amount of rape cases that end in a conviction verse the amount reported, and then there is the fact that three out of four victims don’t report their attack. Finally, but not really as important, if this novel was written by the man, can you imagine the outrage?

I think the topic is interesting and I can imagine a false accusation would destroy someone’s reputation completely but so much needs to change in the justice system first. Putting aside these thoughts, and judging the book as a novel, I cannot say that I enjoyed the style, there were too many unnecessary similes to be found. One cringe worthy example is; “Nofar took the key that was hanging on a hook like a suicide”. I am not a fan of this style of writing, I much prefer a minimalistic approach, keeping the sentences sharp and to the point.

Please remember this is my opinion, written in the heat of the moment, right after finishing the novel. I wanted to get my thoughts down, because I worried that I might have been overreacting and reviews are the best way for me to explore my feelings towards literature. I did finish Liar because I was curious about the direction the novel took. If the novel sounded interesting to begin with, please try it, I am curious to see what others think.