I did not. But if you like blubbering, a story told with no timeline or stopping points, a book that has only a slightly good outcome due to the antagonist and barely any details about the protagonist's success, then you'll enjoy this one, I guess.

Why I gave the book 2 stars instead of 1 was that this book was written in such a way that it's actually hard to believe it's fiction. The main character most definitely has some self confidence issues and has possibly never matured enough to understand abuse. But you do get to understand her internal struggle and how she knows something isn't right or should be done, but battles with the comfort of everyday life. And I think we can all relate to that on different levels. Also, she was a great mother, from what it appeared, and I respect the storyline for that.

This is one of the most gorgeous and brutal memoirs of marriage and motherhood I have ever read: Manguso is a master of this kind of cold, stark beauty that one can find in grief and anger. More than anything I'm grateful to read this before it's published (thank you NetGalley and Hogarth) and am sure that it will spark many invigorating conversations this summer and fall. I love divorce novels--the book is compared to Days of Abandonment and Dept. of Speculation and inevitably (despite it not being a novel but a memoir) will be to Splinters but to me its ferocious poetry makes it like few to have come before it.

As the novel Liars by Sarah Manguso opens, Jane, the narrator, meets John at a small town film festival. Both are in their 30’s, striving to gain career recognition, Jane as a writer, and John as a writer also dabbling in film and media. The sex is good, they move in together, and, although Jane seems continuously disappointed in John’s selfish behavior, they marry two years later. Jane literally cleans up his messes (aided by her own OCD issues), and John reassures her that he can’t imagine anyone being more helpful than she is. Jane accepts his compliments and his love, but also sees that he is gently maneuvering her into a role as his helpmate and “real wife,” something she vowed never to become. John’s irresponsible behavior persists, and Jane continuously describes discontent, unhappiness and depression, but rationalizes that she has now invested years in this relationship, and cannot leave. She becomes pregnant, and the fissures only widen as Jane alone deals with motherhood’s chores while also keeping a schedule of writing and teaching. She constantly seethes with anger and feels trapped, but, inexplicably, seems determined to preserve her dream of a long-term marriage. Their partnership is clearly dysfunctional, the two have apparently incompatible personalities, and the cycle repeats. Although she has been able to consistently work and earn professionally, Jane never speaks of her thoughts or fantasies of leaving. While many will find this saga raw, realistic and insightful, I had to push myself to continue reading this well-written but unpleasant story.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was recommended by an author I trust who has impeccable taste, I can see why she loved it but it was just not for me. Or at least not for me at this time in my life. The writing is fantastic and I imagine a lot of people, wives and mothers especially, will love and feel seen by this book so my own experience will not prevent me from recommending it to others.

I gave this a three but I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. It jumped all over the place, I struggled to like anyone in this story. It was written in a weird format. I kept waiting for her to grow a pair and leave the relationship. I only finished it because I kept hoping she finally would.

Liars by Sarah Manguso is a stunning book that is hard to put down once one starts reading it. A quote that stays with me from the book "I was in charge of everything and in control of nothing." Which are the worst lies to tell? The ones we tell ourselves or the lies we tell others? We tell ourselves lies to make our lives easier and we tell others lies to make them think our lives are easy and enviable. This is a must read book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for providing this read. All opinions are my own.
The plot of Liars was raw and fraught and both realistic and fantastical. I don't know if the author means it to be archetypal, but I saw similarities to the personal lives of people I know. The husband and father who can only make life more difficult while simultaneously feeling like he's doing the most. The woman who loses her identity to motherhood and somehow also loses her marriage in the process. The style of writing seemed matter-of-fact, like their lives were being observed and recorded. However, it's not real life. I kept wanting Jane to enact boundaries and hold John accountable to his choices. It would be an interesting thought exercise to see this same story from John's perspective, although I doubt it would raise as much ire. My philosophy is that women deserve women, and books like this further cement that for me.

At first, I didn’t get it. The writing seemed choppy and terse. I kept reading.

I noticed that the author made some really good points about relationships and how they work. I kept reading.

I got about a third of the way through, and it was like being hit by lightning. I kept reading.

This was a magnificent book about relationships and marriage. I couldn’t stop reading.

By the end, I was nodding in agreement about marriage and parenting and divorce. I’m not sure that I’ve ever read anything more honest and thoughtful in my life.

This was impressive and I want to make every heterosexual woman I know read this book. I can’t even state it enough how seen I feel by reading this book!

I struggled to get into this book and found it hard to endure with the descriptions of such a toxic relationship. I had to stop reading because I found it too depressing that she tolerated and allowed herself to be treated by someone who clearly was taking advantage of her.

This book was hard for me to get through. It is a one-sided view of a marriage told by either a reliable or extremely unreliable narrator. The reader will never know.

To encapsulate it, I would say that Jane, a successful writer has married John, perhaps, successful, perhaps not. It’s hard to tell if his constantly changing companies are failing or not. But in any case, he is definitely selfish and inconsiderate at his core.

Jane desperately wants her marriage to work despite the constant upheavals John puts her through, the sabotaging of her career, the relinquishing of care of their child, his constant gaslighting her. And then he leaves.

Mancuso is a good writer which was the only reason I hung on. While reading it, all I could think of was Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies. The first half of that book was told from the husband’s point of view; the second altogether different half was told by the wife. I wanted to hear from John because I found it quite unbelievable that a woman with Jane's talents, excellent mothering, and all around competency would stay with him. I was furious that he was the one to leave.

“Liars” by Sarah Manguso is the story of the unraveling of Jane’s marriage to John. It is an extremely gripping novel that I shouldn’t have read in 24 hours, but I couldn’t put it down. And I sat stunned upon finishing…
The rawness and honesty was overwhelming.

I'm afraid I didn't adore this book. I normally love books that detail the nitty gritty of relationships and dissect what went wrong. I particularly like well-written sarcastic prose in this subject matter. But this book I found annoying. I thought the protagonist was just kind of an idiot that she didn't read the myriad warning signs from the very start of this "relationship" (I hesitate to refer to it as such because it was more like a relatively toxic melding of the minds).
I kept reading, thinking I would like it more but instead I just got increasingly annoyed that she didn't take a bracing dope-slap of reality and get out asap. Instead she just continues to enable his horrible behavior.
One of the bibles on screenwriting is called Save the Cat, the conceit being in every film the protagonist needs to perform some sort of admirable act (such as saving a cat from a tree) in order to establish him/herself as likable. I feel like Jane never did any such thing. Yes, she went out of her way to enable John to continue to be a really lousy partner, but in my opinion there is nothing admirable about helping a malignant narcissist take advantage of you, and she did nothing to make herself at all someone I cared about. I just wanted her to grow a spine and get some truly good therapy. And GET OUT OF THE RELATIONSHIP BECAUSE IT WAS DOOMED FROM THE START.

Liars is an interesting book from the style of writing to the plot. The writing can best be described as "reporting". It was a very interesting and unique way to write. Surface details characterized the narrative, but this style did not cause the book to lose personality. Similar to an iceberg, even though you only see the tip, you know there is significant content beneath the surface.The story held a lot of self discovery, reflection, and learning as Jane journeyed through her marriage. The book moves quickly and provides many tugs to the heart. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

Lordy what a thoroughly depressing book. A tome on why you should never marry or have children with a man you don't trust implicitly. It is a sparse, dark, and frustrating read. John and Jane get married and have a kid. Jane is a writer who has to give up her career in order to feel like she can fully be present for her child, while John makes horrible financial decisions, starts and fails businesses, makes them move like 6 times in 7 years, and seems like a pretty bad Dad. It is watching a relationship deteriorate in front of your eyes and it will make you want to scream.

Manguso's writing is superb though, which made me, as a reader, power through the awfulness. It is hard not to believe this is vaguely autofiction, though I do not want to speculate. But the details, the emotions, and the raw terribleness of men is a little too specific to not wonder. It is a good book, but it is not a fun book, and it will make you want to scream. It seems like a distant cousin of Elena Ferrante though, and that is one of the biggest compliments I can give!

Liars by Sarah Manguso was an entertaining, drama filled read. It had a slow start and it took me a little bit to get into the story but once it did, I was very interested in what was happening. I don't think I've read anything that's written how this book was written. It was definitely very unique all around. I liked the pacing and thought that the characters were fully their own.

This had all my favorite things: family disfunction, intense interior monologues from the lead female character, an infuriating man, and an adorable kid for some levity. The book covers many years at a quick pace, but Manguso is precise with her language. You are still pulled in and invested in the story, without feeling rushed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for the opportunity to read and review.

This book is packed with drama between two lovers. She truly loves him, but…she sees what she wants to see.

It’s for readers that can sympathize with a woman who is going through difficult times with the man she believes is right for her. When Jane moves in with John, she is now working hard to pay the bills and help support his career. She is cleaning the house and cooking dinners. And then they get married. The reader never gets to hear what John thinks as it’s one-sided. Yet we know she has a history of being suicidal. When she decides she wants to have a child, I literally drop the book.

Jane is the one with a lot of talent as a writer although she doesn’t talk about her work in detail. It’s mostly about their marriage and she repeats herself which can be annoying. John, on the other hand, is an artist, film producer and photographer. It seems like they are not far from couples who struggle with a lot of issues. It is distressing from the start as one tries to decide: who is the liar? The wife, the husband or both? It makes you want to get to the end.

My thanks to Hogarth and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of July 23, 2024.

Wow, this story was morbidly entertaining. So relentless, so full of venom, it made me question the reliability of the narrator.
The stream of consciousness writing made me think she was skilled and highly intelligent, but a little damaged beforehand....or did she become hinged by marriage??
The husband was a compilation of everything a spouse does to make you hate them - the careless disregard for anyone or anything, except themself and what they currently want. The stupid, oblivious way he tries to manipulate her, their child, and the situation insults the intelligence.
I was compelled to read this book every chance I had. It has a kind of obsessive atmosphere that I could not get away from until I finished it.

Manual paints a viral picture of a relationship that is all too depressingly and commonly found in today's society. They marry, thinking they have forever to fully discover their potential as a couple.
Jane and John form this bond and believe it will last forever; she is a successful artist and he is a filmmaker. However, as her career begins to bound his doesn't and neither does the marriage, as he begins an affair. Throw a child in to the mixed up jumble of a life and it all goes sideways.
The story is complicated and veers into a rambling diatribe against accepted norms and both marriage and relationship cliches at times. Too many to follow.
Redemption and finding oneself amid the ruins is not always the best plot line.

Okay for me but not great.

I was so so excited to get this one, but it just started out slow and I couldn’t really get into it. It was definitely a me thing though!