There is lying to yourself and there is lying to others.... Which is the most damaging?

Liars is a gripping, thought provoking book that evoked emotion. I wanted to pull Jane aside and have a private chat with her about putting herself first, making boundaries, and moving on. Liars is an intimate look at a woman who is an artist, a wife, a mother and her marriage to John.

When Jane met John, they were both artists. Jane was an aspiring writer and John was a filmmaker. Their relationship leads to marriage. Jane thought being married would be bliss as they both wanted to be successful in their careers. Jane thought she would be happy. But she soon found she not only put her happiness aside but her aspirations as well to follow John all over the country as he chased jobs and criticized her for her success.

This is not a happy book but a look at the downfall of a marriage. It is about what we allow, what we overlook, and how we lie to not only others but ourselves. This brought up a lot of emotions for me. I felt sad, angry, worried, and sad again.

John was a horrible husband and person. Man, did he push all the buttons and then some. This book is intense as readers watch a woman struggle with her marriage, betrayal, and the toll everything takes on her physical and mental health.

This book is equally gripping and heartbreaking. The author puts emphasis on the story and less on the names of the characters. There is Jane, John and their child (The Child) who is never referred to by name. Readers will observe Jane feel so many things ranging from love and happiness to rage, depression and hopelessness. I thought the author did a tremendous job of depicting all these feelings and emotions and the situations in which they occurred.

Whew! This is a heavy book but so worth the read. I didn't want to put it down and found it to be a fast and addictive read. I have a feeling that I will be thinking about this book for quite some time.

This is a story about Jane and John but let me tell you it's no ordinary story. Before you decide to pickup this book make sure you have the time to finish it one sitting. There is literally no option. You will be sucked from page one. I had no idea what to expect when I picked it up. This writer literally leave the pages on fire with quick fast dialogue and scenes that burn off the pages. The basic story is a woman who meet a man named John. He's not perfect but she stills says with him even tough her better insticnts tell her to get out. They decide to have a kid and move back and oforth from the east and west coast because he's a kind of guys that always has a new job that he thinks will make them rich. The crash and burn and she still stays with him. As you're reading it you wonder why she still stays with him. This is a book that you can easily relate because there is not a person on this planet who has not gone through issues about the people we date. As I was reading it I was like I know people just like this. The ending is one where you will love or hate but after finishing this book you'll want to tell your friends to read it and then have a converstaion about it. Thank You to Random House and Netaglley for the ARC HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

Manguso portrays a relationship falling apart so carefully in Liars. When relationships end, it always feels like it could catch one by surprise, but the story here is like detective work: finding little pieces of evidence that accumulate shame, whether the shame of choice or grieving past selves and future selves. This book was a pleasant surprise in the study of trying to claw back to finding oneself before forgetting who we ever are when in the gaze of others.

Sarah Manguso absolutely nailed the experience of being a smart, independent, artist who gradually loses herself in the roles of wife of role and mother that she thought she would probably never have. That social conditioning pulls us so dang hard, and it is the accumulation of so many tiny decisions that justify the huge decisions, and the small forgivenesses and moments of accepting blame that isn’t really yours that allow us to find ourselves in miserable marriages with stalled careers.

I highlighted so many passages on this book, because so much resonated strongly with me - my own experience and what I’ve observed in the lives of people I know. Manguso deftly juxtaposed misery and bliss over and over again, and damn if that didn’t ring true.

I heartily recommend this book for litfic lovers and anyone who has experienced the quotidian challenges of marriage. Getting married soon, though? Don’t take this on the honeymoon.

Thank you to Hogarth and NetGalley for the advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jane is a writer who marries, quite frankly, an awful and mediocore man. She sometimes writes her life story in a few sentences, and you can see the breakdown of the marriage in the way she writes about her life. The rage Jane feels is relatable. I think I have a pretty good marriage, and I found plenty of passages to highlight because I knew exactly how Jane felt.

This was the one that made me say, "there it is": I multitasked and made my own needs as small as possible because, I thought, I was just more capable than he was. I assumed that made me valuable.

"A nuclear family can destroy a woman artist. I’d always known that. But I’d never suspected how easily I’d fall into one anyway.

When Jane, an aspiring writer, meets filmmaker John Bridges, they both want the same things: to be in love, to live a successful creative life, and to be happy. When they marry, Jane believes she has found everything she was looking for, including—a few years later—all the attendant joy and labor of motherhood. But it’s not long until Jane finds herself subsumed by John’s ambitions, whims, and ego; in short, she becomes a wife.

As Jane’s career flourishes, their marriage starts to falter. Throughout the upheavals of family life, Jane tries to hold it all together. That is, until John leaves her."

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Hogarth for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

When Jane met her future husband, John Bridges, she was ecstatic. Since she was a writer, she was attracted to him being an artist and photographer. What she didn’t realize was that the demands of being a wife and mother take its toll, and the responsibilities and career aspirations are not shared equally. Also, neither of them was emotionally equipped to effectively live with these demands.

"Liars" takes us into the complexities of Jane's fourteen-year marriage, marked by the strain of unequal burdens and thwarted ambitions. This narrative, presented through Jane's perspective, reveals the cracks in their union and her contempt for John’s behavior.

As the story progresses, Jane realizes that John's actions may be more than just the missteps of an artist and businessman struggling to find his place. She perceives a deliberate attempt to undermine her, to keep her dependent on him. She even doubts her own worth. At one point he maintained that he is a great artist, and she a “deranged lunatic”. This leads her to question her own sanity. However, she soon realizes that it was simply an attempt to control her.

She refers to John as feeling “entitled”, but initially I felt that she was also guilty of that. Though I was glued to every page, I thought that she was overly dramatic, and held unrealistic views of marriage and motherhood. However, as the story progressed, I realized that was not the case. I developed compassion for her and found her relatable. I don’t know if the author was intentional in creating that shift, but she succeeded masterfully.

"Liars" is a gripping read that will resonate with those who appreciate realism over romanticized fiction.

For fans of Jenny Offill’s Department of Speculation comes a novel that shines a harsh light on the reality of being a wife and a mother under a patriarchal society. Jane, a writer, marries John, a visual artist. Slowly, Jane’s art and career become subsumed under John’s, and once they have a child things unravel further. They move back and forth between coasts every year as John changes jobs, and Jane never has the time or mental space to grow her career or work on her art as she shoulders all of the emotional labor of the family. John undermines her and gaslights her repeatedly as she struggles to find any footing.

This was an interesting, thought-provoking, rage-inducing read. Written in short paragraph after short paragraph, this reads much more like a memoir than a novel. Manguso gets at the truth of heteronormative marriages, and accurately describes all the feelings many of us experience: the rage that grows with each piece of emotional labor, but also the joy during those blissful moments when the family unit is in harmony and enjoying each other’s company. She also perfectly describes the mother-child relationship, in which intense love and happiness coexist with extreme tedium.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes Jenny Offill or Leslie Jamison’s writing, or anyone who is interested in feminism and marriage. Due to its unusual style and repetitive nature, I would not necessarily recommend it to those who prefer a plot-driven novel.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with this arc. This novel is my first by Sarah Manguso and it won't be my last. I really enjoy a book about toxic relationships, I don't know why, and this one didn't let me down. The marriage described was so realistic and toxic, I feel so many emotions for this character. The author did an amazing job at connecting readers with what the characters were going through and making them feel very authentic. I honestly felt like this was a friend telling me about her life. The writing style was immersive and had me flipping pages rapidly because I had to know what would happen. Overall, a story I will certainly recommend to my women friends!!

Liars TL;DR:
👨‍👩‍👦 Relatable Depiction of Marriage and Motherhood
🧠 Deep Psychological Insight
🤔 Powerful and Evocative Writing

Liars is a deeply unsettling exploration of a disintegrating marriage, told through the raw and honest voice of its narrator, Jane. The novel delves into themes of manipulation, denial, and the complex dynamics of a failing relationship, painting a stark picture of the emotional turmoil that accompanies such an experience.

Jane, a writer, finds herself trapped in a suffocating marriage to John, a selfish and neglectful husband who fails to appreciate her successes and talents. As the layers of their relationship are peeled back, the reader is exposed to the revolting nature of John's character and the devastating impact it has on Jane's mental and emotional well-being. This portrayal is both infuriating and addictive, capturing the madness that often accompanies the decision to stay in a toxic relationship.

Manguso's writing is characterized by its biting commentary and evocative prose. The novel's fragmented structure, with Jane occasionally summarizing her marriage in terse sentences, mirrors the chaos and confusion she feels. This stylistic choice effectively conveys the disjointed reality of living in a harmful relationship where truth is often obscured.

Manguso's ability to capture the irrationality of staying in a bad marriage and the complex interplay of dependency, fear, and societal expectations is both poignant and disturbing. The unnamed child in the story adds another layer of complexity, highlighting Jane's struggle to separate her identity from her role as a mother.

Liars will resonate deeply with readers who have experienced similar situations, offering a mirror to their own struggles and validating their feelings of frustration and helplessness. It's relentlessly negative, but such is the grim reality of marriage and motherhood at times.

While Liars may not be a pleasant read, it is undeniably a compelling one. Manguso's sharp, unflinching prose and the novel's raw emotional depth make it a book that will linger in the reader's mind long after the final page.

For those willing to confront the darker aspects of marriage, motherhood, and human relationships, Liars is a must-read. It challenges readers to think deeply about the nature of commitment, self-deception, and the price of staying in a relationship that no longer serves them.

“Calling a woman crazy is a man’s last resort when he’s failed to control her.”

When Jane meets John, she thinks she has met her future…and in a way she has. After they marry, she feels like she finally has it all. When motherhood makes her realize that as John takes up more room int heir lives, she and her ambitions are taking up less and less. If Jane could just hold it all together, things would be perfect.

Oh man. Man oh man oh man, did I hate this man. John was the absolute worst, and I hated him from the minute Jane met him. This book made me so glad to be single, though I know a lot of people that are in much happier marriages than the one portrayed in this book. I really liked the way this book was written in small chunks/stories. It was unique and kept me turning the pages until the very end. This book made me so mad for Jane, but I enjoyed every second of it.

Thank you to @hogarthbooks for my gifted copy of this book!

Marriage makes liars of us all us the premise of this relatable story of Jane and John. Told from Jane's perspective, it might be a completely different story otherwise. Not just showcasing the tangible lies but the life we live as a lie. This compared to the purity of the mother's relationship with her child, that toxicity of a suffering marriage. Artist and failed entrepreneur is the husband while the wife is mom and wife first and then writer. Raw in places, the lengthy epilogue was my favorite part. A somewhat realistic and depressing look at marriage but so well written.

Copy provided by the publisher and Netgalley

scathing and poignant, an examination of marriage as an institution that fails women and perpetuates the patriarchy. i saw too many women i know in these pages, and too many men. it’s so real and genuine there’s no doubt in my mind this isn’t mostly autobiographical. fabulous structure and prose that creates an intense and compelling read.

I think anyone who has experienced an unhappy marriage, or an emotionally abusive partner will enjoy this one. It reads like a diary with the main character's inner thoughts and experiences. The story felt very real and I would not have been surprised if it was a memoir.

we've all probably known that one friend who's relationship seems so obviously toxic that you're wondering why they're still with that person. liars feels like an attempt to key us into the mind of that friend and all the little things that make staying and complaining (often alone) easier than making the leap to leave. i personally wasn't a fan of the choppy writing style, used here to convey the monotony of everything that was happening to jane, our protagonist. however, i respect what manguso is trying to do here and there are really beautiful lines around motherhood and the children (child in this case) that are caught in between.

Liars by Sarah Manguso is a very highly recommended scathing portrait of a marriage. Due to the brutally honesty revelations of the relationship Liars is not an easy novel to read and for some readers it will bring up painful memories or experiences.

Jane, a writer, meets John Bridge, a filmmaker, and the two fall in love, marry, and plan to continue to both have fulfilling, creative lives. When their child is born, Jane is thrilled, but is also thrust into the role of main caretaker, and cleaner, while John is often absent, doing what he wants. She is now a wife and mother whose life is overtaken by John’s ambitions, whims, and ego. Jane says, "I was in charge of everything and in control of nothing." John frequently moves them all across the country as he pursues new jobs, another form of control, while never admitting to any mistakes.

Jane tries to keep her writing and marriage going throughout all the upheavals. Her health suffers, both physical and mental. She says something that many women face, "My time, which is to say the time that was mine, for me alone, had disappeared. And at once I understood why I hadn't felt like myself in years. My own time - my own life - had disappeared, been overtaken." The novel follows their 14 year relationship. Readers know John will be divorcing her. It is clear from the start. Jane is the narrator of the story and includes within her account, her personal writing about the issues in her marriage and how marriage can make liars of us.

Honestly, this is an impeccably written but an emotionally draining novel to read, especially if you have experienced some of the same things Jane did. I appreciate Manguso naming her main characters John and Jane, common names, and having the child simply be the child. Many readers will be projecting themselves and their personal experiences into the lives of the characters. I saved many quotes from Liars, including this true fact: "He said that the clearest indication of cheating was contempt on the part of the cheating spouse."

Liars is presented as fiction, but while reading it does not feel like fiction. It feels like a realistic, raw memoir about a failing marriage. Thanks to Random House/Hogarth for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, BookBrowse, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Sarah Manguso is a very particular kind of writer. It is literary and gritty and melancholic - I really enjoyed the core of the story, and the heaviness of motherhood, the unsupportiveness and self-centredness of certain fathers, and how destabilizing it is to grapple between your roles of careerwoman, wife, mother. I do wonder if the story could have been a little bit less drawn out and predictable - from the beginning, your realize exactly what you're getting with the husband, and you spent the duration of the book being frustrated by the protagonist's commitment to making bad choices, and to giving in to being flattered in small moments and signing up for multiple more years of misery. There was a lack of maturiy in the protagonist that made it hard to root or care for her. I think this book may have been groundbreaking a fear years back, but now that this topic has been explored in so many different ways (through more poetic writing, or through elements of magical realism, or with more moments of redemption or relatability), this one was not my absolute favorite of this genre - but I was very happy to have read it nonetheless. I think. a different cover could have helped as well! The eerie thriller-adjacent vibes of this cover make it seem like it will be more exciting or fiery than it was, when something more melancholic would have suited the contents better.

This book was a tough read, but the ending made me exclaim "Good for her!" This was something that I resonate with in a particular way, being a woman in my late 20s trying to navigate if marriage and children (in the bubble of a patriarchal society) are the path that I want to go down.. Sometimes it seems like I am overthinking these decisions while others take them as a given and don't give it much thought. I took this book as a look inside the mind of a women that often gets the jeers of "Why does she still stay with him?" or "Why won't you leave him?" because those stories especially need to be told. We are often given the story of women who are much stronger, independent and self confident than the average woman is socialized to be. Those women are able to leave with no fuss and we look to them as our heroine, but we also need the representation of a woman who is faced with every reason and rationale to leave but continues to stay because that is what a good woman is supposed to do. Even though we are granted the right to leave, we can still be punished in other ways, mainly financially, which will force us to stay and live in our cardboard houses. Either way, I enjoyed. I didn't even get to discuss whose names were used in this story and whose were not. I thought of it as stripping away the character and putting you into the story. The ultimate self-insert. You were Jane, these are your thoughts and this is your story.

I read the advanced ebook of Liars in two sittings and immediately pre-ordered a physical copy along with Sarah Manguso's previous works. The prose alone is worth the read. This story was equally infuriating and empowering and will stay with me for a very long time. Liars is a raw and honest look at societies expectations of women as individuals, wives, and mothers, and what we take on because we have no other choice. I will be reading this again and recommending it to everyone I know.

When Jane and John meet they had mutual interests and goals and it was destined that they should be together. Jane was a writer and John was an artist, writer and filmmaker. They marry and the red flags began to appear when Jane won a coveted award for her writing and John was jealous. She made every effort to support him though he had one failure after another throughout their 14 year marriage. Over the years, she realized she was losing pieces of herself and carrying anger as she attempted to accommodate and appease John. The end of this dysfunctional marriage made her face his lies and the lies she had been telling herself to survive.
Many parts of this novel brought back memories of my first marriage. I could certainly relate to events and decisions made. Fortunately, rather than anger, I felt relief and didn’t look back.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Company

Sarah Manguso’s Liars has a stream of consciousness vibe which felt like reading a journal or blog posts. Her writing is excellent and I identified with more of the narrator’s reflections than I anticipated, but this may be a difficult read for anyone with marriage tension or problems.

John and Jane’s problems are vividly and painfully presented by Jane, sometimes glossed over, sometimes dwelled upon. And while Jane is not perfect, John is one of the most realistically deplorable characters I think I’ve ever read. If I had a chronically ill and financially restricted and controlled friend married to someone like him, I don’t know how I’d be able to stay quiet. Even in the spots where Jane was fond of him, I just didn’t find anything appealing about him. No conflicting feelings for sure.

The reflections about marriage and parenthood are sociologically insightful and piercing at times. It’s a deep examination that’s fascinating to read, but it can be a struggle if you have a hard time emotionally detaching from characters you dislike.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing this archive in exchange for my honest review.