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Loading... The Lying Tongueby Andrew Wilson
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. klpm | Apr 29, 2009 |   Adam goes to Venice for a tutoring job and an opportunity to work on his novel but on arriving he is told the offer of employment no longer stands. Instead he is put in touch with Gordon Crace, a reclusive author of one very successful book who has never published again following his first success with The Debating Society. Adam becomes intregued by Crace, especially when part of his duties as personal assistant lead him to discover letters from a would-be biographer hinting at a scandal and some attempts at blackmail from a near illiterate woman in England. Adam decides to abandon his novel and focus on writing his own biography of Crace and returns to England to investigate. It is here that we discover his own secrets before a return to Venice and a final confrontation. This book was fairly gripping and I was keen to discover the facts behind the mystery, although when I did I was a little disappointed. Adam's own life was far more turbulent and shocking that that of his subject and a bit more of his story would have pleased me more. But the book was easy to read and well paced and would suit someone wanting a bit of light reading with a touch of mystery, perhaps even holiday reading for someone visiting Venice who likes to theme read. I won't be on the look-out for more by this author but if I stumble across something I will probably give it a go. (  )Jodyreadseverything | Oct 4, 2008 | The Lying Tongue is a masterful psychological thriller, expertly written to the unpredictable end. Adam Woods, a young college dropout, lands a job with Gordon Crace, a former teacher, author, and recluse. The book chronicals Adam's less than stellar life at the same time we learn bits of pieces of Crace's life. The use of the reclusive lifestyle along with Crace's unorthodox demands on Woods makes for tense and quite spellbinding writing. Although this is not a "feel-good" book, it is wonderful suspenseful writing. (  )ddirmeyer | Jul 13, 2008 | A little like the "Talented Mr. Ripley" in that its set in Italy and one character is trying to usurp the life of another character. It's and easy read and memorable, and that's a good combination in books. Andrewfm | Jan 29, 2008 | A young English writer-to-be takes a job in Venice and realizes he's working for a famous old reclusive author, who does not want his own writings even mentioned, and goes to some lengths to prevent any biography from being written about himself. Determined that there's fame and a book in it for him somehow, the young man keeps secret notes on the old writer's doings, past and present, while caring for the man's household needs. Tense and and intriguing. Highly Recommended. (  )posthumose | Dec 5, 2007 | 0.061 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0743293975, Hardcover)Andrew Wilson has follwed Beautiful Shadow, his stunning biography about Patricia Highsmith, with his debut novel, The Lying Tongue, a book that follows in Highsmith's own tradition of plot twists and psychological conundrums.Adam Woods arrives in Venice from England to take a job and work on his novel. The job quickly evaporates, so he finds another, as amanuensis to a reclusive old author, Gordon Crace. Things start out in a straightforward manner. The author is eccentric, to say the least, but after tidying up the place and perusing the fine art collection, Adam settles in. Crace has written one book, refuses to talk about it and tells Adam that he doesn't want his authorial life even mentioned. It is over. The only thing we know about Adam is that he just graduated from college and his love affair ended badly. We subsequently find out that when his girlfriend broke up with him he raped her to show her how much she really wanted to be with him. Enter Adam, the sinister creep. That is just the beginning of what we find out about him, about Gordon and what they are both capable of in this revelatory tale of two truly despicable people. After finding two interesting--and damning--letters among Gordon's castabout papers, Adam decides to abandon his novel and write Crace's biography. Wilson keeps us guessing as Adam leaves Gordon for a week, pleading a need to attend his grandmother's funeral. He goes back to England to head off another biographer, to snoop around to see what she has gleaned, and to do a bit of research on his own. Things do not go exactly as planned, but Adam is more than equal to whatever heinous act it takes to advance his own cause. When he returns to Venice and Gordon, the creep factor increases dramatically and ends in a crafty and perfect conclusion, one that the reader is not prepared for... which makes it that much better. --Valerie Ryan (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:57 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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Adam is a recent college graduate who is an aspiring writer. Through a series of random events, he ends up employed by a one-time writer who is now holed up in a villa in Venice. Adam is supposed to take care of cleaning, cooking and home maintenance but ends up working on the author's correspondence and finds what appears to be a blackmail letter. He decides to find out the history behind the letter and ends up in a complex situation caused by lies and deception.
The writing was good in this book and the ending was creepy and strange.
http://webereading.com/2009/04/wherev... (