The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge

The Lie Tree

by Frances Hardinge

Winner of the Costa Book of the Year 2015.

The Lie Tree
is a wonderfully evocative and atmospheric novel by Frances Hardinge, award-winning author of Cuckoo Song and Fly By Night.

Faith's father has been found dead under mysterious circumstances, and as she is searching through his belongings for clues she discovers a strange tree. The tree only grows healthy and bears fruit if you whisper a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, will deliver a hidden truth to the person who consumes it. The bigger the lie, the more people who believe it, the bigger the truth that is uncovered.

The girl realizes that she is good at lying and that the tree might hold the key to her father's murder, so she begins to spread untruths far and wide across her small island community. But as her tales spiral out of control, she discovers that where lies seduce, truths shatter . . .

Reviewed by wyvernfriend on

3 of 5 stars

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It was good but ultimately somewhat unsatisfying.

I'm not sure if it's the hype that moves this to a 3.5 closer to 3 rather than a 4 star book. It's an interesting idea, a tree that grows from lies received from one person and the bigger the lie the better the vision of truth. But this tale of a girl at the turn of the 19th century who has to deal with the lies of her parents and the consequences of her own lies is quite an adult book a book about becoming an adult about learning about the truth of your relationship with your parents and how to deal with one of their deaths. Also in learning about being a woman in Victorian England.

It wasn't a bad read but I was left with a vague taste of disappointment and letdown by the end.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 26 July, 2016: Finished reading
  • 26 July, 2016: Reviewed