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Lie With Me by Philippe Besson
May. 21st, 2025 06:37 pmI feel like I have read this same story so many times with very little in the way of variation. Of course, the same story can be told and retold because human experience can be limited but I was looking for something more, something that would set this apart from the other star-crossed, gay love stories but there wasn't anything like that. Besson writes beautifully but there was a tad too much melancholia and sentimentality that didn't quite work out for me. I think it's because the characters feel flat, which is odd because this is supposed to be (or assumed to be) an auto-fiction so why do the characters act like they have only one thing on their minds?
The fact that this novel seems like Besson's heartfelt attempt to record real events from his life makes it difficult to criticize the novel lest I touch on something that's real and sacrosanct to his experience. But god is it painfully cliched. Although, I could see the general direction of where the story was going, that did not diminish the tragedy of it. It is a painful experience and I understand the desire to seek closure perhaps in the form of a made-up story, an explanation for questions that will remain unanswered. I guess my main gripe with it is I find it hard to imagine having one's life revolve around someone else for years, especially someone you have not had contact with in years. Maybe I lack sentimentality. I think I could suspend my disbelief and take this assertion at face value if this novel wasn't framed as an auto-fiction. The autobiographical aspect of it makes me conclude that perhaps Besson is self-centered, assuming that his effect on someone's life could be so grand (I'm sorry!). If it were purely fictional, if it really tried to lean into the tragedy of the story and the intense devotion that two people could have, then maybe I would have like it more.
I'm acting like I didn't enjoy it at all. Honestly, there is something about the way this is written that really draws you in and immerses you in the muted anguish of love that isn't meant to be. I would not say this is a bad book at all. It's worst crime is perhaps merely a lack of originality.
The fact that this novel seems like Besson's heartfelt attempt to record real events from his life makes it difficult to criticize the novel lest I touch on something that's real and sacrosanct to his experience. But god is it painfully cliched. Although, I could see the general direction of where the story was going, that did not diminish the tragedy of it. It is a painful experience and I understand the desire to seek closure perhaps in the form of a made-up story, an explanation for questions that will remain unanswered. I guess my main gripe with it is I find it hard to imagine having one's life revolve around someone else for years, especially someone you have not had contact with in years. Maybe I lack sentimentality. I think I could suspend my disbelief and take this assertion at face value if this novel wasn't framed as an auto-fiction. The autobiographical aspect of it makes me conclude that perhaps Besson is self-centered, assuming that his effect on someone's life could be so grand (I'm sorry!). If it were purely fictional, if it really tried to lean into the tragedy of the story and the intense devotion that two people could have, then maybe I would have like it more.
I'm acting like I didn't enjoy it at all. Honestly, there is something about the way this is written that really draws you in and immerses you in the muted anguish of love that isn't meant to be. I would not say this is a bad book at all. It's worst crime is perhaps merely a lack of originality.