Stephen Fry's The Liar had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while before I picked it up to read last week. I bought it in a secondhand bookshop a few years back along with his other novel, The Hippopotamus, and whilst I got round to reading the latter straight away, the Liar never quite made it to the top of my reading list until now.
The Liar was Fry's first novel and many describe it as being semi-autobiographical; certainly the main character, Adrian Healey bears many Fry like characteristics. The book jumps around a bit, but we see Healey as a both a public school boy and whilst studying at St Matthews College, Cambridge. Interspersed with sections describing strange acts between items of clothing in Austria (if you read it you'll understand what I mean!).
Adrian's problem is that he lies. It's seen from quite an early age, but then once he gets to university the lies get greater and it's as if the distance between them and reality gets smaller, especially in Adrian's brian. No review of this book would be complete without mention of the descriptions of various homosexual experiences that Adrian has. His first school-boy love, Hugo Cartwright, crops up again when he is at university and some of the pain of Adrian's unrequited love is made painfully clear.
The significance of the items of clothing in Austria becomes very apparent once Adrian is pulled into a world of international espionage by his university tutor, Professor Donald Trefusis. Think Cambridge spies and experience at Bletchley Park and you're spot on.
Overall I have to say that I really enjoyed the Liar. It took a bit of getting in to at the start though, but I'm glad I didn't give up on it then. Also on my bookcase is a second-hand copy of Fry's autobiography, Moab is My Washpot
which I really ought to get round to reading. Then at least I may be able to better understand just how much of the Liar is fiction, and how much fact.
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