Published 2003 / Length 260 pages
Liars and Saints is a deceptively simple book – but to read it on a simplistic level alone is to do it an injustice. Chronicling the lives of an American family from the 1940s to the dawn of the new millennium, Meloy’s debut novel examines betrayal, anguish and deceit, and sympathetically uncovers the Santerres’ efforts to come to terms with all of these. Capturing the tone of each successive generation with accomplished skill, the novel’s vast time spectrum features wars abroad and assassinations at home, yet none of these major world events has much lasting effect on the family. Instead, it is the private, domestic sphere of the heart with which Meloy is concerned, and where she brings her most poignant narratives into focus. Underpinning and determining the lives of the family is a committed adherence to Catholicism: transgression and redemption abound, as family secrets are concealed and revealed at breakneck pace. Liars and Saints explores the dichotomy between the superficial manner in which people are perceived and the hidden reality of their lives, and what happens when the two collide.
‘Although [Meloy] was born and lives in America, her book reads Canadian, with its careful balancing of themes, its compassionate lies, its characters’ over-conscientious love and worry and guilt. What you don’t get is high drama, or even much in the way of simmering tension.’ – The Guardian
• It is easy to identify the liars of the title, but are there any saints? What criteria might be used to identify the latter?
• To what extent do you think the main characters’ religious background informs their actions? Does it lead any of them to happiness?
• Do you think Jamie’s unusual position in the family affected the person he became?
• How far do deceit, guilt and jealousy play a part in events?
• What do you think of the denouement in the final chapters? Is it believable?
• Liars and Saints was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction.
• The novel was a Richard & Judy Summer Read choice in 2004.
• Brideshead Revisited by EVELYN WAUGH (see here) – examines the effect of a Catholic background on a family and their relationships.
• Brother and Sister by JOANNA TROLLOPE – explores the importance of finding one’s identity through the experiences of two adults adopted in childhood.
• The Photograph by PENELOPE LIVELY – describes a man’s obsessive interest in an old photograph of his late wife and his efforts to find the ‘truth’ behind it.
• A Family Daughter by MAILE MELOY – another Santerre story focusing on Abby and a different version of events.