Audiobook Review of ‘Liars’ by Sarah Manguso – The story of an angry marriage gone awry | imaginary

HIn the middle of Liars, the story of a new relationship that turns into marriage, a neighbor asks our heroine, Jane: “Why are you with him?” It’s a question that has been on the listener’s mind for a while.

Jane’s partner, John, lies about his feelings, his financial situation, where he is going, and where he has been. He’s messy, lazy, resentful, entitled to get drunk and spend money he doesn’t have. At the beginning of their marriage, Jane’s career as a writer and academic was on the rise, while John – an aspiring visual artist and filmmaker – had hit a professional wall. Over and over, he insists that they move cities for better job opportunities, which quickly puts a wrench in his wife’s work life. It is not surprising that after the birth of their son, Jane is left to parent while her husband is absent from his responsibilities.

Voice actress Rebecca Loman is the narrator, whose choppy delivery finds a natural home in Sarah Manguso’s quietly angry prose. “My husband asked me why I was angrier than other women,” says Jane. “It always made me smile.” “I was just as angry as any other woman I knew.”

But is John solely responsible for the couple’s problems? As Jane chronicles one insult after another, while making excuses for both, she begins to question her own complicity and self-deception in this unhappy setup. Manguso’s ultimate message is that despite good intentions, marriage makes us all liars.

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