Book Review: The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

Posted on by LibrAriel Book Adventures

Book Review: The Little Liar

Synopsis: 
Eleven-year-old Nico Krispis has never told a lie. His schoolmate, Fannie, loves him because of it. Nico’s older brother Sebastian resents him for both these facts. When their young lives are torn apart during the war, it will take them decades to find each other again. 

Nico’s innocence and goodness is used against his tightly knit community when a German officer barters Nico’s reputation for honesty into a promise to save his loved ones. When Nico realizes the consequences of the betrayal, he can never tell the truth again. He will spend the rest of this life changing names, changing locations and identities, desperate to find a way to forgiveness—for himself and from the people he loves most.

Albom’s extraordinary storytelling is at its powerful best in his first novel to confront the destruction that lying can wreak both on the world stage as well as on the individual lives that get caught up in it. As The Stranger in the Lifeboat spoke to belief, The Little Liar speaks to hope, in a breathless page-turner that will break your heart open and fill it with the power of the human spirit and the goodness that lies within us all.

Narrated by the voice of Truth itself, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the power of love to ultimately redeem us, no matter how deeply we blame ourselves for our mistakes.

About the Author

Mitch Albom is an internationally renowned and best-selling author, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, radio and television broadcaster and musician. His books have collectively sold 42 million copies worldwide; have been published in 51 territories and in 48 languages around the world; and have been made into Emmy Award-winning and critically-acclaimed television movies. In 2006, he founded the nonprofit SAY Detroit, which provides pathways to success for Detroiters in need through major health, housing and education initiatives. He also founded a dessert shop and a gourmet popcorn line to help fund it. Albom operates Have Faith Haiti, a home and school for impoverished children and orphans in Port-au-Prince, which he visits monthly. He lives with his wife, Janine, in Michigan.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Mitch Albom does it again with this historical fiction novel, The Little Liar. Told from the perspective of truth, the novel journeys through the life of Nico Krispis, a boy bound by honesty unfortunately tells a lie that had huge consequences. Nico was considered to be a honest boy in the town, always telling the truth. This character trait of his will be used as a weapon during the Nazi invasion. Nico’s home gets taken over by Nazi soldiers and he hides during the takeover. Eventually, he was found by a Nazi soldier and his gift of telling the truth spared his life but cost the lives of others. During the final lie he told, the truth was revealed and Nico spends his life living under new identities as his brother seeks revenge. In the end, the truth is revealed and both get the redemption they were seeking.

Overall, this is such a great book that had me tears crying at what occurred. It reminds me of “The Book Thief,” which is my favorite book. Mitch does a wonderful job expressing the emotions of each character allowing me to be transported into the story. His descriptive text allows for a clearer picture of the settings and scenes. He meticulously develops each main character and supporting character, turning them into real relatable people. This book is phenomenal and I highly recommend it!