Necessary Lies

By Eva Stachniak

Book Overview

Winner of the 2000 Amazon.com/Books in Canada First Novel Prize

Necessary Lies tells the story of the discovery of secrets and lies that stitch together empires and individual lives.

What are the lies we tell ourselves and others that get us through our lives? In the summer of 1981 Anna is suddenly offered the opportunity to study English at McGill University in Montreal. She jumps at the chance, leaving behind her job, her husband, and her country - Poland. She meets William, a music professor, and falls in love. Back home, martial law is declared. After almost ten years of marriage, William dies suddenly of a heart attack, and Anna is left to pick up the pieces. In the midst of grieving, she discovers more pieces than expected: for the length of their lives together, William carried on a long-distance affair with a woman journalist in Germany.

In search of truth, Anna returns to a dramatically changed Europe, where Communism has fallen, the Berlin Wall has been torn down, and where, once again, history will have to be rewritten. Probing the depths of betrayal and forgiveness, she confronts her own past and the motives that drove her away from Poland; she sees herself through the eyes of her mother, her ex-husband, and most importantly, William's German lover, Ursula.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 088924295X
• ISBN13: 9780889242951
• Release Date: August 2000
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

very interesting novel

This is a novel one can't put away. It describes a very complicated and controversial issue of emigration, betrayal and forgiveness. There are no solution to any of these problems in this novel, and maybe that's why the entire story is real and very interesting. Many of us came to Canada leaving behind our lives, families, etc. Did we really had to come here? What is moral? What is not? The same questions are asked by the author of this novel.

History, love, and exile

This fascinating novel traces the ambiguities of truths and lies in personal histories of its characters, in the history of Central Europe, in exilic experience, and in the topographies of two cities: Wroclaw (Breslau) and Montreal. It takes its readers on a journey to Poland and Germany, and to their painful wartime past, to the time of unprecedented changes in recent European history, initiated in 1980 with the "Solidarity" movement and completed in 1989 with the fall of Communism. But it is also a book on exile, and on the trauma that even a very successful exile can bring. The particular strength of this book lies in its ability to bring to life not only the story, but also the scents, textures, colors, and other details of the world in which the characters live and try to make some sense of their lives. The search for personal truth becomes an inquiry into the ambiguities of other, more important and more complex truths.

A Necessary Read

I really enjoyed reading "Necessary Lies" by Eva Stachniak. The story is gripping and the characters are interesting. I especially enjoyed the interplay of different countries and times in the book, and the mysteries--behind the lives of the protagonists--that surface as the story develops. The book is a page-turner that I recommend to everyone!

A page turner

Once I started reading it was hard to put down. An amazing story mixing Polish History and experiences of Immigration to Canada. A fascinating set of characters make this one of the most enjoyable books I have read recently.

Drama, History, Suspense

Necessary Lies Reviewer name: Dianne Flynn E-mail: flynndd@hotmail.com Display e-mail: Yes Rating: 5 Location: Toronto, Ontario Reviewer Title: Suspense, history, drama Review: I was unable to put this book down. Not only did I learn about the history of Poland, esp. during WWII, but I was engaged in a love story, which was full of drama and suspense. A beautiful piece of literature, set in Montreal and displaying a tremendous amout of knowledge of the history of Poland, Germany & Russ