The Book of Lies



The Book of Lies is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.

The first book in the series is The Notebook. Not to be confused with the movie, this book introduces the children, Lucas T. and Claus T., and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. This becomes important later.

The second book is The Proof. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact that he drives away his loved ones and his loneliness without Claus around. This book is written in singular third person.

The third book in the series is The Third Lie. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end and can't be described. Still, it can be said that this book completes the parable of West and East Europe after WWII. It is written in first person.

The series can be obtained here.

The Book of Lies contains examples of:

 * Beige Prose: One of the rules of contributing to the titular notebook.
 * Blackmail: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed
 * Brother-Sister Incest: Between Klaus and his sister
 * Downer Ending:
 * Historical Fiction: Based off of WWII
 * Rape Is Love: Believed by Harelip.
 * Spoiler Title
 * Straight Gay: Peter from The Proof
 * Theme Twin Naming: Lucas and Claus.
 * The Sociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
 * Unreliable Narrator: Throughout the first and second book.