Blair's Reviews > Lie With Me

This novella flips between past and present as the narrator recalls his first love, Thomas. In a small French village circa 1984, the two 17-year-old boys are acutely aware that their relationship is dangerous, but are magnetically drawn to one another. The narrator falls helplessly in love, while Thomas always seems to remain at something of a distance. Lie With Me is also seemingly autofictional – the narrator is named Philippe, has become a successful writer, and has written novels with names plucked from Besson's oeuvre.

I can see Lie With Me being marketed to fans of Call Me by Your Name – like that book, it's a coming-of-age gay romance set in Europe – with Molly Ringwald's translation adding extra celebrity cachet. It is a quick read, very short, perfect for a long journey or a lazy afternoon, designed to be read all at once. Perhaps this brevity and simplicity is part of why I'm having trouble recalling much about it, beyond the basic premise. There's a hint of Fleur Jaeggy about Besson's economical sentences, but for the most part this is a rather pedestrian story. Well-written, with a sort of mildness that makes it slip from the memory as a dream might.

I received an advance review copy of Lie With Me from the publisher through Edelweiss.

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