I’m not sure why it took me so long to finally read the source material that the Frameline Festival film, Lie With Me was based on. In fact, it had been on my ‘to be read’ list for quite some time prior to me even learning about the film!
Anyway, I also didn’t have a clue that the book was possibly a bit of a memoir. I guess it’s never been confirmed, but it seems like it would be the case given that the narrator of the book has the same name as the author…just saying. Unlike the film though, the novel was set up in a slightly different manner. Where I feel like the film spent possibly more time with the present-day narrator, about two thirds of the book was spent on his past with Thomas. Obviously this is the more interesting part, though I didn’t feel that the film was hindered using those bits as frequent flashbacks.
The film had managed to follow many of same stories the narrator spoke of in the book, like slipping a note with a time and place, how their first time played out, meeting again and again at his house, and riding out on Thomas’ motorcycle. Similarly, Thomas, while sometimes outwardly emotional, always came across as a wire strung so tight that the slightest misstep would snap it. He wasn’t violent, but reacted harshly as a reaction to his fears. Which yeah, in the 80s, and probably especially in a small town in France, you still kind of had to be fearful of being gay.
I struggle with the present day stuff. While the overall layout of the narrator meeting Thomas’ son was somewhat similar, there were distinct difference and I just can’t decide which I preferred more! In the book, the narrator meets Thomas’ son twice. Once in 2007 and then again in 2016. The first meeting was brief and mainly just the narrator being both struck by how much Thomas’ son looked like him, but also learning what happened to Thomas after he left. Then when the meet again is a lot more similar to what the film presented. They kind of took away that middle bit which I felt made the story a little more realistic. Though I can appreciate that the outcome was the same.
It was a sweetly crafted novel. Much more brief than I would have expected, but still a totally complete story. It’s romance and nostalgia at its finest, and you’d be lucky to check out either iteration of this story.