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Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Port Moody Public Library.
brianreynolds
Jul 29, 2012
Irrespective of what is, in my opinion, good or bad about it, <i>Why Men Lie?</i> is thought provoking. McIntyre, in all three of his books about (mainly) three families from Cape Breton’s Long Stretch area, presents his story like the reader is overhearing a conversation in a pub. The narrative is life-like. Like real conversations, they are obscured by innuendo, by omission, deception, interruption and non-verbal communication, all of which make the narrative challenging. The big revelations are to some extent undercut by keeping the readers out of the loop, keeping them cocking an ear to catch what’s going on at the table in the spotlight. The cast of characters that wander though the trilogy, though marvelously intriguing, is long: some having the same name, partnerships evolving and revolving, the past and present swirling together in the same glass of scotch. Nevertheless, the story moves. It touches nerves perhaps by design or perhaps because in real life nerves get randomly touched. I agree with those who recommend reading <i>The Long Stretch</i> first not because it illuminates <i>Why</i> so well, but because it adds yet another layer of reality to the drama. In the end, however, it is fiction, bearing the truth that fiction bears. In the end, there is syzygy. A baby is born. The characters are cobbled into pairs (though dressed in funeral garb rather than wedding apparel. Close enough.) There is the hope that “Truth” has somehow set things right at long last. The world around that table in the pub seems crumbling. The characters are surrounded by ghosts of abuse, addiction, deception, aggression and infidelity. But in the end, the Long Stretch itself, like some mythical Celtic balm, seems able to protect them and offer them hope.