Rebecca Lowman narrates a superb, claustrophobia-inducing plunge into a relationship descending from bad to worse
H
alfway through Liars, the story of a new relationship that becomes a marriage, our protagonist, Jane, is asked by a neighbour: “Why are you with him?” It’s a question that has been on the listener’s mind for some time.
Jane’s partner, John, lies about his feelings, his financial status, where he is going and where he has been. He is chaotic, lazy, resentful, entitled and given to getting drunk and spending money he hasn’t got. At the start of their marriage, Jane’s career as a writer and academic is on the up, while John – a visual artist and aspiring film-maker – has hit a professional wall. Time and time again, he insists they move cities for better work opportunities, which soon puts a spanner in his wife’s working life. It comes as no surprise that, after their son is born, Jane is left to do the parenting while her husband absents himself from his responsibilities.
Voice actor Rebecca Lowman is the narrator whose seething, staccato delivery finds a natural home in Sarah Manguso’s quietly livid prose. “My husband asked me why I was so much angrier than other women. It always made me smile,” Jane reflects. “I was exactly as angry as every other woman I knew.”
