~ Book Review: The Lies That Bind ~

Author: Emily Giffin

It’s 2 A.M. on a Saturday night in the spring of 2001, and twenty-eight-year-old Cecily Gardner sits alone in a dive bar in New York’s East Village, questioning her life. Feeling lonesome and homesick for the Midwest, she wonders if she’ll ever make it as a reporter in the big city–and whether she made a terrible mistake in breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Matthew.

As Cecily reaches for the phone to call him, she hears a guy on the barstool next to her say, “Don’t do it–you’ll regret it.” Something tells her to listen, and over the next several hours–and shots of tequila–the two forge an unlikely connection. That should be it, they both decide the next morning, as Cecily reminds herself of the perils of a rebound relationship. Moreover, their timing couldn’t be worse–Grant is preparing to quit his job and move overseas. Yet despite all their obstacles, they can’t seem to say goodbye, and for the first time in her carefully constructed life, Cecily follows her heart instead of her head.

Then Grant disappears in the chaos of 9/11. Fearing the worst, Cecily spots his face on a missing-person poster, and realizes she is not the only one searching for him. Her investigative reporting instincts kick into action as she vows to discover the truth. But the questions pile up fast: How well did she really know Grant? Did he ever really love her? And is it possible to love a man who wasn’t who he seemed to be?

The Lies That Bind is a mesmerizing and emotionally resonant exploration of the never-ending search for love and truth–in our relationships, our careers, and deep within our own hearts.

I’ve heard of Emily Giffin with her novel/series Something Borrowed, although I have not read it yet. In her novel, The Lies That Bind, the events of 9/11 are included, so I believe the audience should be aware before reading. The story opens in May 2001 with 28-year-old journalist Cecily Gardner sitting in a bar in New York dealing with the break-up of her boyfriend, Matthew. She ends up meeting a new guy, Grant. It continues in the whirlwind of Cecily getting to know Grant until he disappears in the events of 9/11. The story then gets more complex when Grant may not be who he initially appeared to be, which creates an interesting web of stories.

The writing is slower at the beginning to set the mood of Cecily as a character. She has just decided to move forward with a break-up and now is dealing with the sadness. Her connection with Grant is instant and then lots of emotions are explored. It is difficult to discuss a lot of my thoughts on this story without going into spoilers. I do feel that if 9/11 was used that it should have a little more care given to it. It just felt like it was used for the sake of being used which can be very polarizing for readers. I feel the author could have used a fictional event to treat it however she wanted instead of taking a sensitive tragedy, but I digress. As for the rest of the story, there are lot of storylines that are weaved together and not a lot of time to fully develop them. I think this novel had potential, but the writing just never quite got there for me.