Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Telling Of Lies by Timothy Findley Timothy Findley. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Timothy Findley , in full Timothy Irving Frederick Findley , (born October 30, 1930, Toronto, Ontario, Canada—died June 20, 2002, France), Canadian author known for his intelligent writing and storytelling. His subject matter is often the lives of troubled individuals. Poor health caused Findley to abandon formal education after the ninth grade. At age 17 he began a 15-year acting career that led to roles in several television dramas and Shakespeare productions; a protégé of British actor Alec Guinness, he appeared on the English and American stage. He also began writing short stories during the 1950s. His first two novels are set in southern California, where he lived for a time. The Last of the Crazy People (1967) is about a despairing, obsessive boy whose attempts to cope with his dysfunctional family lead to murder and madness, while The Butterfly Plague (1969) presents a late-1930s Hollywood family whose members embody the world’s ills. In the early 1970s Findley wrote radio and television scripts and a play, Can You See Me Yet? (produced 1976), then followed with his two most acclaimed novels. The Wars (1977) features the dilemmas of soldier Robert Ross as he attempts to cope with an officer and 130 doomed horses in the midst of World War I. Famous Last Words (1981) is narrated by Ezra Pound’s character Hugh Selwyn Mauberley and features noted real (as well as fictional) characters trying to manipulate the catastrophes of World War II for their personal ends. Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984) is the story of Noah’s ark, told from the viewpoints of its animal passengers. The Telling of Lies (1986) is a mystery story. Dinner Along the Amazon (1984), Stones (1988), and Any Time at All and Other Stories (1993) are collections of Findley’s short stories. He also wrote Inside Memory: Pages from a Writer’s Notebook (1990) and the novels Headhunter (1993) and The Piano Man’s Daughter (1995). His autobiography, From Stone Orchard , was published in 1998. The Telling Of Lies. Timothy Findley (1930-2002) was one of Canada's most compelling and best-loved writers. He is the author of The Wars , which won the Governor General's Award and established him as one of Canada's leading writers, as well as Pilgrim and The Piano Man's Daughter , both finalists for The Giller Prize. His other novels, Headhunter , The Telling of Lies , The Last of the Crazy People , The Butterfly Plague , Famous Last Words , Not Wanted on the Voyage , and Spadework ; his novella, You Went Away ; and his short fiction, Dinner Along the Amazon , Stones , and Dust to Dust , have won numerous awards and are well loved both in Canada and internationally. Elizabeth Rex won the Governor General's Award for Drama and The Stillborn Lover won a Chalmers Award. His works of non-fiction include Inside Memory and From Stone Orchard . Timothy Findley was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres . if (SYM == "BIO") "About this title" may belong to another edition of this title. If interested in a book, feel free to call, email or fax the above address. Please make checks (payable to Donald C Longmuir) or money orders. I will send out the book(s) as soon as I receive payment. After that, the buyer will have 30 days in which to return the book if not satisfied. I ship once a week from the US. So shipping is faster and cheaper. Scene of the Crime Books (Don & Jen Longmuir) 20 Hawthorne Avenue St. Catharines Ontario L2M 6A9 (905) 646 0214 Email [email protected]. I make it a rule not to contact you with extra shipping. When I buy books I buy with the thought of "How much is this book going to cost to ship." If it's too much I won't buy it. The shipping charges that ABE quotes is the final shipping charges. I will not contact you for more money. I will bite the bullet myself rather then harass you for more money. Thank you. Don. THE TELLING OF LIES. A substandard murder-tale (cozy English variety) with literary pretensions, set among the patrician residents of a resort hotel on the coast of Maine. For 60-ish Vanessa Van Home and most other residents, summering at the Aurora Sands Hotel is a longstanding tradition, a privilege of birth. When Calder Maddox, pharmaceutical magnate, is murdered on the beach and a cover-up ensues--including the abduction of his mistress, Vanessa's childhood friend--Vanessa investigates and unravels the crime in her dignified upper-class way. Relating events in her journal, she also recalls her internment on Java by the Japanese during WW II, where her father was killed. Vanessa is an interesting narrator, an intelligent isolato with a wry humor, but Findley (Not Wanted on the Voyage, 1985; Famous Last Words, 1982; The Wars, 1978) strains at her voice, going over the top again and again. He does a better job in drawing the genteel milieu--these could be the grandchildren of Wharton's characters. The flashbacks set in Java have power, but they feel grafted on, out of place in a light mystery--and a disappointing mystery, at that. The method of murder is immediately obvious, and a revelation tying in CIA brainwashing plots and walk-ons by the President and Cabinet members is not so much unlikely as it is rote and flimsy, off-the-rack. There's a moving novel implied in the wartime flashbacks, and with tighter plotting this might have been a pleasant entertainment, but, as written, it falls short on both counts. The Telling Of Lies by Timothy Findley. The Telling of Lies – Timothy Findley, copyright 1986. Publisher: Penguin Canada. Source: Personal Collection – Purchased New. I have to be upfront with you. I am a huge fan of Timothy Findley; he is, by far, my all-time favourite author. Consider yourself warned. If this book review seems in any way biased…it is shamelessly so! Vanessa Van Horne, modern day middle-aged photographer and former prisoner of war, has returned to Maine to spend one final summer at her much loved, life-long summer retreat, the Aurora Sands Hotel (ASH) The hotel is scheduled to be torn down at the end of the season and everyone wants to make their final summer here one for the books. When an enormous iceberg appears one morning off shore from the ASH (yes, you read correctly, summer time, Maine, iceberg) all chances of this summer’s memories fading anytime soon are whisked away. Unfortunately, the arrival of the iceberg isn’t the most chilling event in store for the season. A damper is put on the iceberg excitement when Calder Maddox, another life-long guest and prominent business man is found dead on the beach from an apparent stroke. Right from the get go something seems amiss. The police arrive late and behave irrationally in the face of what appears, to everyone else, to be the very natural death of a very old man. Vanessa and her cousin-in-law Lawrence begin poking around and asking questions about some obvious irregularities in the way the death is handled. It isn’t long before it becomes apparent that there is a murderer in their midst and they take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of things. It is only when CIA agents start springing up that it occurs to the pair they may have bitten off more than they can chew. One of the most compelling aspects of the story for me was the various asides telling the tale of Vanessa’s time in the internment camp at Bandung on the island of Java during WWII. The entire story is written as entries in her journal and here she speaks so openly (to us, the reader, not to her friends) about her experiences inside, some of which were heartbreaking. What really got me about this was the contrast Findley plays on between the atrocious nature of camp life and the infrequent touching moments in which some kindness takes place or some truth is mutually understood between prisoner and captor. “No one is totally monstrous: not even monsters.” This is what Vanessa was told in prison and it is clear that it has become a proverb by which she lives her life. In the end, it becomes very much a theme of the story itself. “I will dedicate this book to Colonel Norimitsu – who, with one hand, killed my father and with the other made of my father’s grave a garden. Death before life. So very Japanese.” – The Telling of Lies , page 9. Like every other novel by Findley, The Telling of Lies is a page turner. To my knowledge, it was Findley’s only foray into the mystery genre, but it is certainly no less a masterpiece than any of his other works. The idea of Findley writing a mystery novel took me a little while to get my head around and I was slightly disappointed that he did not hold true to his trademark use of historical characters and blending of historical fact and fiction. I have always found those characteristics inject his stories with a sort of intrigue that constantly sends me back and forth between the story and Google. Though this aspect was lacking, Findley’s beautiful prose were once again at their utmost best accompanied by a wonderfully compelling plot.