The Notebook, The Proof, The Third Lie; a Review of Existing Literature

Twisty... Very twisty.




A trilogy by Agota Kristof.

The Notebook starts off as a collection of entries by a pair of twins, on their exercises and studies. Exercises in cruelty, hunger, abuse both physical and verbal, both by them and done unto them.
Set in a time of war and revolution, ostensibly about surviving through hardships and growing.

The Proof is written in the 3rd person.
The brothers are separated, one escapes abroad.
This is about the brother left behind, waiting; in the years after the war.

The Third Lie is written in the 1st.
If the trilogy is a magic act, then this is the prestige.
This is the sucker punch.
This is you taking the red pill.

This is the fairy tales we tell ourselves to make life bearable, because no matter how sad a book is, it can never be as sad as life.

Brilliant.
Loved it.
The sheer audacity of the style and narrative.

I've read books with unreliable narrators, but none quite as well done as this.