I, Liar

by Janice Erlbaum

As the neglected daughter of a beautiful, selfish mother, Elizabeth Madigan learned early in life how to get attention through lies, but it's never enough. At age eight, she pretends to have cancer. At age twelve, she lives a thousand lives online. At age seventeen, she's in inpatient treatment for self-harm, blaming it on trauma from her past. But what exactly is her damage?

If she knew, maybe she could stop herself before she gets busted for good. But she's been lying so long, she's starting to forget what's real. And as her passionate need for her girl friends' attention grows, she'll do anything to keep them in her life -- including risk it.

Told in four sections ("Beth," "Betty," "Eliza," and "Elizabeth"), I, Liar is about the way we rewrite our histories, remake our selves, and revisit the same story lines and characters throughout our lives. It's about the longing for maternal love, the passionate intensity of female friendships, and where those two overlap. From an all-girl psych rehab to a feminist bookstore to a lesbian bar in Brooklyn, I, Liar illuminates the intimate world of women's relationships--with each other, with the world at large, and with themselves.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary

Paperback

First published May 26, 2015

About the author

Janice Erlbaum is the author of two memoirs, GIRLBOMB: A Halfway Homeless Memoir, and HAVE YOU FOUND HER, as well as two novels for tweens.

GIRLBOMB is about being briefly homeless as a teenager in the 1980s in NYC.

In 2026, GIRLBOMB turned 20 years old! Originally published in 2006, the book has stayed in print and found new readers for two decades.

Her work has been featured in Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, Elle, Elle UK, Entertainment Weekly, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, and New York Times.

Reviews

[Ash says Free Palestine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes, a book is just about an unreliable, unhinged, unlikable woman and that's okay. I picked this book up because the cover looked weird (in a good way), and I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did lol

[William K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book -- a fascinating novel about a person and the many skins she wears throughout her life. Since her experience is quite different from my own, it's marvelous to watch a breadth of human behavior outside my own frame of reference. Erlbaum is a great descriptive writer, nailing sentences and phrases as easily as she tells a larger story. I loved GIRLBOMB and HAVE YOU FOUND HER, and for her first swing at a novel, she does alright.

[Catherine Rowland · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, because I loved Girlbomb and the second Janice Earlbaum book that I'm forgetting the name of. I got tired of the main character's complaining but I held out, thinking the pace would pick up and that I would soon get to the "meat" of the book. I found Elizabeth exhausting and boring.

[Claudine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like it... especially since I loved Girlbomb so much. I just couldn't get past feeling that she was just venting about unresolved issues (and believe me... they are definitely unresolved!!!) The concept was a good one, and it had some great lines toward the beginning, but the further into the book I read the more difficult it was to see past the whining.

[Deanna Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is something I didn’t know I needed. This book so accurately represents having a narcissist as a mother, and the ways it truly affects you, even without you noticing. Elizabeth’s constant need for attention and affection, even down to her sleeping with her hand cupping her own cheek, is so palpable, and I wanted to hug her and call her “sweetheart” myself. I don’t know what I expected out of the ending, but I’m quite content with it. It’s an unresolved ending that makes sense in this context. Mental health is not something that is fixed with a single conversation. But, Annabel finally takes accountability for her daughter’s illness, the first step in truly being able to heal both ends of the relationship. I relate to this book immensely, and I’m so glad I picked this up. I will definitely recommend this book.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I received this as part of the Good Reads First Giveaway program. The author was very nice and autographed it for me. Thank you Janice! This was a very interesting book about the many faces we have and the carefully constructed lies we tell to keep our house of cards from crumbling. It was hard to tell what was true and what wasn't but I think that's how it was intended. Will definitely read more by this author.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book in a Goodreads First-Reads giveaway.

I liked the idea behind this book, as well as some elements of the story, but I found the main character so unlikeable that I had a hard time enjoying the book. I loved the way Elizabeth and Annabel's names changed at different points in the story--also the different husbands whose names all started with Ch--funny and clever! There was a lot of good humor too--I guess I just got weighed down by the fact that I had no rapport with Elizabeth.

[Helen Shaffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got really tired of the main character reeeeeally fast.

[Shannon Hauppa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating it three stars, but by the end I felt like it might fall closer to 2.5. I really loved the author’s young adult novel ‘Lucky Little Things’. I liked the idea of this book, but there were so many moments where I was confused by her “memories” and I didn’t know what was real and what was made up. I guess that was sort of the point. The main character was just so all over the place. By the time I got to the end, I was hoping for some answers to be resolved, but was just disappointed. This was a quick read, and did hold my interest, so overall not a terrible book.

[Karissa]

I was really interested in I Liar by the summary alone, and thus excited to read it. Got it for my Kindle, and started reading it right away. I got about 45% through the book before I had to DNF it because it was just... too all over the place. I didn't enjoy the narrator's voice whatsoever. I get that she was SUPPOSED to be unreliable, but she just grated on my every last nerve to the extent that I couldn't handle reading the book anymore. I feel like the idea behind I Liar could have been handled a lot better.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ideal book to pump breadstick by

I recently had twin daughters and, thus,became quite busy. I have been trying to com up with quiet activities to keep me occupied while pumping breast milk and watching my kids sleep. This book -- dark, twisty and fascinating -- helped occupy me, which I desperately need right now. Yay.

[Kayla Tornello · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. The main character is a compulsive liar, so the reader is never sure what is true and what she made up. I liked seeing the contrasts between the four different identities of Elizabeth. She isn't a likable character, but she is a fascinating one.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book from Janice Erlbaum. It was both sad and enlightening, to hear this kind of story told in the first person.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Strange read, really did not make much sense and the ending leaves you scratching your hear about what exactly just happened.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won a signed copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway in 2015. I read it right away, but I had trouble connecting with it. Something kept calling me back to it, so I just reread it. My mother was a little like Elizabeth so perhaps that is why. Although Elizabeth is difficult to connect with I can understand her need for attention and the lies she spun to get it. The story is a journey of Elizabeth's life and how those around her fed and hungered her intense desire to connect with other people and feel validated. I get how she told so many lies they overshadowed who she was and where she came from. The lies rewriting her history to the point she could not tell what was a lie and what was real. I'm glad I reread this story because I appreciate it's complexities more now than I did the first time. It has helped me reflect on my mother's need to always have more and be more than what or whom she was. If you've read this before or are reading it for the first time, give it a chance. Read with an open mind and look beyond the boldness of the lies for something deeper.