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Life After Truth
At their fifteen-year reunion, a group of Harvard graduates – labouring with early middle age, marriage and children, unrealised aspirations and a depressing political climate – rekindle old loves and old resentments.
Fifteen years after graduating from Harvard, five close friends on the cusp of middle age are still pursuing an elusive happiness and wondering if they’ve wasted their youthful opportunities. Jules, already a famous actor when she arrived on campus, is changing in mysterious ways but won’t share what is haunting her. Mariam and Rowan, who married young, are struggling with the demands of family life and starting to regret prioritising meaning over wealth in their careers. Eloise, now a professor who studies the psychology of happiness, is troubled by her younger wife’s radical politics. And Jomo, founder of a luxury jewellery company, has been carrying an engagement ring around for months, unsure whether his girlfriend is the one. The soul searching begins in earnest at their much-anticipated college reunion weekend on the Harvard campus, when the most infamous member of their class, Frederick – senior advisor and son of the recently elected and loathed US president – turns up dead. Old friends often think they know everything about one another, but time has a way of making us strangers to those we love – and to ourselves . . .
Fifteen years after graduating from Harvard, five close friends on the cusp of middle age are still pursuing an elusive happiness and wondering if they’ve wasted their youthful opportunities. Jules, already a famous actor when she arrived on campus, is changing in mysterious ways but won’t share what is haunting her. Mariam and Rowan, who married young, are struggling with the demands of family life and starting to regret prioritising meaning over wealth in their careers. Eloise, now a professor who studies the psychology of happiness, is troubled by her younger wife’s radical politics. And Jomo, founder of a luxury jewellery company, has been carrying an engagement ring around for months, unsure whether his girlfriend is the one. The soul searching begins in earnest at their much-anticipated college reunion weekend on the Harvard campus, when the most infamous member of their class, Frederick – senior advisor and son of the recently elected and loathed US president – turns up dead. Old friends often think they know everything about one another, but time has a way of making us strangers to those we love – and to ourselves . . .
260 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2020
48 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
About the author
Ceridwen Dovey
32 books148 followersCeridwen Dovey grew up in South Africa and Australia, studied as an undergraduate at Harvard, and now lives in Sydney. Her first novel, Blood Kin, was translated into fifteen languages and selected for the US National Book Foundation’s prestigious ‘5 Under 35’ award. J.M. Coetzee called it ‘A fable of the arrogance of power beneath whose dreamlike surface swirl currents of complex sensuality.' Her second work of fiction, Only the Animals, will be published by Penguin in 2014 (Australia) and Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2015 (USA).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 117 reviews
December 13, 2020
Life After Truth is about a group of five Harvard graduates and a long weekend spent together at Harvard for their fifteen-year graduation anniversary. They're in their late thirties. There's handsome, single Jomo, who's a purchaser of rare gemstones. Jules is a beautiful actress who's quite famous. Her best friend is Jomo. Then there's Eloise, who's a professor of hedonics at Harvard. Rowan and Marian are married with two under five girls. Rowan is a principal in a low socio-economic primary school. Marian is a stay-at-home mum dealing with the drudgeries and blessings of modern, unrelating parenting, with no outside help, except for Rowan who was the most loving partner and father.
The reunion is yet another opportunity to catch up and to compare and contrast. Wishing, what-ifs, old grudges, unfulfilled wishes and potential, having a meaningful life vs a comfortable one and many other issues that every adult experiences.
The son of the US president, who was in the same graduating year, is loathed by the five friends because he's father, the President, is very much like Trump.
The characters and their problems epitomise the middle class' modern life ups and downs, the search for meaning, the demands of parenting vs career, stability and affluence vs making a difference, and a whole lot of middle-class guilt. During the time spent celebrating their fifteenth's year anniversary, several things occur, some more dramatic than others.
Many of us will empathise, sympathise and relate to most characters in this contemporary novel.
The reunion is yet another opportunity to catch up and to compare and contrast. Wishing, what-ifs, old grudges, unfulfilled wishes and potential, having a meaningful life vs a comfortable one and many other issues that every adult experiences.
The son of the US president, who was in the same graduating year, is loathed by the five friends because he's father, the President, is very much like Trump.
The characters and their problems epitomise the middle class' modern life ups and downs, the search for meaning, the demands of parenting vs career, stability and affluence vs making a difference, and a whole lot of middle-class guilt. During the time spent celebrating their fifteenth's year anniversary, several things occur, some more dramatic than others.
Many of us will empathise, sympathise and relate to most characters in this contemporary novel.
December 29, 2020
One of the best campus novels I’ve read in ages. Over a reunion weekend at Harvard, five friends stumbling into middle age crackle and fizz as they bump against each other. This was so relatable it almost hurt. I love that, unlike many writers, Dovey is not writing the same book over and over again and truly reinvents herself as a writer each time. My only criticism is that writers find ethical questions about AI way more interesting than I do (I’m looking at you McEwan). This was a damn good read.
March 10, 2021
An accepted general rule is not to criticise an author’s failure to write the book the reviewer wanted to read, instead of the book the author actually wrote. But I’d maintain that my disappointment with Life after Truth reveals flaws other readers will discover. An entire cadre of readers are embarked on a grail quest to find another book that can affect them like Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, and this story of Harvard alumni and alumnae returning for the fifteenth anniversary of their graduation appears to promise it. But to work, we need enviable characters, not clichés. Here we have the already famous actress accepted into the Ivy League as a teenager called Jules, a wealthy gemologist (i.e. high-class jeweller) named Jomo who lives up to his name by going with Jules to Tanzania and sleeping together innocently in the wild. (Felt like they’d listened to Toto’s ‘Africa’ too many times.) They are joined by a dreary couple who live in Bushwick (the gentrified section, about which they feel guilty) with two horribly spoilt little girls whom they take with them to the reunion. Miriam is a stay-at-home mom and Rowan a public school principal, who writes notices in the alumni bulletin about how wonderfully accomplished Miriam is at parturition, which Rowan seems to believe is his personal accomplishment. They are staying together at Kirkland House, where their classmate Eloise is now the housemistress (of course she can’t be labelled anything so un-p.c.) along with her wife Binx, a former student obsessed with artificial intelligence who has created a robot Ellie plus whom she is trying to program in her basement lab into another Eloise. And there is another alumnus at the reunion, the son of the President of the United States, Thomas J. Reese, a boor and an oaf whom they all despise. Eloise is a professor of hedonics, alias schlock feel-good psychology, and has become rich off publishing self-help books. And we discover at the beginning of the book, the President’s son is killed at the end of the weekend.
If you suffer from class envy, this story may cure you. Not only do we discover the characters have failed to realise their early promise, but we learn more about Harvard ‘final clubs’ than many real Harvard students ever discover. Though we’re sometimes told something of what they studied (Jomo indeed found a good way to get rich as a geology major), what little mental activity they display seems to be pop-child-psych or old Harvard lore. (Does the author know that Samuel Eliot Morison was a most distinguished naval historian?) Sometimes I wonder if Australians are unaware of what a splendid opportunity they have. Instead of setting their books in their young and vigorous nation, they choose American settings and characters, fearing that American readers are provincial boors who can’t appreciate another culture. (The narrator of the audible version of this book speaks American.) I think the sheer provinciality of this book is its principal flaw. Because the author is an Australian (and a South African) as well as a Harvard alumna, I’d hoped for the perspective of an international sophisticate, for a sense of what Harvard would feel like to Australians, and to other overseas students as well.
If you suffer from class envy, this story may cure you. Not only do we discover the characters have failed to realise their early promise, but we learn more about Harvard ‘final clubs’ than many real Harvard students ever discover. Though we’re sometimes told something of what they studied (Jomo indeed found a good way to get rich as a geology major), what little mental activity they display seems to be pop-child-psych or old Harvard lore. (Does the author know that Samuel Eliot Morison was a most distinguished naval historian?) Sometimes I wonder if Australians are unaware of what a splendid opportunity they have. Instead of setting their books in their young and vigorous nation, they choose American settings and characters, fearing that American readers are provincial boors who can’t appreciate another culture. (The narrator of the audible version of this book speaks American.) I think the sheer provinciality of this book is its principal flaw. Because the author is an Australian (and a South African) as well as a Harvard alumna, I’d hoped for the perspective of an international sophisticate, for a sense of what Harvard would feel like to Australians, and to other overseas students as well.
December 16, 2020
This book follows a group of Harvard grads as they return to campus for their 15 year reunion. I actually quite enjoyed the first 97% of the book (except for the Rowan chapters because he really sucked) - it's very rich liberal navel-gazing wanky but I enjoy that type of writing. However, I really hated the end. Basically, the book sells itself on the promise that central to the plot is the murder of the president's son (the son modelled on Jared Kushner, the president on Donald Trump) but the murder is so tangential to the plot I don't even know why it was included. It felt both very bait and switchcy and like the poor version of a really interesting idea. Very disappointing!
November 19, 2020
http://jessjustreads.com
Set in 2018, Ceridwen Dovey’s Life After Truth is contemporary fiction centred around a 15-year Harvard college reunion, and how the weekend of re-connection affects a diverse group of five friends.
Reunions evoke soul-searching in even the most secure of people — reflecting on your past life, what you’ve become, have you reached your full potential? Are you where you thought you’d be?
The premise of this novel is a catalyst for a lot of emotional growth in a character, and in this novel there are five of them. Ceridwen’s novel is a breeding ground for a group of people who are forced to decide what they want in their life, and cast away what they don’t. The book explores raw, emotional issues that many readers will be able to relate to — parenthood, marriage, relationships, desire, regret.
“Eloise had made up her mind, back then, that when Jules was with her she’d let her feel free to be nothing much at all — as her friend, she could be a refuge from all the demands other people made on her. They could talk or not talk, be silly or serious, silent or boisterous, share dirty jokes or painful childhood memories.”
Narrated in third person and moving between each of the characters, most of the book is reflecting on the past. Delicately constructed chapters weave a tale of past mistakes, reflections and altercations. The five friends share an intricate past, and tensions rise when they meet for the Harvard reunion.
Ceridwen has a real talent for carving out a characters’ nature using glimpses of their past. Events from their youth have shaped who these five have become today — their attitudes and personalities, but also their worries and concerns, their trigger points. There are moments of bitterness, jealousy, misunderstanding.
By learning about their past selves, we come to understand how these relationships and friendships have evolved over time. Some have dwindled, some have strengthened. Some are on the cusp of something great. There are a couple of connections that threaten to break — secrets left unsaid, tensions unresolved. It’s a fascinating exploration of human society and the middle class. A worthy choice for a book club.
“He hadn’t seen Jules in a while, not since Thanksgiving. He wondered if she had anybody in her life to come home to in the evenings. She was a person who did not naturally share this kind of information even with her closest friends; whether it was because of her nature or her fame, it was hard to tell.”
I think there was room for a little more humour — more lightness. The mood of the novel is a sombre one, very thoughtful. And surprisingly, this novel isn’t really the crime or thriller novel that the blurb suggests. Frederick’s death is discovered at the beginning of the novel, and then it’s resolved again in the very final pages. In between, the story is all about the past. At times, the reflection felt a little overbearing. Personally, I would’ve loved a bit more plot in the present — a bit more interaction between the characters of now, not just the characters from years past.
Other than that, Ceridwen has crafted a novel that really forces a reader to ponder their own life — if you’re thrust back into another time from your life, mingling with people who you spent your youth with, how would you feel about the person you are now? The life you lead?
“Rowan had not really ever had much to elevate him above his similarly brilliant, overachieving peers except that he’d had the great good fortune to meet his ‘soul mate’ on the very first night of college, when he’d laid eyes on Mariam at the freshman ice-cream social held in the Yard.”
Recommended for fans of literary fiction.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Set in 2018, Ceridwen Dovey’s Life After Truth is contemporary fiction centred around a 15-year Harvard college reunion, and how the weekend of re-connection affects a diverse group of five friends.
Reunions evoke soul-searching in even the most secure of people — reflecting on your past life, what you’ve become, have you reached your full potential? Are you where you thought you’d be?
The premise of this novel is a catalyst for a lot of emotional growth in a character, and in this novel there are five of them. Ceridwen’s novel is a breeding ground for a group of people who are forced to decide what they want in their life, and cast away what they don’t. The book explores raw, emotional issues that many readers will be able to relate to — parenthood, marriage, relationships, desire, regret.
“Eloise had made up her mind, back then, that when Jules was with her she’d let her feel free to be nothing much at all — as her friend, she could be a refuge from all the demands other people made on her. They could talk or not talk, be silly or serious, silent or boisterous, share dirty jokes or painful childhood memories.”
Narrated in third person and moving between each of the characters, most of the book is reflecting on the past. Delicately constructed chapters weave a tale of past mistakes, reflections and altercations. The five friends share an intricate past, and tensions rise when they meet for the Harvard reunion.
Ceridwen has a real talent for carving out a characters’ nature using glimpses of their past. Events from their youth have shaped who these five have become today — their attitudes and personalities, but also their worries and concerns, their trigger points. There are moments of bitterness, jealousy, misunderstanding.
By learning about their past selves, we come to understand how these relationships and friendships have evolved over time. Some have dwindled, some have strengthened. Some are on the cusp of something great. There are a couple of connections that threaten to break — secrets left unsaid, tensions unresolved. It’s a fascinating exploration of human society and the middle class. A worthy choice for a book club.
“He hadn’t seen Jules in a while, not since Thanksgiving. He wondered if she had anybody in her life to come home to in the evenings. She was a person who did not naturally share this kind of information even with her closest friends; whether it was because of her nature or her fame, it was hard to tell.”
I think there was room for a little more humour — more lightness. The mood of the novel is a sombre one, very thoughtful. And surprisingly, this novel isn’t really the crime or thriller novel that the blurb suggests. Frederick’s death is discovered at the beginning of the novel, and then it’s resolved again in the very final pages. In between, the story is all about the past. At times, the reflection felt a little overbearing. Personally, I would’ve loved a bit more plot in the present — a bit more interaction between the characters of now, not just the characters from years past.
Other than that, Ceridwen has crafted a novel that really forces a reader to ponder their own life — if you’re thrust back into another time from your life, mingling with people who you spent your youth with, how would you feel about the person you are now? The life you lead?
“Rowan had not really ever had much to elevate him above his similarly brilliant, overachieving peers except that he’d had the great good fortune to meet his ‘soul mate’ on the very first night of college, when he’d laid eyes on Mariam at the freshman ice-cream social held in the Yard.”
Recommended for fans of literary fiction.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 12, 2021
A group of Harvard graduates gather for a fifteen-year reunion. Five friends recount their lives as middle age nears, leading to various reflections and tension. Although written with a certain lyrical style typical of Ceridwen Dovey, it was a disappointing tome. No doubt based on reminiscence of her own time at Harvard, it seems to be an ode to privilege angst. The purported hook for the tale was a fellow class member’s death (and Trump allusion) that turned out was superfluous in the overall context of the book. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to its promise and so sadly only a two-star rating.
November 9, 2020
A rollicking novel, structured around a 15 year Harvard reunion weekend and a group of friends who have stayed close since their college days. Alice Cottrell described it as The Secret History meets Big Little Lies, which feels almost bang on. It's compelling and cleanly written - great fun while you're reading it, but a little underwhelming on reflection. An excellent summer book or for any time where you just want something a bit escapist.
November 29, 2020
So pretentious. Ostensibly about the murder of the President’s (a thinly veiled version of Trump) son. The murder happens 10 pages before the end of the book and is actually the only interesting part of the novel, the other 99% being about some fairly boring, unlikeable and insanely rich former Harvard students. Drivel.
November 24, 2020
Ceridwen Dovey’s Life After Truth is a clever, contemporary story about a group of college friends returning to Harvard for their 15-year reunion and a full weekend program of events. The friends have remined close although their lives have taken different paths. However, there are underlying tensions and resentments that threaten to jeopardise the reunion. I loved the different points of view and the way these were interwoven. The story flips backwards and forwards, and is also circular, ending at the beginning. While some characters’ motivations and backstories are clearly articulated, others are only glimpses. The nostalgia of the reunion is captured brilliantly, the narrative provides a sense of dislocation through the random and incomplete interactions at the various parties and events. I read it against the backdrop of the recent US election which gave it an added sense of ‘real-time viewing’! A good ‘fun’ read with some interesting observations on relationships, love and happiness.
December 21, 2020
3 and a half stars
I had the pleasure of hearing Ceridwen Dovey talk about her latest book, Life After Truth at a recent work event.
Ceridwen evoked a lovely reading memory for me when she talked about one of her inspirations for writing a story about a 15 year reunion at Harvard University. Like me, she had devoured Erich Segal's Harvard stories, The Class (1985) and Doctors (1988) way back when....
The second inspiration for Ceridwen was her very own 15 yr, class of 2003 reunion, in 2018. All her friends and class mates were approaching 40 and various mid-life crisis were on show - emotional, hormonal, intellectual, financial and philosophical.
The class of 2003 had some interesting graduates besides Dovey. Natalie Portman and Jared Kushner for starters. Mark Zuckerberg was in the following year.
Ceridwen stresses that none of her characters are based on real life people. However, she was drawn to using the polar opposite characters, of a movie star and the son of a President in her story, as she found the contrast appealing. Thanks to her social anthropology background, she likes to write not so much what she knows, but towards what she wants to know. Which is, 'how do people make meaning from their daily lives.' Or how do live the second half of your life differently to the first half.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/2020/...
I had the pleasure of hearing Ceridwen Dovey talk about her latest book, Life After Truth at a recent work event.
Ceridwen evoked a lovely reading memory for me when she talked about one of her inspirations for writing a story about a 15 year reunion at Harvard University. Like me, she had devoured Erich Segal's Harvard stories, The Class (1985) and Doctors (1988) way back when....
The second inspiration for Ceridwen was her very own 15 yr, class of 2003 reunion, in 2018. All her friends and class mates were approaching 40 and various mid-life crisis were on show - emotional, hormonal, intellectual, financial and philosophical.
The class of 2003 had some interesting graduates besides Dovey. Natalie Portman and Jared Kushner for starters. Mark Zuckerberg was in the following year.
Ceridwen stresses that none of her characters are based on real life people. However, she was drawn to using the polar opposite characters, of a movie star and the son of a President in her story, as she found the contrast appealing. Thanks to her social anthropology background, she likes to write not so much what she knows, but towards what she wants to know. Which is, 'how do people make meaning from their daily lives.' Or how do live the second half of your life differently to the first half.
Full review here - http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/2020/...
February 11, 2021
I expected a murder mystery based on the blurb, but this is definitely not one.
I don't need to like characters, but I do need to find them interesting/compelling to follow their inner dialogue with any interest. The only characters I was interested in were Eloise and Binx.
The round-robin POV chapters works well for a lot of books interested in exploring the same or roughly similar events through different perspectives. In this case, having a double dose of Mariam and Rowan, who I found dull and obnoxious respectively, detracted from my enjoyment of book.
In summary, this was a good idea but the characters chosen for POVs were not interesting, fairly privileged, and their recollections or epiphanies were usually either unsurprising or not as interesting as expected.
I don't need to like characters, but I do need to find them interesting/compelling to follow their inner dialogue with any interest. The only characters I was interested in were Eloise and Binx.
The round-robin POV chapters works well for a lot of books interested in exploring the same or roughly similar events through different perspectives. In this case, having a double dose of Mariam and Rowan, who I found dull and obnoxious respectively, detracted from my enjoyment of book.
In summary, this was a good idea but the characters chosen for POVs were not interesting, fairly privileged, and their recollections or epiphanies were usually either unsurprising or not as interesting as expected.
February 13, 2021
‘Veritas’
The novel opens with extracts from the ‘Harvard Class of 2003 – Fifteenth Anniversary Report’: the self-penned entries of five close friends introduce the characters we will meet at the fifteen-year anniversary reunion: Jomo, Juliet (Jules), Eloise, Mariam, and Rowan. The chapters that follow provide us with a third person perspective from four of them. Only four? Jules, a famous actress, is very private and her own perspective is not shared. Jomo is a successful gemologist, carrying an engagement ring, but unable to propose to his girlfriend Giselle. Eloise has built a profession on the science of happiness. She is now Professor of Hedonics but struggles with some issues. Her wife, Binx is younger, and has different priorities. Mariam and Rowan married early. Rowan is the principal of a public school in Brooklyn while Mariam is occupied with the ‘daily slog of parenting’. Money is tight for Mariam and Rowan. Rowan wonders if they should have chosen meaning over wealth? And then there is the elephant in the room: the despised Frederick Reese, the disliked son of a disliked American president.
While we learn about each character from their own third person perspectives and their interactions with each other, our perspectives of Jules and Frederick are limited to the observations of others.
Everyone is hiding something, each presents an aspect of themselves to the others, but what is truth? Why doesn’t Mariam tell Rowan about her newly found religious beliefs? Why doesn’t Eloise share her ambivalence around surrogacy with Binx? And why is Jomo unable to propose to Giselle?
All these questions are overshadowed by the death of Frederick Reese, whose body is found on the last day of the reunion weekend. Truth in death?
I finished this novel hoping that some of the tensions between characters would be resolved, but recognising that life is complicated, that the friction between ambition and achievement is real and that communication is never complete. I am left disquieted about my feeling that the death of Frederick Reese is justified, and I am delighted that I have no wish to make the acquaintance of a fembot named Elly+.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
The novel opens with extracts from the ‘Harvard Class of 2003 – Fifteenth Anniversary Report’: the self-penned entries of five close friends introduce the characters we will meet at the fifteen-year anniversary reunion: Jomo, Juliet (Jules), Eloise, Mariam, and Rowan. The chapters that follow provide us with a third person perspective from four of them. Only four? Jules, a famous actress, is very private and her own perspective is not shared. Jomo is a successful gemologist, carrying an engagement ring, but unable to propose to his girlfriend Giselle. Eloise has built a profession on the science of happiness. She is now Professor of Hedonics but struggles with some issues. Her wife, Binx is younger, and has different priorities. Mariam and Rowan married early. Rowan is the principal of a public school in Brooklyn while Mariam is occupied with the ‘daily slog of parenting’. Money is tight for Mariam and Rowan. Rowan wonders if they should have chosen meaning over wealth? And then there is the elephant in the room: the despised Frederick Reese, the disliked son of a disliked American president.
While we learn about each character from their own third person perspectives and their interactions with each other, our perspectives of Jules and Frederick are limited to the observations of others.
Everyone is hiding something, each presents an aspect of themselves to the others, but what is truth? Why doesn’t Mariam tell Rowan about her newly found religious beliefs? Why doesn’t Eloise share her ambivalence around surrogacy with Binx? And why is Jomo unable to propose to Giselle?
All these questions are overshadowed by the death of Frederick Reese, whose body is found on the last day of the reunion weekend. Truth in death?
I finished this novel hoping that some of the tensions between characters would be resolved, but recognising that life is complicated, that the friction between ambition and achievement is real and that communication is never complete. I am left disquieted about my feeling that the death of Frederick Reese is justified, and I am delighted that I have no wish to make the acquaintance of a fembot named Elly+.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
March 8, 2021
3.5 stars
Life After Truth' was not the story that I was originally expecting. The book is marketed as being about a group of five friends who meet over one weekend at their Harvard School reunion, fifteen years after they all graduated together. The line from the blurb that caught my eye was the one about the US President's son Frederick, an infamous member of their class, turning up dead on the same weekend. I think I can be forgiven for thinking therefore that this was going to be a murder mystery. A tense whodunnit with the five friends possibly implicated in the death. I was actually way off the mark because the death of Frederick is actually almost a forgotten side note in the book. Insignificant and almost unimportant until the very end. And that's okay because although this might not have been the book I thought it was going to be, I enjoyed it regardless. The story centres around the main characters who reflect on their lives and the journeys that they have all been on, since their days as young students.
Each chapter is told in the third person and focuses on a different character. Out of the group of friends, I particularly enjoyed the chapters from the perspective of married couple Mariam and Rowan, who fell in love at Harvard, married young and now have two small children in tow. They felt the most relatable to me as they don't have the same wealth and comfort as the others but have a different kind of happiness. I enjoyed the reflection on the events of their past and the insight given into their marriage and how it has been changed by the arrival of their children.
I felt more detached from some of the other characters, such as Eloise, a 'Happiness' professor, who questions many of her life choices. There was also a lot about AI and the ethics of this in her parts of the book, which I didn't find as interesting. However, the other two members of the group, Jomo and Jules, definitely fascinated me. The line between love and friendship is very much blurred between them as they have left so many things unspoken. The character of Jules seems to be based on Harvard graduate Natalie Portman and she is the only person who doesn't get to share her own thoughts with the reader. That makes her come across as quite elusive which was intriguing.
'Life After Truth' may not have been the story that I was expecting when I first picked up the book but it was still a thoughtful read about life and friendship. It explores the effect that time can have on a group of people and the way in which relationships can change and evolve. I haven't read anything by Ceridwen Dovey before but I will certainly look out for her future titles, as I really enjoyed her writing style.
Life After Truth' was not the story that I was originally expecting. The book is marketed as being about a group of five friends who meet over one weekend at their Harvard School reunion, fifteen years after they all graduated together. The line from the blurb that caught my eye was the one about the US President's son Frederick, an infamous member of their class, turning up dead on the same weekend. I think I can be forgiven for thinking therefore that this was going to be a murder mystery. A tense whodunnit with the five friends possibly implicated in the death. I was actually way off the mark because the death of Frederick is actually almost a forgotten side note in the book. Insignificant and almost unimportant until the very end. And that's okay because although this might not have been the book I thought it was going to be, I enjoyed it regardless. The story centres around the main characters who reflect on their lives and the journeys that they have all been on, since their days as young students.
Each chapter is told in the third person and focuses on a different character. Out of the group of friends, I particularly enjoyed the chapters from the perspective of married couple Mariam and Rowan, who fell in love at Harvard, married young and now have two small children in tow. They felt the most relatable to me as they don't have the same wealth and comfort as the others but have a different kind of happiness. I enjoyed the reflection on the events of their past and the insight given into their marriage and how it has been changed by the arrival of their children.
I felt more detached from some of the other characters, such as Eloise, a 'Happiness' professor, who questions many of her life choices. There was also a lot about AI and the ethics of this in her parts of the book, which I didn't find as interesting. However, the other two members of the group, Jomo and Jules, definitely fascinated me. The line between love and friendship is very much blurred between them as they have left so many things unspoken. The character of Jules seems to be based on Harvard graduate Natalie Portman and she is the only person who doesn't get to share her own thoughts with the reader. That makes her come across as quite elusive which was intriguing.
'Life After Truth' may not have been the story that I was expecting when I first picked up the book but it was still a thoughtful read about life and friendship. It explores the effect that time can have on a group of people and the way in which relationships can change and evolve. I haven't read anything by Ceridwen Dovey before but I will certainly look out for her future titles, as I really enjoyed her writing style.
June 29, 2021
Life after Truth offers an interesting analysis of friendship as depicted by the enduring attachment between a group of students who commenced their studies together at Harvard. Mariam and Rowan married straight after college, but they reconnect with Jules, Jomo and Eloise and they all with each other despite the changes in their lifestyles, employment, financial differences and physical distances.
The book is well structured although it might sound confusing as there are different time periods throughout but the major story which takes place during the reunion weekend of 2018. Each day of the weekend is broken into time periods of morning, afternoon and evening but these are related from the point of view of one of the group members. Interspersed with the contemporary reunion however are anecdotes from earlier times and even previous reunion weekends and reunion written reports compiled by the students each five years.
Having been to several class reunions with friends from the early 70’s I appreciated the analysis of the friendships that can be maintained despite diverging life experiences. Additionally, the persistence of reactions and aversions to people from the past are also consistent as our personalities and friendship choices from our teenage to early twenties probably do not change too radically through time. Obviously, the Harvard reunion weekends are hugely organised and remarkable but the attention to detail as related by Dovey does not emphasise the exclusivity as the situation between the attendees is more important than the setting.
This setting of the novel at Harvard was interesting. The author did study there on scholarship so her descriptions of the halls and elite clubs are very sharp. Nevertheless, it is also a place most readers from outside America can relate to through their general knowledge whereas if it was set in Australia or Italy the book would not have such a universal appeal. Nevertheless, I did like her reference to at least one Australianism when she lists The Magic Pudding with some other more well-known children’s’ stories.
Ceridwen Dovey is an ingenious writer and this is the second book I have read by her. I enjoyed both equally notwithstanding the dissimilarity. Only The Animals has a central theme of conflict which is linked loosely by a series of ten short stories related through the minds of animals.
The book is well structured although it might sound confusing as there are different time periods throughout but the major story which takes place during the reunion weekend of 2018. Each day of the weekend is broken into time periods of morning, afternoon and evening but these are related from the point of view of one of the group members. Interspersed with the contemporary reunion however are anecdotes from earlier times and even previous reunion weekends and reunion written reports compiled by the students each five years.
Having been to several class reunions with friends from the early 70’s I appreciated the analysis of the friendships that can be maintained despite diverging life experiences. Additionally, the persistence of reactions and aversions to people from the past are also consistent as our personalities and friendship choices from our teenage to early twenties probably do not change too radically through time. Obviously, the Harvard reunion weekends are hugely organised and remarkable but the attention to detail as related by Dovey does not emphasise the exclusivity as the situation between the attendees is more important than the setting.
This setting of the novel at Harvard was interesting. The author did study there on scholarship so her descriptions of the halls and elite clubs are very sharp. Nevertheless, it is also a place most readers from outside America can relate to through their general knowledge whereas if it was set in Australia or Italy the book would not have such a universal appeal. Nevertheless, I did like her reference to at least one Australianism when she lists The Magic Pudding with some other more well-known children’s’ stories.
Ceridwen Dovey is an ingenious writer and this is the second book I have read by her. I enjoyed both equally notwithstanding the dissimilarity. Only The Animals has a central theme of conflict which is linked loosely by a series of ten short stories related through the minds of animals.
June 28, 2021
When I started reading this I thought 'wait, is this just mini essays from people who went to Harvard?!' - I had to read the synopsis again to see if I've understood the book correctly. Yes, it's fiction, yes it's about a group of dorm-mates getting back together for their reunion. But for the first few chapters I was still convinced I was reading something else.
The book eventually picks up a rhythm, only to pivot at the end into something else entirely, with a character that was nefarious to the rest of the books characters, but the personality flaws of this character were never really explained to the audience. Perhaps the author was taking liberties with a well known situation in America as a bit of a study in contemporary political history, but even that might be stretching it a bit.
Overall the book just felt a bit meandering and without a real purpose or plot. Thankfully it as short.
The book eventually picks up a rhythm, only to pivot at the end into something else entirely, with a character that was nefarious to the rest of the books characters, but the personality flaws of this character were never really explained to the audience. Perhaps the author was taking liberties with a well known situation in America as a bit of a study in contemporary political history, but even that might be stretching it a bit.
Overall the book just felt a bit meandering and without a real purpose or plot. Thankfully it as short.
November 7, 2020
I read the synopsis for this one and was instantly drawn too it. From students to Harvard graduates. These friends have been through it all. In the lead up to their 15year reunion some are more excited than others.
The book flips between POV of all the friends, now middle aged life’s taken them all in different directions. For the reunion they are all heading back to their campus at Harvard to spend the weekend together. But when a member of the class idols found dead they begin to have doubts about each other and start asking questions.
This one subtly sneaks up on you the bam. Love, lives, loss, unhappiness and murder. Everyone’s got secrets, the good the bad and the ugly!
The book flips between POV of all the friends, now middle aged life’s taken them all in different directions. For the reunion they are all heading back to their campus at Harvard to spend the weekend together. But when a member of the class idols found dead they begin to have doubts about each other and start asking questions.
This one subtly sneaks up on you the bam. Love, lives, loss, unhappiness and murder. Everyone’s got secrets, the good the bad and the ugly!
September 23, 2021
An interesting read with some perceptive insights into relationships. The story revolves around friends gathering for their Harvard reunion, with each character reflecting on their past, their present situation and also their various insecurities. I was a little perplexed by the ending and, as I listened to the audiobook, am wondering whether I missed something vital to the plot. I found the narrator’s voice quite irritating - which is quite funny now that I’ve googled her and discovered she was shamed on Twitter after apparently making jokes about someone’s voice.
January 20, 2021
It was ok, too much backstory and not enough story.
Interesting to read though and liked all the insights.
Interesting to read though and liked all the insights.
April 27, 2021
Couldn’t wait to hop on a tram or in a car to get a chance to listen to this one (free if you have Audible). By an Australian author about a Harvard reunion and had me hooked.
September 8, 2021
2.75 too many unanswered questions, too much inner dialogue, but the subject was interesting and I loved the dynamic between characters.
Overall entertaining, if not conclusive.
Overall entertaining, if not conclusive.
March 7, 2022
harvard students really are just insufferable
(dnf)
(dnf)
May 3, 2022
3.75 stars
not-finished
January 1, 2022The tone of this novel seemed self-indulgent. I became impatient with Dovey's characters and gave up after about 80 pages. Perhaps those in the age group of the characters (40s) would find it more relevant and interesting.
December 7, 2020
This is the third book I have read by Ceridwen Dovey and she does not disappoint. Each book has been refreshingly different, insightful and well written.
Life After Truth is a modern, pertinent and more sophisticated version of "The Big Chill", for those of you old enough to remember the '80s. Loved her less than subtle comments on American politics and media moguls. An enticing and provocative novel.
Life After Truth is a modern, pertinent and more sophisticated version of "The Big Chill", for those of you old enough to remember the '80s. Loved her less than subtle comments on American politics and media moguls. An enticing and provocative novel.
March 9, 2021
Great first three quarters weird ending
March 30, 2022
Never really got properly started. I found myself not carting about the characteurs. It was a very naive story annoy the passage into true adulthood. It left many questions unanswered.
November 5, 2020
This was a very weird time to be reading Ceridwen Dovey's new novel — which of course has the usual disclaimers about being a work of fiction — but is set during a Harvard reunion of classmates at a time when a man very like That Man is in the White House. What's more, one of the Harvard graduates at the reunion seems very like one of the beneficiaries of That Man's nepotism — and the book's prologue begins with one of the characters discovering that this son is dead in suspicious circumstances. What happens in a Post Truth world when a President's son gets murdered??
That question is set aside for almost all of the novel. From the prologue, the story goes back to the beginning of that fateful weekend and — reminiscent of Andrea Goldsmith's marvellous Reunion — traces what happens as old friends gather to reflect on their past, present and future. The fate of President Reese's son and the country led by his father haunts this story only like an undercurrent, as if to hint that the characters' preoccupations with love, parenting, social status and the implications of AI (Artificial Intelligence) are about to be put into perspective. It crossed my mind, on and off as I read, (obviously influenced by the election scenario), that the US has an armed population, it permits torture, and it suspends human rights when it suits them to keep people locked up for years without trial. In the hands of an angry president, these powers are even more frightening.
Yet these friends, though (before the death) they comment publicly in some contexts about Fred Reese and his shameless behaviour, and they certainly think badly of him even if they are too constrained to say so, have other things to think about. None of them are politically active, and one of them goes so far as to (privately) compare their apathy to the complacent acquiescence of Nazi Germany, where people failed to speak out, to protest or to act in the face of outrageous events. Underneath the layers of a domestic novel portraying the narcissism, self-doubt and conflicts pf these adults on the cusp of middle age, Life After Truth is a political novel. One which makes its point subtly, within the pages of an utterly absorbing story about some intriguing and very bright characters.
Jules is a film star, but she's not the star of the novel. The narration gives us the inner thoughts of only some of the principal characters.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/11/05/l...
That question is set aside for almost all of the novel. From the prologue, the story goes back to the beginning of that fateful weekend and — reminiscent of Andrea Goldsmith's marvellous Reunion — traces what happens as old friends gather to reflect on their past, present and future. The fate of President Reese's son and the country led by his father haunts this story only like an undercurrent, as if to hint that the characters' preoccupations with love, parenting, social status and the implications of AI (Artificial Intelligence) are about to be put into perspective. It crossed my mind, on and off as I read, (obviously influenced by the election scenario), that the US has an armed population, it permits torture, and it suspends human rights when it suits them to keep people locked up for years without trial. In the hands of an angry president, these powers are even more frightening.
Yet these friends, though (before the death) they comment publicly in some contexts about Fred Reese and his shameless behaviour, and they certainly think badly of him even if they are too constrained to say so, have other things to think about. None of them are politically active, and one of them goes so far as to (privately) compare their apathy to the complacent acquiescence of Nazi Germany, where people failed to speak out, to protest or to act in the face of outrageous events. Underneath the layers of a domestic novel portraying the narcissism, self-doubt and conflicts pf these adults on the cusp of middle age, Life After Truth is a political novel. One which makes its point subtly, within the pages of an utterly absorbing story about some intriguing and very bright characters.
Jules is a film star, but she's not the star of the novel. The narration gives us the inner thoughts of only some of the principal characters.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/11/05/l...
December 13, 2020
- thanks @penguinbooksaus for this #gifted copy!
I honestly cannot explain what happened with this one. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I went into it with lots of expectations - after all, I heard nothing but praise for Life After Truth.
I knew I wasn't vibing this book the moment I started making excuses to pick it up. I think this is mainly due to the characterisation, especially considering this novel is all about the life and wonders of its main characters. I simply did not connect with any of the characters, and I couldn't force myself to care about them, even the minimum, even though I tried to.
And I know it has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't relate to the characters... they were all just very boring and stereotyped. Mostly rich (or not that rich but still well-off) Harvard graduates that have mid-life crisis because their lives didn't result to be what they had envisioned. News flash: can anyone really claim their life went according to plan? Not really. Still, these characters were everything but mildly interesting, even in their so-called crisis.
This novel also made me feel constantly anxious every single time I read Miriam and Rowan's chapters - they really did put me off parenthood completely. I think I've never experienced anxiety while reading before, but it was definitely not pleasant.
The only element I was somehow excited for was the explanation behind the killing of the president's son (obviously mimicking Trump), but that turned out to be utterly disappointing as well.
Overall, Life After Truth is a novel that did not deliver. I was expecting more food for thought, and I didn't get any to start with, as the elements that could've been thought-provoking were annoyingly underwhelming. Definitely not my cup of tea, and I'm still unsure regarding what sort of reader could enjoy this novel.
I honestly cannot explain what happened with this one. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I went into it with lots of expectations - after all, I heard nothing but praise for Life After Truth.
I knew I wasn't vibing this book the moment I started making excuses to pick it up. I think this is mainly due to the characterisation, especially considering this novel is all about the life and wonders of its main characters. I simply did not connect with any of the characters, and I couldn't force myself to care about them, even the minimum, even though I tried to.
And I know it has nothing to do with the fact that I couldn't relate to the characters... they were all just very boring and stereotyped. Mostly rich (or not that rich but still well-off) Harvard graduates that have mid-life crisis because their lives didn't result to be what they had envisioned. News flash: can anyone really claim their life went according to plan? Not really. Still, these characters were everything but mildly interesting, even in their so-called crisis.
This novel also made me feel constantly anxious every single time I read Miriam and Rowan's chapters - they really did put me off parenthood completely. I think I've never experienced anxiety while reading before, but it was definitely not pleasant.
The only element I was somehow excited for was the explanation behind the killing of the president's son (obviously mimicking Trump), but that turned out to be utterly disappointing as well.
Overall, Life After Truth is a novel that did not deliver. I was expecting more food for thought, and I didn't get any to start with, as the elements that could've been thought-provoking were annoyingly underwhelming. Definitely not my cup of tea, and I'm still unsure regarding what sort of reader could enjoy this novel.
January 11, 2021
I just finished Life after truth and really enjoyed it! While the nostalgia and connection to the Ivy League is very strange and pretentious to me (I am Australian and we do not have the same connection to our universities) I found the concept of going back to the memories and relationships from college was an interesting journey. As was the insight into parenting young children and the relationship with other parents vs friends with no children. The obvious parallels in the political elements of the book to the current American politics was pretty uninspired. An easy read and quite enjoyable!
December 15, 2020
I wish people would stop comparing this to A Secret History... Yes, it’s about a group of college friends and there is a mysterious death, but there end the similarities. A Secret History is powerful, incredibly written and can be read over and over...This book is a fine, easy summer beach read, but I certainly won’t be reaching for it again. Characters are bearable, storyline moves well but the ending is kind of underwhelming
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