The Care and Management of Lies

A Novel of the Great War

By: Jacqueline Winspear

Narrated by: Nicola Barber

Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's Summary

The New York Times best-selling author of the Maisie Dobbs series turns her prodigious talents to this World War I standalone novel, a lyrical drama of love struggling to survive in a damaged, fractured world.

By July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since girlhood, have become strained - by Thea's passionate embrace of women's suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea's brother, Tom, who runs the family farm. When Kezia and Tom wed, just a month before war is declared between Britain and Germany, Thea's gift to Kezia is a book on household management - a veiled criticism of the bride's prosaic life to come. Yet when Tom enlists to fight for his country and Thea is drawn reluctantly onto the battlefield, the farm becomes Kezia's responsibility. Each must find a way to endure the ensuing cataclysm and turmoil.

As Tom marches to the front lines, and Kezia battles to keep her ordered life from unraveling, they hide their despair in letters and cards filled with stories woven to bring comfort. Even Tom's fellow soldiers in the trenches enter and find solace in the dream world of Kezia's mouth-watering, albeit imaginary meals. But will well-intended lies and self-deception be of use when they come face to face with the enemy?

Published to coincide with the centennial of the Great War, The Care and Management of Lies paints a poignant picture of love and friendship strained by the pain of separation and the brutal chaos of battle. Ultimately, it raises profound questions about conflict, belief, and love that echo in our own time.

©2014 Jacqueline Winspear (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers

A reminder of the truth of World War I

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not particularly, but I know enough history so that the book was not enlightening to me.I can imagine that someone who doesn't know much about World War I era history would find this more interesting. Also, I agree with the previous reviewer that the best part of the book for me was the description of life on a farm in Kent. I did like her characters too, but I didn't invest in them emotionally because of my knowledge of WWI.

If you’ve listened to books by Jacqueline Winspear before, how does this one compare?

I really, really like the Maisie Dobbs series, so this one doesn't come close for me, but it is well-written, it is just not a book I need to read/listen to.

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

She did a very good job. Her voices were well-differentiated and felt very real.

Could you see The Care and Management of Lies being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No, there are much better portrayals of the so-called Great War.

Any additional comments?

The word matriculate is used incorrectly numerous times; it seems to be used as a synonym for graduation when in fact it means the opposite, the formal enrollment in a college or university (or school).

Not up to this authors other books

This book didn't work nearly as well for me as Winspeare's Masie Dobbs series does. It was OK I guess but sadly I found it very predictable. I would not recommend it unless you knew nothing about that era and wanted the history lesson. As always Winspeare does a great job with the atmosphere of that time but there is really nothing driving this book as far as story. I knew in the first chapter how it was going to end.

What I did enjoy about the book was her portrait of life on a small Kentish farm. I also enjoyed the way Kezia, the wife ran the farm and kept the home fires burning while her husband went off to war. She painted lovely word pictures in her letters to him of imaginary meals that she was cooking for them as if he was there with her. I thought that was a lovely way to convey a feeling of comfort and a connection to home. That was cleverly done by the author although the recipes did wander out into left field from time to time.

I did not care for the ending. It ended too abruptly. I know that Happy Ever Afters were thin on the ground at the end of WW1 but I'm not a reader who needs stark reality all the time. A little fantasy can be a good thing sometimes.

"Food Porn" got boring

I love Maisie Dobbs, so I eagerly starting listening to this audio. First off the narrator did a horrible job with the male voices, they should have had two narrators or more. Second the story was slow moving and especially the endless boring descriptions of food, ie: food porn. I was going to just stop listening when I got to the millionth description of another boring meal but I kept going for some masochistic reason. I understand the basic premiss of this book, war is hell and in a way nobody ever really "wins". However, human beings don't change if history tells us anything. Ms. Winspear would have been better off writing another Maisie Dobbs story

Life during the Great War

The tale begins in July 1914 about two girl friends and how their lives entwine when one of them marries the others brother. Kenzia a Vicar daughter and Thea who grew up on a farm were scholarship students. Thea gives Kenzia a book as a wedding gift “The Woman’s Book” a publication advising woman on a variety of subjects. The story pulls the reader immediately into Kenzie’s life. She struggles to be the wife her husband deserves, and struggles to maintain the farm while enduring the yearning their separation brings. Thea is transformed from being a suffragist to an ambulance driver on the front lines. Food is scares both on the home front and for the soldiers. To keep Tom’s spirits us Kenzia sends letters detailing imaginary scrumptious meals she’s prepared for him, which he shares with the comrades.

This historical novel illuminates the ways in which the Great War affected the men and women who were called to duty, as well as those who stayed at home. The story raises profound questions about conflict, belief, and love that echoes in our own time. This book was set 100 years ago; it was so well written I felt as if I had stepped back in time. It also made me think of all the advancement that has taken place over the past 100 years just in the home and on the farm. The book was published to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Great War. Nicola Barber narrated the book.

I Wish The Author Stuck To Maisie Dobbs Stories

Not a winner! I did not like this book.It was too grim and had too many descriptions of food
preparation which did NOT make my mouth water! Did not like either of the main women characters.Absolutely HATED the narration.Her male voices are cloying.
Got through chapter 10 but have no desire to finish it. Very Disappointed. Hope Winspear
sticks to Maisie Dobbs in the future.

I love the meal preparation! I understand…

Although it took a little bit for me to get into the book, I loved it! I loved it's true to life nature. I had high hopes that it would end differently but I'm sure that is exactly what happened too many times. I loved the meal preparation! I understand. That is how I show my love for my family… Cooking for them. No, it's not Maisie Dobbs but it is good, very good.

Acknowledge the 100th anniversary of WWI

Where does The Care and Management of Lies rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best of this year so far

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Care and Management of Lies?

Too many to choose

What about Nicola Barber’s performance did you like?

Good with voices but even better with "stiff upper lip" emotional restraint

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

While expecting it, the ending was so sad.

On the keeper shelf

I loved this story- it was an audio listen. Narration was wonderful and the story gripping. It takes place in WW1 and the sense of time and place is well set, the characters fleshed out and believable. I don't want to give anything away but will say I was surprised by the many twists and turns of the novel and moved the ending.

LIke the story but want another Maisie Dobbs

It was a good listen,probably true to what those who lived through WWI experienced. I really hope, though, that we get more Maisie Dobbs stories from Ms. Winspear.

Sorry I read it

Too relentless dismal and sad, as I know the Great War was. But torture for the reader by the end. Don't expect a break if you choose to read.