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The Comfort of Lies


"The characters crackle with both intelligence and wit." - Kirkus
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What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

Created: 04/27/13

Replies: 6

Posted Apr. 27, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert

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What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? 'It is better to be told a hurtful truth than to be told a comforting lie. In the end, the truth will make its way out and will hurt much more than it ever had to.'

Do you agree with the epigraph? "It is better to be told a hurtful truth than to be told a comforting lie. In the end, the truth will make its way out and will hurt much more than it ever had to."

Over the course of the novel, are lies shown to be a comfort to the person telling them or to the person hearing them? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?


Posted May. 20, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
tillieh

Join Date: 04/28/11

Posts: 71

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

Oh yes, the longer a hurtful truth is held, the bigger it becomes and threatens to tear apart lives and relationships. Getting things out in the open at the beginning may be painful at first, but things will heal much better in the end.


Posted May. 20, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
irisf

Join Date: 01/16/12

Posts: 136

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

Sometimes ignorance can be bliss. Sometimes the guilty party relieves their guilt by passing their burden to the innocent victim. When we confess our sins it's important to weigh these factors.


Posted May. 21, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
laurap

Join Date: 06/19/12

Posts: 401

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

I think the only comfortable (or comforting) lie is the one that's never discovered. So telling one is a very risky business. This story provides a multitude of examples.


Posted May. 23, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mariannes

Join Date: 12/17/12

Posts: 206

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

In general, I think truth is better, although there are situations where knowing about something would just hurt another person. However, a child is not usually something that can be hidden forever. A child has a right to know his real family when he grows up, and the child's grandparents and siblings have the right to know they have another relative. Of course, this could create a lot of problems if an inheritance is involved. I think it's easier to deal with the truth sooner than later.


Posted May. 23, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mariannes

Join Date: 12/17/12

Posts: 206

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

There was a relative in my husband's family involved in a similar situation. He fathered a child with a woman in the Philippines during World War 2. I don't know all of the details, but when the child grew up, he wrote and asked his dad to write a letter to help him get into the U.S., which he did. There wasn't much other contact between them. It was a sad situation for the boy, I think. If the man had admitted to the child sooner, maybe he could have helped him more. It was a long time ago and society was less open to out-of-wedlock children, so it would have been difficult.


Posted May. 27, 2013 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Beth350

Join Date: 04/15/11

Posts: 89

RE: What did you think of the epigraph of the novel? In general, do you think that there are situations in which telling the truth provides more comfort to the person delivering it rather than the person hearing it?

Yes - often letting go of some guilt will make the teller of truth relieved, but for the person hearing about the situation for the first time, it can be dreadful. Suddenly, all is not as it had seemed. This person may feel duped and/or betrayed by the new information.


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