| A Pack of Lies | |
|---|---|
First edition cover |
|
| Author(s) | Geraldine McCaughrean |
| Cover artist | Robina Green |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | OUP |
| Publication date | December 1988 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback, Paperback) |
| Pages | 176 pp |
| ISBN | 0192716123 |
A Pack of Lies is a children's novel with metafictional elements by Geraldine McCaughrean, first published in 1988. The novel includes a collection of ten short stories of widely varying type and setting. The book won the Carnegie Medal [1] and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award.[2]
Contents |
The narrative follows the age-old pattern of separate stories embedded within a primary story, as in the Panchatantra, the Arabian Nights and the Canterbury Tales. Each of the stories is linked to a different piece of furniture in an antique shop, and the question arises as to whether the stories are pure invention ("a pack of lies") or could perhaps be true - and what their being "true" would mean about the narrator.
A young man with the unlikely name of MCC Berkshire ("from Reading") follows Ailsa home from the library and talks himself into an unpaid job in her mother's run-down antique shop - all he asks is somewhere to sleep and books to read. He has a wonderful way of assessing the customers and suiting the provenance he gives the furniture to their interests. Moreover, he seems to adapt himself - his accent, his manner, his personal history - to the story being told, which also seems to be inspired by the book he has just been reading. When chided by Mrs Povey for telling lies, he responds: "'Not lies, madam.... Fiction. That's the thing to give 'em. That's the thing everyone wants. Fiction, madam!' "
Ailsa and Mrs Povey, while grateful to MCC for his help and enjoying his company, often have doubts about him, while Uncle Clive, on a brief visit, is positively hostile. After the Poveys' financial problems are suddenly solved, literally from the pages of a book, the scene is set for MCC's departure. In the final chapter Ailsa realizes the shocking truth, while the reader realizes that Ailsa's reality is another of MCC's tales.
The stories range in subject matter from romance to piracy, in style from police procedural to narrative poetry, in setting from early twentieth century Ireland to ancient China. Most are also morality tales, based on some human weakness such as gluttony or vanity.
Critics praised the book as lively and entertaining, particularly noting the skill with which its complexity is handled:
From Publishers Weekly: "The author leaps from genre to genre, in the writing equivalent of sleight of hand. Within each tale are surprising twists and turns that overlap and extend the stories-within-stories; McCaughrean pulls off each meta-fictional complexity with finesse and humor."[3]
From the Times Educational Supplement: "The sheer glee of the enterprise is irresistible."[4]
From Growing Point: "Entertainment like this is rare; it should be enjoyed, re-tasted and remembered with pleasure."[5]
A Pack of Lies was awarded the Carnegie Medal for 1988 and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the two most prestigious British awards for children's literature.
The book was a primary subject of a scholarly essay on fiction and metafiction in The Lion and the Unicorn in 1999.[6]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Ghost Drum |
Carnegie Medal recipient 1988 |
Succeeded by Goggle-Eyes |