The Little Liar by Mitch Albom tells the stories of four people.
And fifty thousand.
And six million.
But for now, let’s focus on the four main characters: Nico Krispis, Sebastian Krispis, Fannie Nahmias, and Udo Graff — three Jewish children from Salonika, Greece and a high-ranking German officer, respectively. Their lives are irrevocably intertwined during the Nazi invasion of Salonika, when Nico, a boy who always tells the truth, is separated from his family and meets Udo Graff. Graff convinces him to tell the fifty thousand Jews boarding trains that they are going to new homes, when in truth, they are headed for Auschwitz. By the time Nico understands what he’s done, it is too late. His entire family is aboard the final train to the death camp, aware that he has betrayed them. Nico is left alone with his guilt — a child who becomes a man with a single lie.
The book follows Nico, Udo, Fannie, and Sebastian through the war years and in the decades after. Although all four characters make it through the war alive, the war never leaves them; the characters are consumed by grief, anger, jealousy, self-hatred, vengeance, and, at times, even hope. They run from their past, but they also run toward it. They witness acts of immense kindness, as well as acts of vile hatred and cruelty. Theirs is the reality of the Holocaust and of life.
Narrated by the voice of Truth, Albom’s breathtaking novel considers what it means to tell a lie. It explores redemption and forgiveness, even in the face of terrible betrayal. A refrain echoes throughout the story: “A man, to be forgiven, will do anything.” Atonement takes many forms, and, as Truth explains, it is a visceral human need. For our sake and for others’, it’s important to make things right. However, there are things in this world, like the Holocaust, that have no solution — there is no way to reverse what’s been broken. The Little Liar realizes that forgiveness must be both given and received, and that this can take a lifetime, or many. That does not mean it isn’t worth striving for.
A tale of fractured family and forgiveness, The Little Liar matters even more in this moment of division in our world. Lies are pervasive, but so is truth. The only way to achieve a better world is to understand the mistakes, lies, and injustices of the past and the present, and to remember. And then, we must tell the world what happened here.
Isadora Kianovsky (she/her) is the Development Associate at Jewish Book Council and has loved Jewish books since she was about eight years old. She graduated from Smith College in 2023 with a B.A. in Jewish Studies and a minor in History. Prior to working at JBC, she interned at the Hadassah-Brandeis Institute, the Jewish Women’s Archive, and also studied abroad a few times to learn about different aspects of Jewish culture and history. Outside of work, she loves to read, write, and spend time with her loved ones (and dog, Sweeney).
