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The Lie

by Chad Kultgen

3.57 · rating details · 810 ratings · 152 reviews

Try to remember the moment when all the stupid innocent things you thought about life and love, all the things you thought mattered, all the things you thought were true...try to remember when they all turned out to be lies. -Kyle

I never thought anything Kyle and I were doing would lead to this....I was clearly incorrect. -Brett

We all get what we ...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published March 1st 2009 by Harper Perennial (first published February 20th 2009)

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The Greatest Liars & Cheaters

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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

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Mar 01, 2009

Tattered Cover Book Store added it

Shelves: books-from-events, joe-recommends, jackie-recommends, staff-recommends

I have a sort of morbid fascination with this author after reading his
first book The Average American Male. To say his writing style is
saying misogynistic is like saying the Grand Canyon is a big hole. It
terrified me that when I gave that book to a guy friend of mine he
gobbled it up and reviewed it by saying "Ya, that's pretty much how we
think". This gave me a full body shudder that I've never been quite
able to shake.

Kultgen's second b...more

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Feb 03, 2009

Joe rated it

Shelves: 2009

Chad Kultgen's second novel is quite possibly even more biting than his first. The story of a love triangle gone bad, then worse, then oh-my-god how could it have gotten even worse but it does. Some of the scenes were not only laugh-out-loud funny, they had me shaking and giggling so much it caused the folks in front of me on the plane I was on to ask what was wrong. And then I let them read it, and they then joined me in laughing as well. The author doesn't shy away from delving into the horrib...more

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May 07, 2009

Sarah rated it

I'm not entirely sure what I want to say about this book yet, other than that it is the most fucking intense (literally!) thing I've probably ever read. The first half flew by due to both the format (alternating chapters narrated by each of the three main characters) and suspense - I found the second half to be more tedious as you basically waded through it to find out how each character meets his/her demise. The way it panned out after the buildup caused it to seem a little blase - maybe that w...more

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Feb 26, 2009

Jackie rated it

Shelves: hmmmmmmmm, work-review-related-reading

The star rating was difficult to me. The book is well written, but so dark and horrifying it's difficult to give it an "I liked it" rating. So take that with a grain of salt.

I have a sort of morbid fascination with this author after reading his first book The Average American Male. To say his writing style is saying misogynistic is like saying the Grand Canyon is a big hole. It terrified me that when I gave that book to a guy friend of mine he gobbled it up and reviewed...more

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Nov 20, 2011

Lily rated it

It's another Mr. Kultgen success. A very fast smooth read. I read it in one go this weekend, but not because it has no substance. There's one thing that made me "chase" it. There is one "terrible thing", a calamity alluded to right from the start, and it wasn't revealed till the very end. I wasn't going to stop until I found out what it was. And I wasn't disappointed.
Once again, Mr. CK did not show us his philosophical side till the very end, and only entertained us with...moreIt's another Mr. Kultgen success. A very fast smooth read. I read it in one go this weekend, but not because it has no substance. There's one thing that made me "chase" it. There is one "terrible thing", a calamity alluded to right from the start, and it wasn't revealed till the very end. I wasn't going to stop until I found out what it was. And I wasn't disappointed.
Once again, Mr. CK did not show us his philosophical side till the very end, and only entertained us with a fast paced story. I felt keenly for the three characters. They were very well drawn. One suffered from love, one was lost and frustrated and took it out in sex, one was just vain and empty. Unlike Average American Male, Lie is much more serious in tone. There is much more pain, and painted very clearly in every action the characters took.
Everything unfolds before our eyes, and we can see the story hurtling towards a bitter end. Ah, but that is the best part, we'll never guess what happens. It's a big surprise.
The language is also much stronger than Average Amer. Male. Anger is well depicted by dirtiness and sex, which is clever. With the story, Mr. K again shows us his main point, the vapid heartlessness of young women and the trapped succumbing of young men.
When I write reviews, I always compare authors and books, so I can't help but think of J R Allison's Liar. I've mentioned both authors before so maybe I'm being redundant. But it's an amazing coincidence. First of all the titles, Liar - The Lie. Then both books are written in the same technique, the stories are told by the characters' inner voices. The Lie has three voices, and Liar has two. Both books are successful in this regard. The style of language of both is of a school like no other authors'. Philosophically they are both illustrating the depravity of the world. Only difference is, The Lie is serious and sad, and Liar is fun and joyful. Both books are about tangled relationships, though the stories are completely different. Liar is also about a woman in her 30s, which could almost be the girl in The Lie, getting nastier after a bit of life experience. It was really quite interesting to compare the two and see the similarity and difference.(less)

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Jul 16, 2010

Sam rated it

Recommends it for: Nobody

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I have a bit of a bone to pick with Chad Kultgen.

SPOILERT ALERT

So basically, that book was a lot of bullshit. The first like, 5 chapters were so awesome, and I was really excited to read it. I kind of figured that the sexual commentary would go away after a while, like when an author describes a character as having blonde hair, and then doesn't mention it again. But this book was just relentless. For example, there were like 15 combined pages about anally fingering colleg...moreI have a bit of a bone to pick with Chad Kultgen.

SPOILERT ALERT

So basically, that book was a lot of bullshit. The first like, 5 chapters were so awesome, and I was really excited to read it. I kind of figured that the sexual commentary would go away after a while, like when an author describes a character as having blonde hair, and then doesn't mention it again. But this book was just relentless. For example, there were like 15 combined pages about anally fingering college girls, and approximately 1 paragraph describing Kyle's rape trial. What?

After a quick Google Image I've decided this douche bag is just a frustrated virgin who got his heart broken (just like Kyle) but didn't feel like he got enough pity from his heartbreak. Here's a fun fact: guys don't love sex that much. Obviously we love it a lot, you know we're welcome to it anyday. But after like 6 months of fucking countless sluts in the ass, EVERYBODY would be bored of that, seriously. These people had endlessly powerful sex drives. Brett talks half the book about how he wants a unique existence, and he does this by... fucking girls in college? The whole book was meant to be shocking, and then at the end the reader is supposed to feel the disparity that the characters feel, and we're supposed to pity Kyle and hate Heather and think Brett was a well-meaning cockface.

But I hated them all, really. Heather was the worst, and honestly, Kyle was such a dumb suck. He goes through this visceral revelation and decides bitches are just for sex, has that threesome in the jacuzzi, etc. And THEN he has sex with Heather ANYWAY! The fuck was the whole point, if the character revelation we'd been waiting for for 300 pages just gets reversed offhandedly twelve pages later. There was no point. There was no point at all. It was 400 pages of "You can't. Always get. What you waaaaaant!" which is a song I also hate.

That said I appreciated reading this book on the grounds that it had kind of interesting parts. I liked Brett's rejection of his peers, and I actually thought he was pretty cool in his relationship to Kyle and his thoughts about the role his family expected of him. But I don't really understand why it took a prostitute for him to get an STD when he was basically fucking whores the whole book. That part was very very confusing to me.

Also, the constant use of "Everything seemed to be perfect... little did we know the LIE. WOULD. RUIN. IT. ALL." may have been considered to be the "sense of impending doom" but it was just irritating. I'm reading a book, I understand there is supposed to be a climax at somepoint, so mentioning it at the end of every chapter is simply overkill.

I've read other reviews of this book, and it seems that whenever someone says "yeah, I hated all the characters" someone else feels that need to say "well the author did their job then didn't they?! They got emotion out of the reader!" which isn't at all the case. After I read Twilight (mistake), I hated all the characters in that book too. Should Stephanie Meyer be considered a splendid author because she got some emotion out of me?

Another thing I'm noticing with these reviews is that mainly women are the ones who are giving it 5 stars, which I can only assume to be because they want to make themselves seem edgy, twisted, different, and as though they can handle reading such disgusting things, unlike other girls who would consider this to be "like, so gross!" Ladies ....no.

This book definitely isn't for the faint of heart, but in my opinion, it's not for anyone at all.(less)

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May 18, 2010

Shanannon rated it

Recommends it for: Absolutely nobody.

The blurbs on the back of the book were intriguing enough to make me want to read this book, however they really give absolutely no insight into the actual story. When I first started reading this book, I actually thought it had to be some kind of experiment to see how far someone could actually get in the book without throwing it in the trash.

It reads as if it were written by a freshman male college student, not just in terms of content, but also in terms of writing talent. The writi...more

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Jul 26, 2009

Alyssa rated it

Recommends it for: those who don't cringe at jaw-dropping moments.

This book is so darkly humorous and so insanely fucked up that it was hard to put down.

When I bought this book, I had absolutely no idea who the author was or what the book would be about. There is no summary found on the cover for the story, really. Maybe that was what intrigued me so much.

The story follows three Texas college students:
First, there is Kyle, an intelligent guy who was the only guy to come from the middle class at his private school. Kyle has high ho...more

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Feb 16, 2011

Andrew Georgiadis rated it

3.5 STARS

This should come as a public service announcement, or perhaps a self-assessment test. When asking yourself "is this book right for me?", use the following questions:

Do I (or could I) laugh at descriptions of sexual depravity performed on random college women by affluent college guys?
~Sub-question: could deliberate transmission of an STD be mildly amusing in the right situations?

Have I been had my heart ripped out of my chest?

I...more

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Jun 27, 2010

Mike Iovinelli rated it

Although this story has some of the most disgusting viewpoints on sex, love, relationships, money, and women, I found it to be extremely entertaining. Each character is beyond flawed, but throughout the book, the author balances them out with some truthful moments. I thought this helped make them more real instead of these three F%#@-ed up people. The story is told through all three main characters, each alternating a chapter--I loved this style. The language was also also very real and ever...more

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Apr 10, 2010

Mitchel Broussard rated it

Shelves: subculture, guilty-pleasures, mind-equals-blown

Hilariously evil, extremely perverted and insanely addicting. The last 100 or so pages are filled to the brim with devious plots and dirty tricks and it all works just so well. The characters really change and, well not grow, throughout the novel, but develop new personalities. I, literally, can not believe how it ended. It's just so insanely @#$%-ed up.

It has, also, one of the most effective points of view I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I mean i know I've read a book like t...more

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Aug 20, 2010

David rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I like that one star is "didn't like it." I'd give this book no stars if I could. This is a horribly written book with highly unlikable, stereotyped characters. There's a rich college guy who believes that all women are expendable whores, his nerdy best friend who thinks otherwise (but then comes to the same conclusion), and the slutty girl who starts out sleeping with the nerd in order to sleep with the rich guy.

As stated before, the book is horribly written, in a rotat...moreI like that one star is "didn't like it." I'd give this book no stars if I could. This is a horribly written book with highly unlikable, stereotyped characters. There's a rich college guy who believes that all women are expendable whores, his nerdy best friend who thinks otherwise (but then comes to the same conclusion), and the slutty girl who starts out sleeping with the nerd in order to sleep with the rich guy.

As stated before, the book is horribly written, in a rotating first person perspective. The rich guy's chapters are all misogynistic, masturbatory fantasies that go on endlessly about how all girls are whores, which holes he stuck it in, and how he got someone to do anything because of his money. Other reviews apparently found these chapters hilarious, but I fail to see the humor. (In the first 50 pages, he has sex with two girls at once, cums in one's mouth, has her spit it out in a cup of listerine, and then has her pour it on her friend's vagina.)

The nerdy friend's chapters are slightly less annoying, but not by much. Instead, he constantly laments about how he "should have known" the love of his college life was a horrible person. "I loved her, but I should have known at the time she was a *insert random, female-oriented derogatory word here.*"

The girl is by far the greatest piece of work. If she was a sympathetic character, it would have done wonders. Instead, she *actually* is slutty and self-serving, having slept with several people, done several drugs, had two abortions, and constantly talking about how she needs to further her social status no matter what.

I don't understand how anyone can give this poorly written piece more than one star. People have said the book is engaging, but in this case I find this only true if one has the same, "must complete book" OCD that I have. Each chapter serves to make you hate the characters that much more, but even that gets repetitive and redundant. One eventually finds themselves speed-reading in order to finish the book and get it out of their lives. Even at the end point, it's too late. After sloshing through so much muck, one doesn't even care about the ending anymore. And while one doesn't expect the ending to happen as it does, thanks to the shenanigans of the rich kid and the slut girl, it's not that surprising either. Sort of an "...oh" reaction followed by a huge sense of dissatisfaction.

If I were to recommend this book, it'd be to to anyone who refers to girls as "bitches and hos" and means it. Otherwise, keep it off your bookshelves.(less)

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Apr 12, 2010

Mr. Nickler rated it

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Jul 20, 2009

Jeff rated it

I haven't been so riveted by a book so recently that I finished a book so quickly. It engulfed me. Is a very misogynistic book but it hits it's mark more times then not I love this book and it's feral kernels of truth it goes perfectly with tucker max's "I hope they serve beer in hell" it's a must read for men and if women really want to know what men are liked or think stripped of all the sheen and bullshit they should read this to find out the horrible truth now true not all men are ...moreI haven't been so riveted by a book so recently that I finished a book so quickly. It engulfed me. Is a very misogynistic book but it hits it's mark more times then not I love this book and it's feral kernels of truth it goes perfectly with tucker max's "I hope they serve beer in hell" it's a must read for men and if women really want to know what men are liked or think stripped of all the sheen and bullshit they should read this to find out the horrible truth now true not all men are the same it's not fair to lump us all together but all the thoughts you read have crossed most men's minds at least more then once no one is perfect not even you ladies (and if you do think you are perfect you obviously think a little too much of yourself.) but just as films, books and television lump all of you ladies together. it is a fair assessment that men have some of the same characteristics thoughts and desires. These two books should be passed around like a secret for male bonding. Sow e can give each other knowing looks and use certain terms so we know we each read the book or ask which was your favorite story or where are you up to in the book the books really have a certain charm. I may have already said too much. I'm giving the secret away d'oh the first secret of fight club is you don't talk about fight club oh man there I go again.

That you feel guilty for enjoying but relish it like it's your id run wild. It lures you sort of like rap music. Sometimes it has the most disturbing graphic lyrics that you listen to. your like oh my god but then you really get into the beat and crave it. Then all of a sudden you accept the song hook, line and sinker. You find yourself singing songs like "pop that pussy" or from "Until the Sweat drips from my balls skeet skeet skeet skeet." And you are singing to the song aloud with no shame because you are just so into it but don't take the lyrics literally. it's like that. Trust me it's such a good read Just as you have chick lit you could call this dude lit. I know you all thought I was going to say dick.
(less)

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Jan 07, 2012

Zeke Chase added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. UN-RATEABLE

There is an episode of “The Simpsons” wherein Lisa takes a college course on animation, and the professor proceeds to show an episode of “Itchy and Scratchy” wherein farmer Itchy tortures and kills farmer Scratchy. The professor then asks what the episode was trying to say. A student comes up with a deep moral to the story about overconsumption and the capitalistic rivalry in a new era of diminished resources that will turn farmers against each other, to which the profess...more

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Nov 24, 2011

Jordan Allen rated it

I liked this book. Being a gay male, I liked this book! I don't know a lot of guys out there with Brett's attitude, or Kyle's new found attitude, but they're out there.

If you're PC or a hard core Christian - Don't read this book because you won't appreciate it. It's raunchy, but real and funny as shit! It had me laughing a number of times through Brett's antics and Kyle's approach to love. Heathers valley girl dialect was spot on.

I have a friend that was in a frat...more

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Dec 06, 2011

David rated it

I did not care for this one much. I'd heard it was supposed to be his best, and the writing wasn't bad, but it was so unpleasant to read that I just didn't enjoy it very much. I suppose that is a testament to the fact that it could touch me, but it was so unpleasant that I can't go for it on those grounds. I've read some books that made me feel horrible and respected them because of their emotive power, but this just made me feel shitty. Like you took all the nastiness from the first book an...more

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Apr 25, 2011

Rachel Simone rated it

I thought this book was ridiculous. And not in a good way. Everyone is portrayed as evil or selfish or both. Especially the women. One of the main character's (Brett) entire life goal is to degrade women because he views them as money hungry whores. There are also no strong female characters to counteract his claim. They all fall into Brett's view of women. Even the one girl character who is supposed to be so different from all of them is weak. Almost nothing happened in the middle 200 pages. It...more

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Jan 22, 2011

Ambulur rated it

This was a very twisted story about 3 college students starting freshman to senior year. The ending is beyond crazy but what really got me was Kyle's character. He was pretty much the only normal decent person who at the end became well i wont go there but ill say its pretty sad. Its kind of depressing to think that really great guys are ruined by horrible college experiences. One things for sure, throughout the entire book, i absolutely hated Brett...and dont get me started with. Heather. Post...more

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Nov 29, 2010

Steven Gaskin rated it

Kultgen's writing is purposefully provocative and, to most women, offensive. I guess most men would find it easier to relate to his characters as, yes, we do think that way - to a greater or lesser extent. I was excited to read this book after having loved The Average American Male, but its early promise never delivered. That doesn't mean it wasn't well-written and entertaining, but the ending didn't bite hard enough to justify 5 stars. Writers are warned against clumsy signposting ("if onl...more

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Aug 05, 2009

Melissa rated it

Shelves: bookshelf

I read the reviews of this book before actually reading it, and I was a little nervous. Going in I knew it was sexually explicit and very misogynistic. As a woman, I know I am probably not supposed to like this book, but I found it to be an absolute page-turner.

The story follows three college students throughout their college careers. Each chapter alternates between Kyle, the smart, nerdy guy, Heather, the sorority chick who only cares about status, and Brett, the man-whore who is b...more

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Jun 25, 2011

Allison rated it

I didn't like this as much as The Average American Male. While TAAM seemed honest and somewhat innovative, I felt like Kultgen was just trying to push the limit in The Lie. I liked that it was told from the points of view of three characters, and each one had a distinctly different voice, so I was never confused about who was narrating. However, the entire plot line seemed a little over the top. It took a long time to get to the point, and I suppose the backstory was necessary to give the ending...more

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May 13, 2010

Andrew rated it

If you haven't read The Average American Male, you may be surprised by the blatant vulgarity displayed by Chat Kultgen in this, the second book. The absolutely hilarious vulgarity, that is. Don't even approach this book if you're caught up in a pattern of everything-must-be-cerebral-to-be-enjoyable. When you pick this book up, you'd better be ready for some Adam Corolla brand humor, hilarious lines, hilarious interactions, et cetera that could only come with a novel about the three characters in...more

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May 20, 2009

Michael rated it

Think The Real World, the movie/book. Just an absolute trainwreck of seemingly human behavior. I've often wondered if such pathetic examples of human beings actually exist. Of course, all this really means is that it's fun to read and hard to put down, unless you identify to closely with one of the main characters in the book, then you'll probably just be pissed off. At some points, the story turns into a Penthouse forum. Maybe, I'm jealous. My college experience was not even a fraction of what ...more

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Feb 21, 2011

Dylan Mierzwinski rated it

I finished it, and that must be saying something. I think all this book did for me was make me so thankful that I'm not in the greek system and never wanted to be. There were a few glimpses of hope when Brett (one of the main characters) started to talk about wanting to break away from the life he was destined for...I was hoping it would go deeper.

I suppose each book is meant to evoke something in the reader, and so I can't say that this book was purposeless..it did evoke frustratio...more

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May 12, 2009

Ariel rated it

The Lie recycles much of the same misogynistic mindset and vulgar satire that made The Average American male feel so fresh, offensive, and courageous -- the bold response to 'chick lit' for a new generation of young men. But this time around there is more of a plot based on a familiar love triangle set in the frat-infested college campus, though it takes a while to develop into anything interesting. Kultgen ensures the both mess of relationships that ensues over the four years of college and t...more

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May 30, 2011

Chic2SD rated it

Oh my god what a f'ed up book. Seriously Chad easy with the C-Word! I have to say I finished this book in two days. Brett reminds me of Teddy Montgomery from 92010. I am definetly going to read his other book as well. I mean this boook was raunchy as hell, with many derogatory female remarks mostly by Brett, and then confirmed by his best friend after his girl that he loved totally screwed him over. This whole book took place during a 4 year span of 3 characters attending Southern Methodist...more

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Jul 28, 2011

Kristine rated it

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Jan 11, 2011

Melissa rated it

My husband and I both read this while on a trip last year. He enjoyed Average American Male (on my recommendation) so he was eager to give this one a go.

My husband isn't a big reader so when I saw him reading this like his life depended on it, I knew I had to get to it. When he was done, I picked it up. Like Average American Male, it was a fast read, and not for the faint of heart (I remember looking at my husband and saying "that's nasty" and he would smile and say "yup...more

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Dec 09, 2009

David Rim rated it

"blowjob" -- it's a likeable word, I admit. Use it 1000 times in a novel, it ends up sounding like a kid who just learned what it meant.

This is so over-the-top that it's hard not to feel either completely patronized or completely above it. Kultgen can write though. I feel like there's a masterpiece coming from him someday. (Terrible review, but what can I say, I hate myself for loving this)

On a side note, does anyone know of a word that vaguely means "imma...more

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About Chad Kultgen

After two months in his birthplace Spokane, WA Chad Kultgen spent the majority of his life in a suburb of Dallas, TX called Lewisville. After high school, he turned down a full ride baseball scholarship to Trinity University in San Antonio, TX to pursue writing. He moved to Los Angeles, CA where he joined the likes of George Lucas, Robert Zemekis, and Ron Howard as a graduate of the prestigious Sc...more

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Quotes from The Lie

“people don't change, they just have momentary steps outside of their true character” — 33 people liked it

“Try to remember the moment when all the stupid innocent things you thought about life and love, all the things you thought mattered, all the things you though were true. . .try to remember when they all turned out to be lies. —Kyle” — 11 people liked it

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