"Lies" by Oliver Dahl-Review

“Lies” is by now 16 year old, self-published author, Oliver Dahl. Twitter brought me into contact with him. In one tweet he was looking for bloggers to review his third novel. I have to say, that I jumped at the chance.

“Lies” is a novella set during the Salem witch trials. The story is told in first person from Ann Putnum Jr’s view. The novella is shorter, which is satisfying with every turn of the page as you near the climax. Dahl has said that the first draft of this book was written during the first half of NaNoWriMo. Which is of course (if you read my blog/follow my Twitter) something that I participate in and support strongly.

Like I stated above, this novella is written in first person. Now, some people really enjoy first person because they feel closer to the character and can really see their views. For me, first person is distracting and slightly insulting to the reader.  As the old writing adage goes, “Show don’t tell.” With first person I find it hard to show the reader and let them come to the conclusions rather than telling them what to think about the story, or what the character is feeling.

Dahl in “Lies” avoids this pitfall of first person because the main character is so young, and her mind is not always made up. She swings wildly in her feelings even in the same sentence at times. Ann Putnum is a very interesting character, and it was fascinating to read from her POV. This take on the Salem witch trials feels fresh and exciting.

The element of the fantastical was interestingly juxtaposed against the everyday life of a young girl in the late 1600’s. Dahl really captured the reader’s imagination and curiosity as well the sense of unease as we were swept in the hysteria and anxiety of the trials.

There were a few sentences that needed to be rearranged for the prose to really flow for the reader. I also found a few typos; but this is my college editing years coming back to me. Dahl has some wonderful descriptions sprinkled throughout. He truly captured the wintery scene in Salem and the agitation of the town. These images stay with the reader and contribute to the atmosphere of the novella.

I greatly enjoyed this novella and its unique perspective of the Salem Witch Trials. “Lies” clearly shows that we as readers can expect great things in the future from Dahl. And I for one, am looking forward to following his progress!