#PHILIPPE BESSON

[newvision]

— Philippe Besson, Lie With Me

[labyrinthhofmymind]

LIE WITH ME!!!!! LIE WITH ME!!!!! LIE!!! WITH!!!! ME!!! LIE WITH MEEEEEE

[peonies-and-dreams]

He smiled so that I could take his smile with me.

[storytellinh]

Lie with Me, Philippe Besson

[thegirlwholovesliterature]

When Philippe Besson wrote “I discover the pain of missing someone. I miss his skin, his body, which I once possessed and then had taken away from me. It must be given back under threat of madness.”

And Leo Tolstoy wrote “He soon felt that the realization of his desire had given him only a grain of the mountain of bliss he had expected. And missing her was a madness he could not escape.”

Brb- gonna go sob in the shower now because who is going to love me to the point of madness?

[bookaddict24-7]

The size of a book will never determine (for me) how much it will break my heart. However, Lie With Me is a snack of a book that held enough heart to feed me as if it were a feast.

[fidjiefidjie]

"Des nuages noirs formaient des ombres contre les plis de la falaise. A flanc de colline, le phare surplombait les eaux en désordre, froides et lourdes."

Philippe Besson

Gif Giphy

[thepostcardskolektiv]

Lie with Me (Arrête Avec Tes Mensonges) attempts to pull at the heartstrings with its exploration of longing, missed connections, and the ghosts of what could have been. However, the film takes a notable departure from Philippe Besson’s novel by cutting short one of the most anticipated moments — the anticipation of a possible reunion between Thomas Andrieu and Philippe or in this case Stephané. Instead of allowing the audience to experience that emotional reckoning, Lucas casually drops the news to Stephané that his father has passed away. While this creative decision might be aiming for subtlety, focusing on the melancholic 'what could have been,' it feels abrupt and robs the narrative of the emotional build-up that the book so carefully crafted.

I will never call Thomas.

Thomas will never call either.

I found myself yearning for more palpable sorrow. The film flirts with the sadness of love lost, but never fully dives into the depths of anguish that the story hints at. There’s a quiet restraint to Stephané’s character, whose stoic demeanor brings a certain tenderness to the film. However, this very reservation might make him seem emotionally distant to some viewers. It’s as though the film is content to hover on the surface of heartache, rather than plunging into the full weight of loss.

The portrayal of Stephané and Lucas’ relationship in the beginning also struck a discordant note for me. It felt unnecessarily rushed, as if it was simply there to push the plot forward. While I understand that this deviation from the novel may have been intended to give the film momentum, it sacrificed the novel’s more intricate portrayal of love. The complexities of Stephané and Thomas’ lost connection, and Lucas’ journey to unravel the mystery of his father, were sidelined. The film missed an opportunity to explore these emotional layers with the depth and subtlety that made the original story so compelling.

Despite these missteps, there’s something deeply moving about the film’s portrayal of tangential relationships — those fleeting, ephemeral connections that change us irrevocably. Some people enter our lives just once, yet they carve out a space in our hearts so profound that their absence becomes a permanent fixture. Everything after them becomes just that — an afterthought, an echo.

As I watched, I was reminded of Novo Amor’s haunting lyrics in "Cold":

"For all that it's worth now, you were worth it in the end

For all of your worth, I would lapse and fall again

For all that it's worth, I would have loved you until the end

But I'm cold in your heart and you're branded into mine."

These words encapsulate the emotional undercurrent of Lie with Me— the ache of holding onto love that no longer holds you back, the quiet resignation that comes with being forever changed by someone no longer within reach.

[lauratheghost]

My favorite books I read in 2024

(*spoiler: they are all gay romances /tragedies*)

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

5 stars

Set in the 80's in Poland. Loved the way this book was written- I can't stress that enough, the language was really beautiful. Shows the struggles of political issues during that time. No happy ending but it made a lasting impact on me.

Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

5 stars

I've never cried over a book so badly before- I gave myself a migraine. And then I cried again when I went through and tabbed and highlighted it.

It's slightly controversial because of the ages of the characters, but I really related to Elio on a certain level for some reason. No happy ending.

Fine Me by Andre Aciman

4 stars

A lot of people don't like this sequel, but I enjoyed it for the most part. It gives you the ending you want in the first book, and I actually enjoyed the POV from the father. (I know many people thought this was irrelevant but I actually think it was important.) It did start a bit slow though and took me a bit to get into.

Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

4 stars

I honestly didn't know this was based on a short story until a few months ago. I read it within an hour or two since it's very short. It was very sad though, to the point that I'm too scared to watch the movie still.

What Belongs To You by Garth Greenwell

4 stars

Sheesh, idk where to start with this book. The way it was written was very challenging to read- to the point where I almost quit this book a few times. But, I was so curious about the characters that I kept coming back to it.

Overall, a very dark, gloomy atmosphere to this book. It honestly made me never want to go to where this book takes place (but I know that's not a fair way to judge a place.) It just seemed so, so depressing and awful.

Parts of this book were honestly disturbing. The details for every little thing were so descriptive that I can't believe this isn't an autobiography or a true story.

I'm still glad I read the book, but it was pretty hard to get through.

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

4 stars

Deemed a classic, and in Swimming In The Dark the main character loves this book, which is what made me curious enough to finally read it.

Not sure what to say about this one other than it was sad and complex, and nothing ended well for anyone.

Lie With Me by Phillippe Besson

5 stars

(this book was translated by Molly Ringwald, so that's random and interesting to me)

I really liked this one. I loved the way it was written, and the setting in the French countryside.

The passing of time in the book was also interesting. .. I'm realizing now this book is hard to talk about without saying too much. But once again, no happy ending.

Tin Man by Sarah Winman

4 stars

Kind've hauntingly beautiful. The only thing I disliked about the book was that the timeline was a bit confusing as it kept jumping around. But overall, I did enjoy the story and it stuck with me for a while.

Anyways, if you see this post and you also like these books and have any book recs, let me know! 😊🖤

[francisabernathyswife]

I just read lie with me by Philippe Besson and I’ve never cried so much without stopping, I cried from the beginning to the end, my head hurts, my eyes burn. Five stars and one of my favorites tho

[tinderheartpaperbody]

Ok jolie couverture qui rappelle celle de A little life et tout, but here's the original :

[newvision]

— Philippe Besson, Lie With Me

[labyrinthhofmymind]

anyone else read lie with me by philippe besson??? no???? just me???? am i the only one who’s read this fucking heartbreaking book that made me sob my eyes out for the entire second half of it???? no??? just me??????

[telelli-writes]

SPOILERS for lie with me / the charioteer below!!

getting very deeply in my feelings contrasting ralph’s goodbye letter to laurie in the charioteer (which was meant to be read after ralph had completed suicide):

“Just lately I have been happier than I ever had the right to expect, and as one goes round the world one sees that happiness is hard to come by and seldom lasts for long.”

with thomas’ goodbye letter to philippe in lie with me (which philippe read after thomas completed suicide):

“I just wanted to write to tell you that I have been happy during these months together, that I have never been so happy, and that I already know I will never be so happy again.”

thinking about how painful and alienating and deadly it is to be forced to hide oneself and who one loves 💔 the closet kills!

[samsdei]

Jérémy Gillet & Julien de Saint-Jean

[redsarchive]

“But absence is, first and foremost, silence. A vast, enveloping silence that weighs you down and puts you in a state where any unforeseeable, unidentifiable sound can make you jump.”

— Philippe Besson, Lie With Me