We Were Liars: Metaphorical Perceptions of Reality

I remember reading E. Lockhart’s We Were Liars when it released back in 2014. The book started out ok, it was intriguing, but nothing phenomenal. Until the ending, of course— which remained etched in my memory after reading it that first time. Not because of the way it was written necessarily, but the way it had the ability to shock you to the core. 

From that moment on, E. Lockhart became a literary constant—an author whose every book I eagerly devoured without exception.

So, imagine my surprise when I heard that this book was being made into a TV show! Additionally, it is developed by Julie Plec, the mastermind behind The Vampire Diaries and The Originals!

Even though I didn’t end up binge-watching the whole series, it had my undivided attention every time I sat down to watch. But mind you, it’s heavy: if you have read the book, you will know what I mean.

This psychological thriller follows the entitled Sinclair family, the old-school version of American royalty– old money and familial bond. The kind who lies through their teeth and makes everything appear to be alright even if everything is an absolute mess. The kind that holidays on a private island called Beechwood near Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts, every summer. And the kind that acts mysteriously by hiding the truth after the owner’s granddaughter escapes death.

The affluent Harris Sinclair’s eldest grandchild is Cadence Sinclair Eastman. Cadence’s mother, Penny, and her aunts, Carrie and Bess, are Harris’s three daughters. The family nicknames Cadence, Carrie’s firstborn Johnny, Bess’s firstborn Mirren, and Gat Patil (Carrie’s partner Ed’s nephew) as “The Liars.” The four are inseparable, literally spending every waking moment together, sharing scandalous secrets and always relying on each other for support.

Gat and Cadence fall in love and start dating when Cadence is fifteen, a period of time she calls Summer Fifteen. But that same summer, something happens– unfortunately, Cadence has a severe brain injury and can only remember that she hit her head on water in an accident. She loses most of her memories and the only thing she recalls is kissing Gat under the fireworks in Summer Fifteen.

However, she is unable to remember the events that led to the accident and how she ended up in the water in the first place. Was it a suicide attempt that went wrong? If so, what made her try to commit suicide? Or was she assaulted by someone and left for dead? Or did she attempt to stop her family from feuding over a house?

Cadence returns to Beechwood in Summer Seventeen after a full year of recuperation during which she is not contacted by Johnny, Mirren, or Gat. She is determined to unravel the family’s secrets and trace the events that appear to be haunting her. The other liars treat Cadence strangely and won’t discuss Summer Fifteen, claiming that Penny told them she should figure things out on her own. Initially gutted that even Gat did not contact her for a whole year, she overcomes the hesitancy and rekindles her relationship with Gat. Or does she?

 Cadence is a liar in every sense. So, as you watch everything that unfolds in eight episodes, remember that. Remember that as the three daughters of Harris get into cheap catfights over financial disputes. Remember that as Gat, Johnny and Mirren tell amusive stories to Cadence during Summer Seventeen and remember that as a post-trauma black-haired Cadence traces the truth of her amnesic past. Will she beat her own coping mechanisms?

If you haven’t read the book, don’t. Just go ahead and watch it. Don’t hallucinate.

 “We are liars. We are beautiful and privileged. We are cracked and broken.”