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Sylvia Petter
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All the Beautiful Liars Kindle Edition

by Sylvia Petter (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

'Explores truth and memory with a compelling subtlety' – Jason Goodwin

The fictional memoir of Katrina Klain.

How true are the family histories that tell us who we are and where we come from? Who knows how much all the beautiful liars have embargoed or embellished the truth?

During a long flight from Europe to Sydney to bury her mother, Australian expat Katrina Klain reviews the fading narrative of her family and her long quest to understand her true origins. This has already taken her to Vienna, where she met her Uncle Harald who embezzled the Austrian government out of millions, as well as Carl Sokorny, the godson of one of Hitler's most notorious generals, and then on to Geneva and Madrid. Not only were her family caught up with the Nazis, they also turn out to have been involved with the Stasi in post-war East Germany.

It's a lot to come to terms with, but there are more revelations in store. After the funeral, she finds letters that reveal a dramatic twist which means her own identity must take a radical shift. Will these discoveries enable her to complete the puzzle of her family's past?

Inspired by her own life story, Sylvia Petter's richly imaginative debut novel, set between the new world and the old, is a powerful tale about making peace with the past and finding closure for the future.

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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lightning Books
  4. Publication date
    16 Mar. 2020
  5. File size
    1.3 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

Review

'A stylistically daring, hurricane-paced and genuinely impressive feat of the imagination' - Billy O'Callaghan, 'A mosaic primarily made of a family memoir, with its mesh of relationships, past and present, the unravelling of decades-old secrets from a Europe that includes Nazi Germany, paced like a thriller. A compelling read' - Meg Stewart, 'Explores truth and memory with a compelling subtlety' - Jason Goodwin, 'Sylvia Petter's language is the star. The prose is stunning, rhythmic and visceral' - Ivy Ngeow, 'A well written, intriguing story that reads like an actual memoir which I thought very clever. I didn't want to put it down' - Over the Rainbow, 'An absorbing, addictive ancestry... As each player in the life drama tells their side of the story, the atmosphere, characters and events of the time come to life' - Jane Hunt, 'I absolutely loved this book. It reaches into the past in an indelible way, blending facts and fiction so skilfully that the reader becomes engrossed' - Lock and Load Brides of Christ, 'A stunningly unusual novel, and the opening left me wondering, captivated, and desperate for more' - Radzy Reviews --.

About the Author

Sylvia Petter was born in Vienna but grew up in Australia, which makes her Austr(al)ian. She started writing fiction in 1993 and has published three story collections, The Past Present, Back Burning and Mercury Blobs. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of New South Wales. After living for 25 years in the Geneva area, where she was a founding member of the Geneva Writers' Group, she now lives in Vienna once more.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B084HJWT1K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lightning Books (16 Mar. 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1.3 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • Customer reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 23 ratings

About the author

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Sylvia Petter

Sylvia Petter

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Australian in Austria. Writer of short, long, serious, sexy and fun. The story collection, The Past Present, was published in 2000/2001 in paperback and ebook formats by IUMIX, UK. Back Burning won the IP Picks Best Fiction Prize and was published in 2007 by IP, Australia. Mercury Blobs was published by Raging Aardvark, Australia in 2013, and stories appear in German translation in Geflimmer der Vergangenheit in 2014. Stories also appear in the charity anthologies, 100 Stories for Haiti, 50 Stories for Pakistan, A Pint and a Haircut - True Irish Stories, 100 Stories for Queensland, New Sun Rising: Stories for Japan, and Refugees Welcome.

Writing as AstridL, erotic tales may be found at amazon.com/author/astridl

And here´s what a reader in France says in a 4-star review of Mercury Blobs: "You can't take one without the other!

Some stories remind us that everyone leads two lives. Mix and match Sylvia Petter's 'Mercury Blobs' with AstridL's 'Consuming the Muse and you'll see why. A Home is a Home and nice to get back to even after a Picnic at Niagara.

The Christmas Goose may not seem as exciting as a Cherry Strudel but it can sometimes help you get over what was Just Lunch.

Giggles? Laughter? The odd tear or two? I am now sure that The Ways of Love and The Wages of Bliss are the two sides of the same coin."

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
23 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Raindancer 54
    5.0 out of 5 stars A story that stays with you
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 2025
    Came across this book in Shakespeare and Co in Vienna and read it while staying in this wonderful city. Perfect combination. Imaginative and compelling. This is a true one-off and Sylvia Petter evokes atmosphere, great characters and a story that stays with you long after you have finished. It took years to write apparently as it went through several metamorphoses. It was worth it.
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  • Penny Dreadful
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interwoven fact and fiction
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2020
    How I love a story full of unreliable narrators! I absolutely loved this book. It reaches into the past in an indelible way, blending facts and fiction so skillfully that the reader becomes engrossed. The post-war life of the central character, Katrina, is brought to life very powerfully, particularly the years she spends away from the country of her upbringing.

    It's a reminder that to understand ourselves we must understand the past, however unreliably it is told to us. it was also fascinating to me to consider how it must have been to continue to live when you're on the losing side - not just once with the Nazis but also with the Stasi. If love and compassion endure then so does fear and cruelty - sometimes hand-in-hand. Ultimately, I felt I cared about Katrina and admired the way she struck out on her own in the face of familial disapproval to make her own way in life. her indomitable spirit and intelligence are to be admired.

    I'd love to sit down with the author and discuss all this, as it's based on on real events. Exhaustively researched, it imbues the story with a spirit of place that I feel could not exist without the the personal emotional investment of the author. Recommended.
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  • Tim Ewins
    5.0 out of 5 stars Had me longing to pick it up again..
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 April 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I read this book so quickly (by my standards) as it was just so un-put down-able. I could have lived in Vienna with Katrina Klain happily and I looked forward to every moment that I could be reading this book again. Such beautiful writing.

    I 100% recommend it!
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  • Susan A King
    5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 March 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Although fictional, I quickly found myself absorbed in Katrina's story, and the ending ... genius.
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  • Jane Hunt
    4.0 out of 5 stars An absorbing, addictive ancestry.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 March 2020
    An absorbing, addictive ancestry, which takes the reader across Europe, in troubled times, following Katrina's quest to discover her roots. The writing style is engaging, as each player, in the life drama, tells their side of the story, the atmosphere, characters and events of the time come to life.

    The historical detail is fascinating, the visual imagery compelling, and the characters are complex. The structure of the story maintains its momentum and the ending has some final twists.

    I received a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
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  • donnasbookblog
    4.0 out of 5 stars I thought it was well written and I really enjoyed it!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2020
    I thought that this was a well written story and it was one that had me really hooked.

    I read before I agreed to read and review the book that it was based on a fictional memoir and that really sparked my interest after reading the blurb.

    I found that the story had a great flow to it and I did find myself flying through the pages and I started and finished the book in an afternoon. The author did a really good job with the book and I would definitely look to pick up something else she writes in the future too.

    It is 4 stars from me for this one, I thought it was well written and I really enjoyed it!
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  • Ivy Ngeow
    5.0 out of 5 stars A highly-artistic fictionalised memoir of diverse postwar upbringing in Austria and Australia
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 August 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This is an honest and historical family literary fiction of a childhood, and an escape into the past told through Katrina, the main character who has a close friend in the form of Jane. Sylvia Petter's language is the star. The prose is stunning, rhythmic and visceral. It will take you into the past in an emotional rollercoaster experience through characters which are real. I would have loved to have been immersed more in the postwar Viennese culture and ambience. This is the first work I have read by this author and it is very impressive. I went to the same Uni as the author (UNSW) and am very fond of and familiar with the Australian part of the narrative especially of Sydney. Thank you Sylvia for taking us into the richness of these other worlds through storytelling.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Mohamed Tawfik
    5.0 out of 5 stars A woman's quest for identity takes her on a journey across continents and generations
    Reviewed in the United States on 24 November 2020
    Verified Purchase
    This fascinating novel - or fictional autobiography - takes you on a journey from Central Europe to Australia and back, and spans the twentieth century with all the sense of liberation that it brought to humanity and of course, the horrors. In one sense it is a family drama that doesn't hesitate to expose all, in another it is a conversation between different facets of the author's own soul. More importantly it is beautifully written with sensitivity and sensuality, a must read.
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  • Garry Craig Powell
    4.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting Historical Novel, Inventive and Thought-Provoking
    Reviewed in France on 4 June 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is a highly engaging novel of considerable formal boldness and stylistic panache. I don't want to give spoilers, but let's say that the novel's premise is extremely unusual, and enables the author to repeatedly dive into the past without recourse to the typical flashbacks of realistic novels, which can become tiresome. (I know, because I've struggled with this technical problem in my own fiction.) In this story of an Australian woman who's forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about her German and Austrian parents, we are skilfully guided through a collective trauma that is still rocking central Europe. It's a gripping historical novel of unusual promise.
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  • Bernhard H.
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read
    Reviewed in Germany on 14 June 2020
    Verified Purchase
    A curious and exciting travel through jumbled memories and fantasized connections, making sense of biographies facing a troubled period in Western history. "All the Beautiful Liars" truly is a distorted mirror of post-war lives, shaped by silence, lies and excuses. An exceptional book and a must-read to deal with our tragic past.
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  • Ellieoz23
    4.0 out of 5 stars Living with other people's lies
    Reviewed in France on 29 July 2020
    Verified Purchase
    My words to sum up Sylvia Petter’s 'All the Beautiful Liars' ? Never give in, never give up. That’s how Katrina Klain manages to put together all those pieces of other people’s life puzzles to see the light, HER light, albeit a little late. A little lost at first, the reader soon lets go and flows to the pace of the different characters’ voices as they gather momentum leading him/her to try and help Katrina tie up the loose ends of her life. A refreshing smoothly written, evenly balanced and well structured narrative, that will ring true to anyone who’s ever felt ‘in between’ two worlds, two cultures or simply two places to call home.
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