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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/41d561s2h4lsx316sy316.jpg]]
''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written in French by Hungarian author Ágota Kristóf detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeTwinNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
The second book is ''The Proof''. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact that he drives away his loved ones and his loneliness without Claus around, and adopts a deformed child named Mathias. This book is written in singular third person.
The third book in the series is ''The Third Lie''. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end, but in short [[spoiler:it is revealed that the first two books were [[UnreliableNarrator fabrications of Lucas' life]]]]. Still, it can be said that this book completes the parable of West and East Europe after WWII. It is written in first person. It's definitely the most heartrending of the three, and that's saying something.
The series can be obtained [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lies-Notebook-Proof-Third/dp/0749397608 here.]]
The first book was also adapted into an Hungarian film (titled ''A nagy füzet''), directed by János Szász.
As a final warning, '''''BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS''''', which are unavoidable given ''The Third Lie'''s take on the series.
----
!!Contains examples of:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide]]. She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
* ArcWords: "Sons of a bitch" returns in ''The Third Lie'' as ''[[spoiler:son]]'' of a bitch, which recounts Lucas' [[spoiler: true]] history.
* BeigeProse: One of the rules of contributing to the titular notebook, although it's slightly lessened in ''The Proof''.
* {{Blackmail}}: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed [[spoiler: that he had molested Harelip.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Between Klaus and his sister, [[spoiler:although it doesn't last, as she marries a surgeon]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lucas jumps into train tracks and dies after Klaus rejected him. Klaus pushed away the one girl he ever loved and is forced to stay with his mom who prefers Lucas to him and has said he will commit suicide after the death of his mother.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Grandmother, Lucas, along with Mathias, and Klaus has stated he will do the same.]]
* DysfunctionJunction: ''Every'' character has something going on:
** Lucas [[spoiler:lives his life a lie and invents a brother to stave off loneliness]]. He also [[spoiler:commits suicide after a lifetime of searching for his brother, Klaus]].
** Mathias was abandoned by his mother and feels unloved due to his deformities, and dislikes the other children who are "perfect". [[spoiler:This leads to his eventual suicide at ''seven'' years of age.]]
** Klaus and Lucas' mother [[spoiler:shoots and kills their father after finding out he loved another woman, leading to his death and crippling Lucas. This leads to the "thing" and ''all three novels'' could have been avoided had she not done this; the most notable impact this has is that the twins wouldn't have been separated.]] She spends the remainder of her life doting over Lucas' perfection and [[TheUnfavorite lashing out at Klaus]].
** After the "thing", Klaus is left with no one to stay with, and moves in with Antoine and Sarah. Klaus is somewhat miserable because his mother obsesses over Lucas and treats him poorly, and Lucas is never found [[spoiler:until ''The Third Lie'', [[MindScrew possibly]]]]. As he grows up, even with the war passing, none of this changes, he has health issues, and he has to quit one of his jobs. He was also in love with Sarah, and has to watch knowing that he can do nothing about the situation and as she [[spoiler:marries a surgeon]]. [[spoiler:By the time Lucas finally does come around, forty something years later, he doesn't want his mother to get overexcited and Lucas' presence to disrupt the routine life his mother and he are leading, and claims he is unrelated to him.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: In ''The Notebook'', practically every character is this (save the twins, who ''aren't even named'' until the next novel). The priest, Harelip, the housekeeper, the foreign officer...
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Lucas]], in the orphanage, is a {{jerkass}}, and the director and old lady there think it's because his parents never visit him.
-->The old woman asked me again: "Do you do these things because your own parents never come to see you?"
-->I said to her, "What business is that of yours?"
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''The Proof'' heavily implies that [[spoiler:Lucas was never real to begin with, along with the other characters in the novel and its predecessor.]]
** ''The Third Lie'' is this for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:confirming the above and effectively rendering the first two books fictitious.]]
*** It seems like [[spoiler:''The Notebook'' did occur, but with only one of the twins, and bits and pieces of the final chapters of ''The Proof''are also true.]]
* HistoricalFiction: Based off of WWII.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Lucas]], at five, tells the other children in the hospital that their parents don't love them because they're ill, and he tells parents their child is dead. [[FreudianExcuse This probably stems from his parents not coming to visit him.]]
* MindScrew: The final few chapters of ''The Proof'' [[spoiler:raise questions over whether Lucas is real or not]].
** ''The Third Lie'' reveals that [[spoiler:The first two books were lies by Lucas and the events never really unfolded that way. Considering both of the actual twins chronically lie, it's difficult to tell what's true and what's not in the end]].
** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying]], the third or even parts of the second novel [[spoiler:could themselves be fabrications.]]
* MoralityPet: Lucas, in ''The Third Lie'', is a complete {{Jerkass}} in the Rehabilitation Center, except to one person.
-->I gave my usual whacks to the crybabies, then I went to see the little blond paralytic who doesn't move and doesn't speak. All he does is look at the ceiling, or the sky if he is brought outside, and smile. I took his hand, held it to my face, and then placed my hands against his face. He looked at the ceiling and smiled.
* OffingTheOffspring: Averted. In ''The Proof'', Yasmine attempts to do this to Mathias, but can't bring herself to do it. In ''The Third Lie'', the twins' mother believes she inadvertently killed Lucas, when in fact she just cripples him.
* OnlyOneName: Averted. The characters, if they [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep aren't referred to by characteristics or occupation]], do in fact have a last name, although it's simply an initial. (Lucas and Claus T., Klaus T., Peter N., Maria Z.)
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few of the characters are actually named in ''The Notebook'', lapsing under EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep. {{Lampshaded}}:
-->'''The priest''': Where is it? Who sent you?
-->'''The twins''': Harelip and her mother.
-->'''The priest''': What is the precise name of these people?
-->'''The twins''': We don't know their precise name.
* ParentalIncest: Father-daughter version between Yasmine and her father, producing Mathias.
* SpoilerTitle
* StraightGay: Peter from ''The Proof''.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The Priest touches on this when Lucas and Claus ask him to help Harelip.
-->"Although I know absolutely nothing about these people, I am willing to give them extreme unction. Let's go. Lead the way."
* TitleDrop:
** From ''The Proof'':
-->He takes the notebooks, he smiles. "At last, here is the proof of Lucas's existence. Thank you Peter. Has anyone read them?"
** From ''The Third Lie'':
-->The child signs the statement, in which there are three lies.
-->The man he crossed the frontier with was not his father.
-->The child is not eighteen, but fifteen.
-->[[spoiler:[[WhamLine His name is not Claus.]]]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus, whose names are anagrams of eachother. It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
* TheSociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
* TheUnfavorite: The twins' mother cannot stop talking about Lucas, and how he would have been successful in life in comparison to Klaus, whom she constantly scorns.
* UnreliableNarrator: Throughout the first and second book, where [[spoiler:it's revealed that they're just fabrications of Lucas' life, as he can't bear to tell the painful truth and thus narrates it as he wishes it played out]].
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The towns in the country are only referred to by letter (K, S, D, etcetera), and the foreign country is simply called just that. Other than the fact the trilogy takes place in Europe somewhere, it's almost impossible to tell specifically where.
----
->Not a bad idea, the train.
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/41d561s2h4lsx316sy316.jpg]]
''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written in French by Hungarian author Ágota Kristóf detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeTwinNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
The second book is ''The Proof''. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact that he drives away his loved ones and his loneliness without Claus around, and adopts a deformed child named Mathias. This book is written in singular third person.
The third book in the series is ''The Third Lie''. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end, but in short [[spoiler:it is revealed that the first two books were [[UnreliableNarrator fabrications of Lucas' life]]]]. Still, it can be said that this book completes the parable of West and East Europe after WWII. It is written in first person. It's definitely the most heartrending of the three, and that's saying something.
The series can be obtained [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lies-Notebook-Proof-Third/dp/0749397608 here.]]
The first book was also adapted into an Hungarian film (titled ''A nagy füzet''), directed by János Szász.
As a final warning, '''''BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS''''', which are unavoidable given ''The Third Lie'''s take on the series.
----
!!Contains examples of:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide]]. She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
* ArcWords: "Sons of a bitch" returns in ''The Third Lie'' as ''[[spoiler:son]]'' of a bitch, which recounts Lucas' [[spoiler: true]] history.
* BeigeProse: One of the rules of contributing to the titular notebook, although it's slightly lessened in ''The Proof''.
* {{Blackmail}}: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed [[spoiler: that he had molested Harelip.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Between Klaus and his sister, [[spoiler:although it doesn't last, as she marries a surgeon]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lucas jumps into train tracks and dies after Klaus rejected him. Klaus pushed away the one girl he ever loved and is forced to stay with his mom who prefers Lucas to him and has said he will commit suicide after the death of his mother.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Grandmother, Lucas, along with Mathias, and Klaus has stated he will do the same.]]
* DysfunctionJunction: ''Every'' character has something going on:
** Lucas [[spoiler:lives his life a lie and invents a brother to stave off loneliness]]. He also [[spoiler:commits suicide after a lifetime of searching for his brother, Klaus]].
** Mathias was abandoned by his mother and feels unloved due to his deformities, and dislikes the other children who are "perfect". [[spoiler:This leads to his eventual suicide at ''seven'' years of age.]]
** Klaus and Lucas' mother [[spoiler:shoots and kills their father after finding out he loved another woman, leading to his death and crippling Lucas. This leads to the "thing" and ''all three novels'' could have been avoided had she not done this; the most notable impact this has is that the twins wouldn't have been separated.]] She spends the remainder of her life doting over Lucas' perfection and [[TheUnfavorite lashing out at Klaus]].
** After the "thing", Klaus is left with no one to stay with, and moves in with Antoine and Sarah. Klaus is somewhat miserable because his mother obsesses over Lucas and treats him poorly, and Lucas is never found [[spoiler:until ''The Third Lie'', [[MindScrew possibly]]]]. As he grows up, even with the war passing, none of this changes, he has health issues, and he has to quit one of his jobs. He was also in love with Sarah, and has to watch knowing that he can do nothing about the situation and as she [[spoiler:marries a surgeon]]. [[spoiler:By the time Lucas finally does come around, forty something years later, he doesn't want his mother to get overexcited and Lucas' presence to disrupt the routine life his mother and he are leading, and claims he is unrelated to him.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: In ''The Notebook'', practically every character is this (save the twins, who ''aren't even named'' until the next novel). The priest, Harelip, the housekeeper, the foreign officer...
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Lucas]], in the orphanage, is a {{jerkass}}, and the director and old lady there think it's because his parents never visit him.
-->The old woman asked me again: "Do you do these things because your own parents never come to see you?"
-->I said to her, "What business is that of yours?"
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''The Proof'' heavily implies that [[spoiler:Lucas was never real to begin with, along with the other characters in the novel and its predecessor.]]
** ''The Third Lie'' is this for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:confirming the above and effectively rendering the first two books fictitious.]]
*** It seems like [[spoiler:''The Notebook'' did occur, but with only one of the twins, and bits and pieces of the final chapters of ''The Proof''are also true.]]
* HistoricalFiction: Based off of WWII.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Lucas]], at five, tells the other children in the hospital that their parents don't love them because they're ill, and he tells parents their child is dead. [[FreudianExcuse This probably stems from his parents not coming to visit him.]]
* MindScrew: The final few chapters of ''The Proof'' [[spoiler:raise questions over whether Lucas is real or not]].
** ''The Third Lie'' reveals that [[spoiler:The first two books were lies by Lucas and the events never really unfolded that way. Considering both of the actual twins chronically lie, it's difficult to tell what's true and what's not in the end]].
** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying]], the third or even parts of the second novel [[spoiler:could themselves be fabrications.]]
* MoralityPet: Lucas, in ''The Third Lie'', is a complete {{Jerkass}} in the Rehabilitation Center, except to one person.
-->I gave my usual whacks to the crybabies, then I went to see the little blond paralytic who doesn't move and doesn't speak. All he does is look at the ceiling, or the sky if he is brought outside, and smile. I took his hand, held it to my face, and then placed my hands against his face. He looked at the ceiling and smiled.
* OffingTheOffspring: Averted. In ''The Proof'', Yasmine attempts to do this to Mathias, but can't bring herself to do it. In ''The Third Lie'', the twins' mother believes she inadvertently killed Lucas, when in fact she just cripples him.
* OnlyOneName: Averted. The characters, if they [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep aren't referred to by characteristics or occupation]], do in fact have a last name, although it's simply an initial. (Lucas and Claus T., Klaus T., Peter N., Maria Z.)
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few of the characters are actually named in ''The Notebook'', lapsing under EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep. {{Lampshaded}}:
-->'''The priest''': Where is it? Who sent you?
-->'''The twins''': Harelip and her mother.
-->'''The priest''': What is the precise name of these people?
-->'''The twins''': We don't know their precise name.
* ParentalIncest: Father-daughter version between Yasmine and her father, producing Mathias.
* SpoilerTitle
* StraightGay: Peter from ''The Proof''.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The Priest touches on this when Lucas and Claus ask him to help Harelip.
-->"Although I know absolutely nothing about these people, I am willing to give them extreme unction. Let's go. Lead the way."
* TitleDrop:
** From ''The Proof'':
-->He takes the notebooks, he smiles. "At last, here is the proof of Lucas's existence. Thank you Peter. Has anyone read them?"
** From ''The Third Lie'':
-->The child signs the statement, in which there are three lies.
-->The man he crossed the frontier with was not his father.
-->The child is not eighteen, but fifteen.
-->[[spoiler:[[WhamLine His name is not Claus.]]]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus, whose names are anagrams of eachother. It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
* TheSociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
* TheUnfavorite: The twins' mother cannot stop talking about Lucas, and how he would have been successful in life in comparison to Klaus, whom she constantly scorns.
* UnreliableNarrator: Throughout the first and second book, where [[spoiler:it's revealed that they're just fabrications of Lucas' life, as he can't bear to tell the painful truth and thus narrates it as he wishes it played out]].
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The towns in the country are only referred to by letter (K, S, D, etcetera), and the foreign country is simply called just that. Other than the fact the trilogy takes place in Europe somewhere, it's almost impossible to tell specifically where.
----
->Not a bad idea, the train.
to:
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
%%
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/41d561s2h4lsx316sy316.jpg]]
* ''Literature/TheBookOfLies1986'', by
* ''Literature/TheBookOfLies2004'', by James Moloney
If a direct wick has led you here, please correct the
The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeTwinNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
The second book is ''The Proof''. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact
The third book in the series is ''The Third Lie''. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end, but in short [[spoiler:it is revealed that the first two books were [[UnreliableNarrator fabrications of Lucas' life]]]]. Still,
The series can be obtained [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lies-Notebook-Proof-Third/dp/0749397608 here.]]
The first book was also adapted into an Hungarian film (titled ''A nagy füzet''), directed by János Szász.
As a final warning, '''''BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS''''', which are unavoidable given ''The Third Lie'''s take on the series.
----
!!Contains examples of:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide]]. She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
* ArcWords: "Sons of a bitch" returns in ''The Third Lie'' as ''[[spoiler:son]]'' of a bitch, which recounts Lucas' [[spoiler: true]] history.
* BeigeProse: One of the rules of contributing
* {{Blackmail}}: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed [[spoiler: that he had molested Harelip.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Between Klaus and his sister, [[spoiler:although it doesn't last, as she marries a surgeon]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lucas jumps into train tracks and dies after Klaus rejected him. Klaus pushed away the one girl he ever loved and is forced to stay with his mom who prefers Lucas to him and has said he will commit suicide after the death of his mother.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Grandmother, Lucas, along with Mathias, and Klaus has stated he will do the same.]]
* DysfunctionJunction: ''Every'' character has something going on:
** Lucas [[spoiler:lives his life a lie and invents a brother to stave off loneliness]]. He also [[spoiler:commits suicide after a lifetime of searching for his brother, Klaus]].
** Mathias was abandoned by his mother and feels unloved due to his deformities, and dislikes the other children who are "perfect". [[spoiler:This leads to his eventual suicide at ''seven'' years of age.]]
** Klaus and Lucas' mother [[spoiler:shoots and kills their father after finding out he loved another woman, leading to his death and crippling Lucas. This leads to the "thing" and ''all three novels'' could have been avoided had she not done this; the most notable impact this has is that the twins wouldn't have been separated.]] She spends the remainder of her life doting over Lucas' perfection and [[TheUnfavorite lashing out at Klaus]].
** After the "thing", Klaus is left with no one to stay with, and moves in with Antoine and Sarah. Klaus is somewhat miserable because his mother obsesses over Lucas and treats him poorly, and Lucas is never found [[spoiler:until ''The Third Lie'', [[MindScrew possibly]]]]. As he grows up, even with the war passing, none of this changes, he has health issues, and he has to quit one of his jobs. He was also in love with Sarah, and has to watch knowing that he can do nothing about the situation and as she [[spoiler:marries a surgeon]]. [[spoiler:By the time Lucas finally does come around, forty something years later, he doesn't want his mother to get overexcited and Lucas' presence to disrupt the routine life his mother and he are leading, and claims he is unrelated to him.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: In ''The Notebook'', practically every character is this (save the twins, who ''aren't even named'' until the next novel). The priest, Harelip, the housekeeper, the foreign officer...
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Lucas]], in the orphanage, is a {{jerkass}}, and the director and old lady there think it's because his parents never visit him.
-->The old woman asked me again: "Do you do these things because your own parents never come to see you?"
-->I said to her, "What business is that of yours?"
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''The Proof'' heavily implies that [[spoiler:Lucas was never real to begin with, along with the other characters in the novel and its predecessor.]]
** ''The Third Lie'' is this for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:confirming the above and effectively rendering the first two books fictitious.]]
*** It seems like [[spoiler:''The Notebook'' did occur, but with only one of the twins, and bits and pieces of the final chapters of ''The Proof''are also true.]]
* HistoricalFiction: Based off of WWII.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Lucas]], at five, tells the other children in the hospital that their parents don't love them because they're ill, and he tells parents their child is dead. [[FreudianExcuse This probably stems from his parents not coming to visit him.]]
* MindScrew: The final few chapters of ''The Proof'' [[spoiler:raise questions over whether Lucas is real or not]].
** ''The Third Lie'' reveals that [[spoiler:The first two books were lies by Lucas and the events never really unfolded that way. Considering both of the actual twins chronically lie, it's difficult to tell what's true and what's not in the end]].
** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying]], the third or even parts of the second novel [[spoiler:could themselves be fabrications.]]
* MoralityPet: Lucas, in ''The Third Lie'', is a complete {{Jerkass}} in the Rehabilitation Center, except to one person.
-->I gave my usual whacks to the crybabies, then I went to see the little blond paralytic who doesn't move and doesn't speak. All he does is look at the ceiling, or the sky if he is brought outside, and smile. I took his hand, held it to my face, and then placed my hands against his face. He looked at the ceiling and smiled.
* OffingTheOffspring: Averted. In ''The Proof'', Yasmine attempts to do this to Mathias, but can't bring herself to do it. In ''The Third Lie'', the twins' mother believes she inadvertently killed Lucas, when in fact she just cripples him.
* OnlyOneName: Averted. The characters, if they [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep aren't referred to by characteristics or occupation]], do in fact have a last name, although it's simply an initial. (Lucas and Claus T., Klaus T., Peter N., Maria Z.)
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few of the characters are actually named in ''The Notebook'', lapsing under EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep. {{Lampshaded}}:
-->'''The priest''': Where is it? Who sent you?
-->'''The twins''': Harelip and her mother.
-->'''The priest''': What is the precise name of these people?
-->'''The twins''': We don't know their precise name.
* ParentalIncest: Father-daughter version between Yasmine and her father, producing Mathias.
* SpoilerTitle
* StraightGay: Peter from ''The Proof''.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The Priest touches on this when Lucas and Claus ask him to help Harelip.
-->"Although I know absolutely nothing about these people, I am willing to give them extreme unction. Let's go. Lead the way."
* TitleDrop:
** From ''The Proof'':
-->He takes the notebooks, he smiles. "At last, here is the proof of Lucas's existence. Thank you Peter. Has anyone read them?"
** From ''The Third Lie'':
-->The child signs the statement, in which there are three lies.
-->The man he crossed the frontier with was not his father.
-->The child is not eighteen, but fifteen.
-->[[spoiler:[[WhamLine His name is not Claus.]]]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus, whose names are anagrams of eachother. It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
* TheSociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
* TheUnfavorite: The twins' mother cannot stop talking about Lucas, and how he would have been successful in life in comparison to Klaus, whom she constantly scorns.
* UnreliableNarrator: Throughout the first and second book, where [[spoiler:it's revealed that they're just fabrications of Lucas' life, as he can't bear to tell the painful truth and thus narrates it as he wishes it played out]].
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The towns in the country are only referred to by letter (K, S, D, etcetera), and the foreign country is simply called just that. Other than the fact the trilogy takes place in Europe somewhere, it's almost impossible to tell specifically where.
----
->Not a bad idea, the train.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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----
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* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide.]] She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
to:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted
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Moved to Mother 3.
Deleted line(s) 12,13 (click to see context) :
Creator/ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twin protagonists in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy.
Deleted line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) :
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''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written by Ágota Kristóf detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
to:
''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written in French by Hungarian author Ágota Kristóf detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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[[caption-width-right:306:[[NeverTrustATitle Very Nonindicative]]]]
''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
[[caption-width-right:306:[[NeverTrustATitle Very Nonindicative]]]]
''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
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''The Book of Lies'' is a series of books written by
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The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
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The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeNaming [[ThemeTwinNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
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* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus. [[spoiler:They're anagrams.]] It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
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* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus. [[spoiler:They're anagrams.]] Claus, whose names are anagrams of eachother. It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
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* RapeIsLove: Believed by Harelip.
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*** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying, the third or even parts of the second novel could themselves be fabrications.]]
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** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying]], the third or even parts of the second novel [[spoiler:could themselves be fabrications.]]
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*** It is entirely possible that due to [[spoiler:the twins' chronic lying, the third or even parts of the second novel could themselves be fabrications.]]
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The similarities between The Notebook's twins and Mother 3's are actually pretty numerous, hence why the twins in M3 are named after the ones in The Book of Lies. :P
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Creator/ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities are thankfully few.
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Creator/ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins twin protagonists in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities are thankfully few.
trilogy.
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Lolicon and shotacon have been disambiguated. Links with too little context are being removed - "paedo" is not always a trope, examples where the tropeworthiness is unclear are being removed. Also, please do not use "loli" as a synonym for little girl; see Lolicon And Shotacon as to why not
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* {{Shotacon}}: The housekeeper, and possibly [[spoiler:Lucas' teacher from his actual youth]].
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Creator/ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities end there.
to:
Creator/ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities end there.
are thankfully few.
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->Not a bad idea, [[JustForFun/SyndicateQuestersUnitedAgainstDeviousness the train.]]
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->Not a bad idea, [[JustForFun/SyndicateQuestersUnitedAgainstDeviousness the train.]]
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->Not a bad idea, the train.
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->Not a bad idea, [[JustForFun/SyndicateQuestersUnitedAgainstDeviousness the train.]]
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ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities end there.
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The first book was also adapted into an Hungarian film (titled ''A nagy füzet''), directed by János Szász.
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!!TheBookOfLies contains examples of:
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TheBookOfLies is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
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[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/needed_9395.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[NonIndicativeName Very Nonindicative]]]]
TheBookOfLies is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
The second book is ''The Proof''. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact that he drives away his loved ones and his loneliness without Claus around, and adopts a deformed child named Mathias. This book is written in singular third person.
The third book in the series is ''The Third Lie''. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end, but in short [[spoiler:it is revealed that the first two books were [[UnreliableNarrator fabrications of Lucas' life]]]]. Still, it can be said that this book completes the parable of West and East Europe after WWII. It is written in first person. It's definitely the most heartrending of the three, and that's saying something.
ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities end there.
The series can be obtained [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lies-Notebook-Proof-Third/dp/0749397608 here.]]
As a final warning, '''''BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS''''', which are unavoidable given ''The Third Lie'''s take on the series.
!!TheBookOfLies contains examples of:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide.]] She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
* ArcWords: "Sons of a bitch" returns in ''The Third Lie'' as ''[[spoiler:son]]'' of a bitch, which recounts Lucas' [[spoiler: true]] history.
* BeigeProse: One of the rules of contributing to the titular notebook, although it's slightly lessened in ''The Proof''.
* {{Blackmail}}: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed [[spoiler: that he had molested Harelip.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Between Klaus and his sister, [[spoiler:although it doesn't last, as she marries a surgeon]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lucas jumps into train tracks and dies after Klaus rejected him. Klaus pushed away the one girl he ever loved and is forced to stay with his mom who prefers Lucas to him and has said he will commit suicide after the death of his mother.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Grandmother, Lucas, along with Mathias, and Klaus has stated he will do the same.]]
* DysfunctionJunction: ''Every'' character has something going on:
** Lucas [[spoiler:lives his life a lie and invents a brother to stave off loneliness]]. He also [[spoiler:commits suicide after a lifetime of searching for his brother, Klaus]].
** Mathias was abandoned by his mother and feels unloved due to his deformities, and dislikes the other children who are "perfect". [[spoiler:This leads to his eventual suicide at ''seven'' years of age.]]
** Klaus and Lucas' mother [[spoiler:shoots and kills their father after finding out he loved another woman, leading to his death and crippling Lucas. This leads to the "thing" and ''all three novels'' could have been avoided had she not done this; the most notable impact this has is that the twins wouldn't have been separated.]] She spends the remainder of her life doting over Lucas' perfection and [[TheUnfavorite lashing out at Klaus]].
** After the "thing", Klaus is left with no one to stay with, and moves in with Antoine and Sarah. Klaus is somewhat miserable because his mother obsesses over Lucas and treats him poorly, and Lucas is never found [[spoiler:until ''The Third Lie'', [[MindScrew possibly]]]]. As he grows up, even with the war passing, none of this changes, he has health issues, and he has to quit one of his jobs. He was also in love with Sarah, and has to watch knowing that he can do nothing about the situation and as she [[spoiler:marries a surgeon]]. [[spoiler:By the time Lucas finally does come around, forty something years later, he doesn't want his mother to get overexcited and Lucas' presence to disrupt the routine life his mother and he are leading, and claims he is unrelated to him.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: In ''The Notebook'', practically every character is this (save the twins, who ''aren't even named'' until the next novel). The priest, Harelip, the housekeeper, the foreign officer...
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Lucas]], in the orphanage, is a {{jerkass}}, and the director and old lady there think it's because his parents never visit him.
-->The old woman asked me again: "Do you do these things because your own parents never come to see you?"
-->I said to her, "What business is that of yours?"
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''The Proof'' heavily implies that [[spoiler:Lucas was never real to begin with, along with the other characters in the novel and its predecessor.]]
** ''The Third Lie'' is this for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:confirming the above and effectively rendering the first two books fictitious.]]
*** It seems like [[spoiler:''The Notebook'' did occur, but with only one of the twins, and bits and pieces of the final chapters of ''The Proof''are also true.]]
* HistoricalFiction: Based off of WWII.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Lucas]], at five, tells the other children in the hospital that their parents don't love them because they're ill, and he tells parents their child is dead. [[FreudianExcuse This probably stems from his parents not coming to visit him.]]
* MindScrew: The final few chapters of ''The Proof'' [[spoiler:raise questions over whether Lucas is real or not]].
** ''The Third Lie'' reveals that [[spoiler:The first two books were lies by Lucas and the events never really unfolded that way. Considering both of the actual twins chronically lie, it's difficult to tell what's true and what's not in the end]].
* MoralityPet: Lucas, in ''The Third Lie'', is a complete {{Jerkass}} in the Rehabilitation Center, except to one person.
-->I gave my usual whacks to the crybabies, then I went to see the little blond paralytic who doesn't move and doesn't speak. All he does is look at the ceiling, or the sky if he is brought outside, and smile. I took his hand, held it to my face, and then placed my hands against his face. He looked at the ceiling and smiled.
* OffingTheOffspring: Averted. In ''The Proof'', Yasmine attempts to do this to Mathias, but can't bring herself to do it. In ''The Third Lie'', the twins' mother believes she inadvertently killed Lucas, when in fact she just cripples him.
* OnlyOneName: Averted. The characters, if they [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep aren't referred to by characteristics or occupation]], do in fact have a last name, although it's simply an initial. (Lucas and Claus T., Klaus T., Peter N., Maria Z.)
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few of the characters are actually named in ''The Notebook'', lapsing under EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep. {{Lampshaded}}:
-->'''The priest''': Where is it? Who sent you?
-->'''The twins''': Harelip and her mother.
-->'''The priest''': What is the precise name of these people?
-->'''The twins''': We don't know their precise name.
* ParentalIncest: Father-daughter version between Yasmine and her father, producing Mathias.
* RapeIsLove: Believed by Harelip.
* {{Shotacon}}: The housekeeper, and possibly [[spoiler:Lucas' teacher from his actual youth]].
* SpoilerTitle
* StraightGay: Peter from ''The Proof''.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The Priest touches on this when Lucas and Claus ask him to help Harelip.
-->"Although I know absolutely nothing about these people, I am willing to give them extreme unction. Let's go. Lead the way."
* TitleDrop:
** From ''The Proof'':
-->He takes the notebooks, he smiles. "At last, here is the proof of Lucas's existence. Thank you Peter. Has anyone read them?"
** From ''The Third Lie'':
-->The child signs the statement, in which there are three lies.
-->The man he crossed the frontier with was not his father.
-->The child is not eighteen, but fifteen.
-->[[spoiler:[[WhamLine His name is not Claus.]]]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus. [[spoiler:They're anagrams.]] It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
* TheSociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
* TheUnfavorite: The twins' mother cannot stop talking about Lucas, and how he would have been successful in life in comparison to Klaus, whom she constantly scorns.
* UnreliableNarrator: Throughout the first and second book, where [[spoiler:it's revealed that they're just fabrications of Lucas' life, as he can't bear to tell the painful truth and thus narrates it as he wishes it played out]].
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The towns in the country are only referred to by letter (K, S, D, etcetera), and the foreign country is simply called just that. Other than the fact the trilogy takes place in Europe somewhere, it's almost impossible to tell specifically where.
----
->Not a bad idea, the train.
----
[[caption-width-right:300:[[NonIndicativeName Very Nonindicative]]]]
TheBookOfLies is a series of books written by Agota Kristof detailing the lives of twins through the second World War. It focuses on the the depravity during the war, the terrors the two boys witnessed, and functions as a parable for East and West Europe after World War II.
The first book in the series is ''The Notebook''. Not to be confused with the [[Film/TheNotebook movie]], this book introduces the children, [[ThemeNaming Lucas T. and Claus T.]], and the setting, a border town which is soon to experience the Nazi army. The book is written in plural first person, and it's as though it were written by a small child. [[ChekhovsGun This becomes important later.]]
The second book is ''The Proof''. This book focuses on Lucas living on his own after the events of the first book. He struggles with the fact that he drives away his loved ones and his loneliness without Claus around, and adopts a deformed child named Mathias. This book is written in singular third person.
The third book in the series is ''The Third Lie''. The plot of this book from beginning to end is filled with spoilers about the first two books from beginning to end, but in short [[spoiler:it is revealed that the first two books were [[UnreliableNarrator fabrications of Lucas' life]]]]. Still, it can be said that this book completes the parable of West and East Europe after WWII. It is written in first person. It's definitely the most heartrending of the three, and that's saying something.
ShigesatoItoi [[WordOfGod has stated]] he named the twins in ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' after the twins from this trilogy. Other than [[spoiler:being separated and one twin [[DrivenToSuicide committing suicide]] in the end]], the similarities end there.
The series can be obtained [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Lies-Notebook-Proof-Third/dp/0749397608 here.]]
As a final warning, '''''BEWARE OF UNMARKED SPOILERS''''', which are unavoidable given ''The Third Lie'''s take on the series.
!!TheBookOfLies contains examples of:
* AndIMustScream: The reason why Grandmother [[spoiler:commits assisted suicide.]] She doesn't want to remain in this state after her second stroke, able to hear and sense but do nothing about it.
* ArcWords: "Sons of a bitch" returns in ''The Third Lie'' as ''[[spoiler:son]]'' of a bitch, which recounts Lucas' [[spoiler: true]] history.
* BeigeProse: One of the rules of contributing to the titular notebook, although it's slightly lessened in ''The Proof''.
* {{Blackmail}}: Lucas and Claus to the priest after it is revealed [[spoiler: that he had molested Harelip.]]
* BrotherSisterIncest: Between Klaus and his sister, [[spoiler:although it doesn't last, as she marries a surgeon]].
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Lucas jumps into train tracks and dies after Klaus rejected him. Klaus pushed away the one girl he ever loved and is forced to stay with his mom who prefers Lucas to him and has said he will commit suicide after the death of his mother.]]
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Grandmother, Lucas, along with Mathias, and Klaus has stated he will do the same.]]
* DysfunctionJunction: ''Every'' character has something going on:
** Lucas [[spoiler:lives his life a lie and invents a brother to stave off loneliness]]. He also [[spoiler:commits suicide after a lifetime of searching for his brother, Klaus]].
** Mathias was abandoned by his mother and feels unloved due to his deformities, and dislikes the other children who are "perfect". [[spoiler:This leads to his eventual suicide at ''seven'' years of age.]]
** Klaus and Lucas' mother [[spoiler:shoots and kills their father after finding out he loved another woman, leading to his death and crippling Lucas. This leads to the "thing" and ''all three novels'' could have been avoided had she not done this; the most notable impact this has is that the twins wouldn't have been separated.]] She spends the remainder of her life doting over Lucas' perfection and [[TheUnfavorite lashing out at Klaus]].
** After the "thing", Klaus is left with no one to stay with, and moves in with Antoine and Sarah. Klaus is somewhat miserable because his mother obsesses over Lucas and treats him poorly, and Lucas is never found [[spoiler:until ''The Third Lie'', [[MindScrew possibly]]]]. As he grows up, even with the war passing, none of this changes, he has health issues, and he has to quit one of his jobs. He was also in love with Sarah, and has to watch knowing that he can do nothing about the situation and as she [[spoiler:marries a surgeon]]. [[spoiler:By the time Lucas finally does come around, forty something years later, he doesn't want his mother to get overexcited and Lucas' presence to disrupt the routine life his mother and he are leading, and claims he is unrelated to him.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: In ''The Notebook'', practically every character is this (save the twins, who ''aren't even named'' until the next novel). The priest, Harelip, the housekeeper, the foreign officer...
* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler:Lucas]], in the orphanage, is a {{jerkass}}, and the director and old lady there think it's because his parents never visit him.
-->The old woman asked me again: "Do you do these things because your own parents never come to see you?"
-->I said to her, "What business is that of yours?"
* GainaxEnding: The ending of ''The Proof'' heavily implies that [[spoiler:Lucas was never real to begin with, along with the other characters in the novel and its predecessor.]]
** ''The Third Lie'' is this for the entire trilogy, [[spoiler:confirming the above and effectively rendering the first two books fictitious.]]
*** It seems like [[spoiler:''The Notebook'' did occur, but with only one of the twins, and bits and pieces of the final chapters of ''The Proof''are also true.]]
* HistoricalFiction: Based off of WWII.
* {{Jerkass}}: [[spoiler:Lucas]], at five, tells the other children in the hospital that their parents don't love them because they're ill, and he tells parents their child is dead. [[FreudianExcuse This probably stems from his parents not coming to visit him.]]
* MindScrew: The final few chapters of ''The Proof'' [[spoiler:raise questions over whether Lucas is real or not]].
** ''The Third Lie'' reveals that [[spoiler:The first two books were lies by Lucas and the events never really unfolded that way. Considering both of the actual twins chronically lie, it's difficult to tell what's true and what's not in the end]].
* MoralityPet: Lucas, in ''The Third Lie'', is a complete {{Jerkass}} in the Rehabilitation Center, except to one person.
-->I gave my usual whacks to the crybabies, then I went to see the little blond paralytic who doesn't move and doesn't speak. All he does is look at the ceiling, or the sky if he is brought outside, and smile. I took his hand, held it to my face, and then placed my hands against his face. He looked at the ceiling and smiled.
* OffingTheOffspring: Averted. In ''The Proof'', Yasmine attempts to do this to Mathias, but can't bring herself to do it. In ''The Third Lie'', the twins' mother believes she inadvertently killed Lucas, when in fact she just cripples him.
* OnlyOneName: Averted. The characters, if they [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep aren't referred to by characteristics or occupation]], do in fact have a last name, although it's simply an initial. (Lucas and Claus T., Klaus T., Peter N., Maria Z.)
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Very few of the characters are actually named in ''The Notebook'', lapsing under EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep. {{Lampshaded}}:
-->'''The priest''': Where is it? Who sent you?
-->'''The twins''': Harelip and her mother.
-->'''The priest''': What is the precise name of these people?
-->'''The twins''': We don't know their precise name.
* ParentalIncest: Father-daughter version between Yasmine and her father, producing Mathias.
* RapeIsLove: Believed by Harelip.
* {{Shotacon}}: The housekeeper, and possibly [[spoiler:Lucas' teacher from his actual youth]].
* SpoilerTitle
* StraightGay: Peter from ''The Proof''.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The Priest touches on this when Lucas and Claus ask him to help Harelip.
-->"Although I know absolutely nothing about these people, I am willing to give them extreme unction. Let's go. Lead the way."
* TitleDrop:
** From ''The Proof'':
-->He takes the notebooks, he smiles. "At last, here is the proof of Lucas's existence. Thank you Peter. Has anyone read them?"
** From ''The Third Lie'':
-->The child signs the statement, in which there are three lies.
-->The man he crossed the frontier with was not his father.
-->The child is not eighteen, but fifteen.
-->[[spoiler:[[WhamLine His name is not Claus.]]]]
* ThemeTwinNaming: Lucas and Claus. [[spoiler:They're anagrams.]] It's also where the twins of ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' get their names from.
* TheSociopath: Lucas and Claus train to become this.
* TheUnfavorite: The twins' mother cannot stop talking about Lucas, and how he would have been successful in life in comparison to Klaus, whom she constantly scorns.
* UnreliableNarrator: Throughout the first and second book, where [[spoiler:it's revealed that they're just fabrications of Lucas' life, as he can't bear to tell the painful truth and thus narrates it as he wishes it played out]].
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The towns in the country are only referred to by letter (K, S, D, etcetera), and the foreign country is simply called just that. Other than the fact the trilogy takes place in Europe somewhere, it's almost impossible to tell specifically where.
----
->Not a bad idea, the train.
----
