We Were Liars follows the lives of four teens who are in some way a part of the Sinclair family. They are known as the “Liars”.Which consist of a grandfather, his three daughters, and their families. A seemingly perfect family that comes from old money. Every summer they all meet up at their summer houses on a private Island to spend time together. Except for summer sixteen. We find out that during summer fifteen there was some sort of an accident that we know nothing about because the main protagonist herself cannot remember due to brain damage or post traumatic headaches. She has few memories of summer fifteen but she does know that she fell in love with Gat one of the others who comes to the island (who is not related). After the accident the family does not let her come back for one summer instead she goes to Europe. Then summer seventeen the family lets her come back to the island. Once she comes back summer seventeen everyone's lives have changed, her younger cousins have nightmares, her grandfather suffers from bouts of dementia, her aunt has developed a compulsion for cleaning and all of the sisters have become closer. In summer fifteen despite their perfection facade they were fighting constantly over money and possessions. The main house clairmont has also been replaced by a cold house that none of them love. The “liars” refuse to talk about summer fifteen and won’t spend any time at new clairmont. Instead all four of them stay at cuddledown one of the other estates. Cadence the main character slowly comes to remember the events that took place in summer fifteen. She remembers all of the fighting and her grandfather threatening to take away their inheritance. Despite the three daughters' educations they never made something of themselves and rely on the grandfather to take care of their children. [SPOILERS]
Themes
1.) Power - [Spoilers] 2.) Home - The novel brings up the question what the home is to each of us. In the novel the three girls keep their homes filled with the fanciest things possible so as to make it more of a museum than somewhere they live and a place to raise their children. The home is a peak into everyone's lives. What would someone think when they walk into our own homes? 3.) Lies - The title of the novel itself tells the reader that the material is woven with lies and that all of their lives are a lie. It is never said why all of the adults call the four “The Liars” but it allows us to maintain skepticism and wonder as to what the true events and nature of the novel are.
4.) Death - Death is a part of living. No one is immune to it. But rather than grieve and try to move on from the horrible deaths that took place. The Sinclair families let it destroy everything about them. Cadence loses her mind and memories, the moms simply refuse to accept it, and the grandfather develops dementia. The novel calls to question how each of us deal with life and death and what it means to be human.