Would I Lie to You?
Page 32
Thank you to my children for understanding and supporting my writing dreams, and never complaining about all the time I spent with my laptop! I am grateful for Yusuf’s encouragement, Asad’s clear-sighted advice, and Zoya’s invaluable input on edits, for making a stunning cover reveal video, and for reassuring hugs. You three are my world.
A massive thank you to Juliet Mushens, my superstar agent. You are an amazing ally and an amazing person. None of this would have been possible without you, or been as much fun. Your energy, kindness and razor-sharp business brain blow me away, and your belief in my writing makes me braver and more excited about my work. Thank you for always being in my corner, for stellar advice, for problem-solving, for style inspiration and for making me laugh. You made my dream come true. I also want to thank Liza DeBlock, for your cheerful emails and for making me feel so well looked after.
I don’t know how to start or how I could ever finish, thanking my beloved parents. Your pride in me and love for me, have been limitless and constant. It has been the biggest gift to have such wonderful, good people as my parents. Dad, I can absolutely feel you cheering me on, and Mum, your joy and excitement at each step of the publication process has meant everything. I am so happy we could share it together and grateful for your wisdom as I navigated it all.
The biggest thank you to Irfan, for a lifetime of love and support. The only thing you ever wanted was for me to be happy and once that involved writing, you did everything you could, to help me have the courage, time and space to make this book happen. Thank you for valuing my work when it was nothing but some random ideas in my head, and for holding my hand through every high and every low of this journey. In the words of that card from Leicester Square; ‘I know lots of good people, but you are the best.’
Book club notes
1. Faiza’s story in Would I Lie to You? stems entirely from one lie. Throughout the book, we see the effects of lying, but why might we lie? Would you have lied about the emergency fund or would you have told Tom right at the start?
2. What was the last lie you told? Are some lies more acceptable than others?
3. Money worries are one of the biggest reasons for relationships to break up. How should couples handle their finances? Can relationships work when you have very different approaches to money?
4. Faiza and Tom’s relationship undergoes some serious pressure, but it’s not like they haven’t faced difficulties in the past. What do you think about Faiza and Tom’s relationship? What makes a good marriage?
5. Alongside their differences regarding their finances, Faiza and Tom also have different cultural and racial backgrounds. How do their backgrounds impact their decision making? What did you think about their children’s experience of being biracial?
6. The women in the book are all in their mid-forties. How does life change in this age group for women?
7. The yummy mummies of Wimbledon are very present in the novel and in Faiza’s life, but how much agency do they have in their own lives? How much is their status dependent on their husband’s salary? What do you think about this in the twenty-first century?
8. Though we might find it difficult to admit, we’ve probably all felt the pressure to ‘keep up with the Joneses’ at some point in our lives. When was the last time you can remember feeling this pressure? Do you think that having credit card debt is a symptom of social pressure?
9. Faiza knows that she made a massive mistake by spending her family’s emergency savings. Can we ever recover from huge mistakes and can others truly forgive us?
About the Author
ALIYA ALI-AFZAL has a degree in Russian and German from UCL and worked as an Executive MBA Career Coach in London. While helping her clients to pursue their dream lives and careers, she decided to take her own advice and become a writer. She is studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, is an alum of Curtis Brown Creative, and has had her writing longlisted for the Bath Novel Award, the Mslexia Novel Competition, the Mo Siewcharran Prize and the Primadonna Prize. Aliya has lived in London all her life, since moving there from Pakistan as a young child.
An Invitation from the Publisher
We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at www.headofzeus.com and become part of our community of book-lovers.
We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.
Get in touch: hello@headofzeus.com
www.headofzeus.com
@headofzeus
@HoZ_Books
Head of Zeus Books