Think back to your childhood when you got caught in a lie. Did you mom say something like, "one lie leads to another," or "if you tell a lie it just gets bigger and bigger." Unfortunately for Mitch Samuel, he missed out on this pithy advice from his mom, because he lies his way into a hole so deep he almost can't get out of it.
Now, if that was all I knew about Ms. Taken Identity by Dan Begley, I probably wouldn't want to read it. I'm really not into liars as a general rule. I mean, when people ask me the worst movie I've ever seen, I always say True Lies with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's about a not-very-likeable guy who lies to his wife for years about his identity because he's really a spy. Or something.
So when I started Begley's book I was thinking I'd better like this lying character immediately if the author expects me to read more than the first chapter. To my surprise, I did.
Mitch is an English Comp professor and an aspiring novelist. In fact, his novel is so long and so serious and so Great-American-Novel-wannabe that no one will publish it. One night when he stops at the local book store, a famous chick lit novelist is doing a book signing. Wanting desperately to dismiss what he sees as a lesser form of literature, he discovers he can't condescend to her because a) she's published tons of books, b) her books make people happy, and c) she's a multi-millionaire.
So Mitch decides that he too can write a chick lit novel and on the suggestion of his best friend, signs up for ballroom dance classes to listen in on "real" women's conversations. Thus, the lies begin. He makes up a name, learns that he actually likes dancing, and meets the girl of his dreams who also happens to be his best friend's sister. Soon, he finds that he likes the person that he has become better than the person he was, but he's got to figure out if he's told one too many lies.
Ms Taken Identity is a clever send-up of chick lit novels, and a fun journey of discovery for a guy who finds out that being true to yourself isn't so bad after all.
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