'Seven Lies' takes its name from a Martin Luther quote: "Every lie must beget seven more lies if it is to resemble the truth and adopt truth's aura." I'll add to the well-deserved five-star reviews here...Lasdun's background is poetry. This short (< 200 pp.) novel feels like poetry - sparse, yet elegant. Every word is chosen carefully. I recently saw 'The Lives of Others,' Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's movie debut, which just last night was awarded the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. IMDB says that 'Lives...focuses on the horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany.' For those of you who enjoyed that great film, 'Seven Lies' is a good place to go next, as it mines the same vein.