By Stuart Nulman
While many people who tell a lie – whether it be a little white one or a big career devastating one – can either get away with it or suffer the consequences if caught, writer and tweeter Kelly Oxford has somewhat managed to make the art of telling a lie work for her.
The Edmonton native, during her formative years in the Alberta capitol, somehow had the cajones through her cajoling, finagling or colouring the truth, to accomplish whatever she set out to do … without getting her proverbial pants on fire.
Although I don’t recommend you follow her lead, Oxford’s chronicles of her untruthful youth is so well retold in her best selling first book “Everything is Perfect When You’re A Liar”.
The book is a collection of stories from her formative years (in which she experienced more than her share of growing pains) in Edmonton, where through a lot of nerve, unbridled enthusiasm and that uncanny ability to stretch the truth, she figuratively got away with murder in situations where honest people fear to tread.
And what I liked about the book is that with each story, it became increasingly enjoyable to read, no matter how incredible or incredulous the situation was.
Allow me to submit some examples from the book detailing the colorful early life of Kelly Oxford: “Tweezers”, in which she manages to worm her way into a up-and-coming fashion model school – although she was turned down at the initial cattle call auditions – and gets an instant glamour makeover; “Work Experience 101”, which is in the form of a letter to her high school guidance counselor, about her work study placement at a local video store as part of her Work Experience class, and how she mishandled a perverted, wheelchair-bound customer; “Finding Leo”, one of the best stories in the book, is an epic retelling of her spontaneous road trip to Los Angeles with her friend Aimee, as they go in search of Leonardo Di Caprio by visiting the Hollywood clubs and restaurants that he frequents, in a rather bizarre star stalking trek through Tinseltown; and “The Backup Plan”, perhaps the most poignant story in the collection, in which through her fear of being left a single, unskilled parent if her husband dies prematurely, Kelly enrolls in a vocational school to learn to be a rehabilitation assistant (the portion of the story that details her internship in a brain injury care home and a seniors’ residence is funny, fascinating and heartbreaking).
What I enjoyed about the book is Oxford’s writing style, which is crisp, concise and has a penchant for detail that can instantly visualize the glitz and sleaze of Hollywood, the fast track world of Vegas (and the strange, magical world of David Copperfield), or the sad, tragic face of a brain injury care home and its shattered residents. Yet her sharp, sardonic sense of humour prevails with each story, and allows the reader to laugh out loud with each growing pain that she experienced. I can easily see why she is now a much in demand writer in Hollywood.
“Everything is Perfect When You’re A Liar” is a refreshing showcase of original true-to-life humorous stories from one of the true new voices of literary humor today. Kelly Oxford is another prime example of Canada’s legacy to comedy and humor (and how their talents are quickly imported for better exposure in the U.S.). As well, it proves that sometimes, being a liar can help shape your character for the better … and that’s the God’s honest truth.
And by the way, Kelly, you can put out the fire that’s on your pants!
This review originally appeared in the July 13, 2013 edition of the West End Times.
