About the Book

Book: The Camera Never Lies

Author: David Rawlings

Genre: General fiction/allegory/magical realism

Release Date: December 3, 2019

David Rawlings, author of The Baggage Handler, returns with another probing story: what would you do if your secrets were revealed to those around you?

Daniel Whiteley is a successful couples counselor who regularly puts families back together, helping them face up to the things in life they hide. But his own marriage is falling apart.

His wife, Kelly, knows Daniel is hiding something from her, but she doesn’t dare probe for fear her own secrets will be revealed.

When his grandfather dies, Daniel inherits an old SLR camera from a time when cameras pointed away from the person taking the photograph. On the camera is an inscription: “Use this camera wisely and remember, regardless of the picture you think you took, the camera never lies.”

When Daniel first uses his new camera he finds someone has already filled the roll of film. Annoyed, he processes the film and finds photos of a secret that he’s been hiding from his wife and daughter.

He has no idea who took them.

Now every time he uses the camera, the photographs reveal another secret about himself the he is desperate to keep-as well as those of his wife, which he is desperate to uncover.

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About the Author

David Rawlings is an Australian author, and a sports-mad father of three who loves humor and a clever turn of phrase. Over a 25-year career he has put words on the page to put food on the table, developing from sports journalism and copywriting to corporate communication. Now in fiction, he entices readers to look deeper into life with stories that combine the everyday with a sense of the speculative, addressing the fundamental questions we all face.

My Review

“No matter what you think you might see, the camera never lies.”

Because I heard so many positive remarks about “The Baggage Handler”, I decided to give “The Camera Never Lies” a try. Photography doesn’t really interest me, although I do enjoy looking at nature and wildlife photos, and I have never been a fan of having my picture taken. To be honest, I wasn’t thrilled when I skimmed the synopsis, either. Had I not read so many favorable reviews when this author’s previous book toured with CelebrateLit, I likely wouldn’t have signed up to review this one, and I’m glad that I did!

Blending elements of magical realism and allegory, David Rawlings’ “The Camera Never Lies” explores the secrets that we hide and the consequences to which they lead. This story reminds me of Rod Serling’s “The Twilight Zone” television series, and I can easily envision it as an episode; likewise, if this book had a theme song, I think that Natalie Grant’s “The Real Me” would be a perfect fit. Rawlings offers great insight into the human psyche and how one lie leads to a cascade effect, even subtle lies such as pretending that things are fine when they’re not. Using a camera to develop the ideas in the narrative is brilliantly apropos because “[t]he camera reveals how our lives truly are. We can’t trick it, even if sometimes we think we can trick ourselves and everyone around us.” Furthermore, “Truth cannot simply be avoided, covered up, or ignored, and the camera chooses the truth it shows.” The symbolism also works well, as with the fictional prescription drug Mendacium, which references the term “mendacious” and its Latin etymology from words meaning “lying” and “fault.” The revelations from the storyline filter through the lens of truth, exposing the lies.

One aspect of this book that I did struggle with was the characters. I didn’t particularly like any of them, with the occasional exception of Simon, nor did I feel a personal connection with any of them. I found myself groaning and rolling my eyes a bit with David, in particular, but to be fair, his reactions are believable and his approach to life is essential to the plot’s execution. Also, although there is no direct mention of faith, there are easy parallels to Christianity throughout the text and in the theme of uprightness vs. deceitfulness. Sometimes we, like Kelly, might think that honesty doesn’t always work, but as Simon tells her, “Well, sometimes your honesty doesn’t produce results you can see with your eyes. Sometimes the results are about your own integrity.” This immediately brought to mind Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It all comes down to trust. We have to decide who or what we are going to trust in, ourselves or the Lord, and when we choose to trust in Jesus, we find the truth, the way, and the life. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

I received a complimentary copy of this book through CelebrateLit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.