Description
The Lies of Ordinary is a haunting, introspective coming-of-age novel about grief, secrets, mental illness, and the subtle violence of expectations. Set against the lush, melancholic backdrop of Cape Town and Stellenbosch in 2025, this intimate story follows 18-year-old Lewis Evans. A wealthy university student who appears to have everything, but quietly feels like nothing. Since the death of his younger brother Ezra three years ago, Lewis has been drifting. Between moods, between selves, between truths. Diagnosed with bipolar I disorder at fourteen, he lives alone in a sprawling mansion in Newlands while reluctantly studying accounting at the University of Stellenbosch. A degree forced on him by a powerful father who refuses to understand him. His parents have moved on... Literally and emotionally. His friends know just enough to stay close but not enough to see how much he's unraveling. And no one knows that Lewis struggles to define his sexual orientation. Or that he really likes someone he can't name. Or that he runs a wildly popular anonymous blog, where his real voice... poetic, brutal, bleeding... is locked behind a paywall. Told in seven parts of seven chapters each, the novel is structured like a spiral. Each part digging deeper into Lewis's memories, delusions, and desires. As the story progresses, Lewis must navigate not only the ghosts of the past, but also the pressure of a future he doesn't want. Along the way, he builds fragile connections with his therapist, reexamines toxic relationships, and is forced to reckon with a dangerous secret about his family that changes everything. The Lies of Ordinary is a story about what it means to survive when the world thinks you should be fine. It's about the weight of pretending. The ache of being seen. And the quiet, defiant beauty of telling your own story. Eeven when no one believes it but you.
Chapter 1 : House On The Hill (PART 1 - HOUSE ON THE HILL)
