The Gods Lie (Kamisama ga Uso wo Tsuku)

The Gods Lie is a short (5 chapter) graphic novel that is just so so beautiful. It got me right in the feels.

The story centres around an 11-year old boy, Natsuru Nanao, who is obsessed with football. But he bunks off summer camp in order to spend time with his female classmate, Rio Suzumura, and her younger brother. The sister and brother live all alone, as their mother has died and their father is away for long periods of time working.

But there's more to it than that. With each page of the story, a layer of their lives unravels and what seems like the usual run of the mill coming of age story turns out to be so much more. There is terrible sadness and darkness as we learn the true reason for why the kids are left all alone. But there's hope and triumph too as our plucky young heroes somehow find a way to battle on through their hardship.

At five chapters long it was short enough for me to read cover to cover (I read the Kindle edition) within one commute to work and back. It was so good that once I finished the story I returned to page one and re-read it all over again. Long running manga, with their zillion volumes, can be so intimidating for a recent convert like me, it's so refreshing that there are short and sweet titles like The Gods Lie out there too.

Buy the paper edition on Amazon here. Digital version on Comixology (just £2.49)