I'll tell you a secret: I love reading books I can pick up and read from any point. Truth or Dare, an anthology in which 11 well-known writers share some of their personal secrets, is such a book. Incidentally so is the Bible.
The editor, Justine Picardie, was inspired by fond memories of the children's game, Truth or Dare, where players must decide which is worse: to risk a dangerous or embarrassing feat or else to reveal something personal about themselves. I suspect she often chose truth.
Truth or Dare is a well-assembled anthology containing stories to amuse, entertain, shock and sadden. Collections such as this don't suit everyone but fans of contemporary writing will appreciate these slices of life from 11 well-known British writers. (Excellent! A whole catalogue of new authors to explore!!)
A thought that bubbled to the surface as I read through the collection was, "If asked, what secrets would I reveal?" Would I tell about something significant and heart-wrenching, such as this anthology's accounts of first love, an autistic son, rape, the effects of ageing, suicide, the loss of a parent? Or would I settle for something less intimate, like the stories of a summer job or bitchiness at school? How much would I reveal of other people? The book contains a story whose title, "My Father's Girlfriends", says it all really.
I was moved by reading "At Sea" in which Sabine Durrant describes her quest to know her father who died in a mysterious peacetime military accident, when she was very young. Through the story, the man who has been a silent presence in her life becomes real to her, as she encounters people who knew him, worked with him and laughed with him. Finally her mother shares the letters of their courtship and reveals the man she loved. The blurry picture of him comes into focus for both the writer and the reader who can know him more fully than ever before.
What could have been mawkish and depressing is made humorous and accessible, especially for those of us from Durrant's generation. She writes, "These are the people I imagined might be my father, when I was small " " and goes on to list such erudite men as Hutch, (the David Soul character from the TV show, Starsky and Hutch), Alan Alda and D'Artagnan of the Three Musketeers.
In the book's introduction, Picardie selectively quotes the verse in John's gospel where Jesus said, "The truth shall set you free". Actually the whole verse, in John 8:32, talks about knowing the truth which will set us free. It doesn't mean that telling the truth, as refreshing and necessary as that might be, will free us from whatever may ensnare us.
(I doubt we can obtain a ticket to heaven simply by saying to God, "Pssst, wanna hear a secret?" unless that secret happens to be, "Jesus died for me.")
Truth or Dare is an interesting exploration of truth and secrets; it offers a banquet of brief memoirs that are, at times, cringingly personal or else at arms' length and aloof. It highlights the dilemma of any writer " how much truth is too much? What is appropriate to reveal for the purposes of analysis, income-generation or entertainment?
It seems to me that some things should remain secret, or be shared with a very few others. Of course, we must all acknowledge that there are no secrets when we deal with God, who knows everything there is to know about us, whether we have told him or not.
And the truth I referred to earlier: that of Jesus dying for me (and all people). Well that's not a secret at all and should be revealed in every possible way. I dare you!
