Super Short Summary

Set during one of the twentieth century’s most turbulent times, Eva Stachniak’s debut historical novel, Necessary Lies (2000), tells the story of Anna, an English lecturer from the University of Wroclaw in Communist Poland who arrives in Montreal, Canada in 1981 on a teaching fellowship. When martial law is declared in her country, she decides to stay in Canada though emigrating means abandoning her activist husband and deserting her home. The book touches on themes of betrayal and the complexities of relationships.