The Little Liar

Nico is one of the protagonists in The Little Liar. As a child, Nico is given the nickname Chioni, meaning “snow” in Greek, as a reference to his purity and honesty. Nico has blond hair and blue eyes, making him attractive and easily mistakable as German. When the Nazi forces invade and occupy Salonika, Nico is tricked by Udo Graf, a Nazi SS officer, into telling his neighbors and fellow Jewish citizens that they are being placed onto trains that will take them to new homes, where they will be reunited with their families. Upon Udo’s admission of his deception, Nico becomes a pathological liar, and he is thereafter unable to tell the truth. He spends most of the novel trying to get to Auschwitz, even going so far as to forge multiple new identities in his efforts to find and save his family. When he ultimately fails and realizes the extent of the atrocities committed at Auschwitz, he moves to America and becomes a successful filmmaker.

Nico’s story is one of redemption, as after realizing the true consequences of his actions, he dedicates his life to atoning for his mistake. Many of Nico’s actions do not become clear until after Nico’s death.