"Private Lies" first appeared in The Atlantic in 1983 and was collected in Love Life in 1989. The publication of the collection generated a good deal of critical commentary, garnering strong reviews from both Lorrie Moore in The New York Times Book Review on March 12, 1989, and from Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times on March 3, 1989. Moore comments that Mason's real strength as a writer is demonstrated in her short story collections, while Kakutani notes that Mason's stories are "finely crafted tales." Nevertheless, few reviewers mention "Private Lies" specifically.

Likewise, although Mason's work in general is the subject of ongoing critical attention, "Private Lies" seems overshadowed by some of Mason's other work, such as "Shiloh," "Residents and Transients," and In Country.

Nevertheless, there is much critical commentary useful in a reading of "Private Lies." Robert Brinkmeyer, for example, writes that

Mason's stories are filled with broken relationships—between...