Check out the #1 New York Times bestseller Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, called “a surefire hit” by Entertainment Weekly. “The secrets burrowed in this seemingly placid small town…are so suburban noir they would make David Lynch clap with glee…[Moriarty] is a fantastically nimble writer, so sure-footed that the book leaps between dark and light seamlessly; even the big reveal in the … seamlessly; even the big reveal in the final pages feels earned and genuinely shocking.” —Entertainment Weekly
“Reading one [of Liane Moriarty’s novels] is a bit like drinking a pink cosmo laced with arsenic… [BIG LITTLE LIES] is a fun, engaging and sometimes disturbing read” –USA Today
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .
A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead.
But who did what?
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.
New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.
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Set in one of my favorite places on earth, Monterey, California. This is one instance where I think the HBO series “Big Little Lies” is better than the book. It wouldn’t be so if Moriarty’s characters weren’t complex. Director Jean-Marc Vallee’s interpretation brings Ms. Moriarty’s world alive. Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman both wanted to buy the book. Being women, they compromised and decided to do the series together.
Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for offering me a copy of this book that I freely chose to review.
I read and reviewed Liane Moriarty’s recent novel Truly, Madly, Guilty and when I was checking the reviews I read many comments referring to the author’s sense of humour that was not so evident in that novel (don’t let that put you off. It’s a fascinating story and the style of the narration is pretty unique) and I read many people referring to this novel. I also happened to watch a couple of the episodes of the HBO series and wondered how they might compare to the book. I haven’t watched the whole series, so I can’t comment in full but I must say the book is fantastic.
The novel tells the story of the events that take place at an Australian primary school (Pirriwee Public School) during an event organised for parents, the Trivia Night (where the participants are supposed to dress up like Audrey Hepburn and Elvis Presley. Yes, you can imagine the scene). To tell the story, the action takes us back to the school’s induction day. While some of the mothers (and fathers, well, only one man is looking full-time after the kids but many fathers attend too) already know each other, Jane is new to the area and doesn’t know anybody. By accident, she meets Madeline, who has three kids and has seen it all. Madeline is a force of nature and adopts Jane, who is much younger and far less glamorous. Celeste, a friend of Madeline and the most beautiful and rich woman around, is the third in the fabulous trio.
The story is told in the third person from the point of view of these three women, and there are interspersed fragments of what appears to be an interview with a variety of characters, all of them parents of the children at the school, that are evidently being asked questions about what happened on that fateful night. It is no spoiler (as that is clear from very early on) if I tell you that somebody has died. The novel builds up slowly, introducing the characters and their personalities and concerns. Jane is a single Mum who’s struggling but loves her son Ziggy and does the best by him. Things start going wrong early on for her and her son due to an accusation of bullying and that sets up a number of things in motion, splitting up the parents and creating a lot of misunderstandings and resentment. Jane is also hiding some secrets that have seriously affected her life and she moved there seeking some sort of closure. Madeline is the funniest characters. She is quick-witted, loves clothes and shoes, does not tolerate fools gladly and hates the fact that her ex-husband (and father of her teenage daughter Abigail, Nathan, who abandoned her leaving her to bring up their child alone when she was only a baby) has remarried and is now living in close proximity. Not only that but, his daughter, Sky, goes to the same school as her youngest one, Chloe. She is not one for forgiving and forgetting and she has a very hard time accepting that Abigail is becoming close to her father. Her character offers light relief as she’s quite extreme in her passions and behaviour and seemingly superficial —hers is a familiar character of chick-lit books — but it’s impossible not to like her or side with her as her heart is in the right place and she is very funny. Celeste is also keeping secrets. The perfect family, and her oh, so perfect husband, is anything but, and the novel is very good at portraying the complex nature of domestic violence and the kind of mental processes the victims go through.
The short interludes, at the beginning of each chapter, of fragments of interviews with other characters manage to create a sense of what the whole community is like, and by contrasting two completely opposite answers to the same question (some hilarious, others in earnest) one easily gets a sense of how what happened, happened. Of course, the real causes of the incident go much deeper than the disagreements between the parents and the amount of alcohol consumed, as will be slowly revealed. One of the reviewers compared these fragments to a Greek chorus and it is a very apt comparison (minus the moral undertones).
This novel is very good at creating characters that we can care for, although perhaps we might not fully identify with any of them. I’ve laughed out loud at Madeline’s antics quite often (although not all is fun and games for her either) and I have worried with Celeste and Jane. The writing is agile and fluid, with the different character’s voices well captured, differentiated and believable. The small community, that becomes also another character, is vividly portrayed and the ending is surprising, as it should be in all good mysteries (I kept worrying about who the dead person might be and just worked out what was going to happen a couple of paragraphs before it did), positive and heart-warming (despite the tragedy). The book’s lightness of touch and the interspersed comedic events make it easy to read but it does not detract from the seriousness and the sensitivity with which it touches upon serious matters. Bullying, family relationships (especially the complexities of non-traditional families), domestic violence, the influence of our childhoods and the experiences we go through in later life, and of course, the dangers of secrets and lies, are all important elements of this novel, that despite the style and the subject matter fits also within the mystery category.
I recommend this novel to any readers of women’s literature, chick-lit with a sting, domestic mystery and in general to anybody who wants to have a fun time whilst reading about serious matters. Now I know for sure I must read more books by this author.
Great story and adaptation by HBO – There were aspects of the book I preferred to the series… exciting read!
Fantastic read. I couldn’t put it down.
Great suspense
I appreciate that I am saying nothing new by telling you that Big Little Lies is tremendous fun, but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s everything you want out of a novel, characters you identify with, a beautiful setting and twists large and small. Enjoy!
After the first chapter, I almost quit reading it seemed it was a fluff book about housewives in Britain. I am really glad I continued and finished this book. It quickly changed and became very interesting.
This was such an engaging method of unfolding the story—interviews with witnesses to the denouement. An awesome tale.
Absolutely love this book! Would read it again. I would love a second book about these characters!!
I couldn’t quit reading!
I have read all of her books and love them.
Fun read.
Having read most of Liane Moriarty’s other novels, I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth in to Big Little Lies! Loved the characterization, the twists and turns, the story. This talented author has earned a spot on my don’t-miss list.
A death that takes place during a grade school annual event, leads to husbands and wives questioning friendships, marriages and the truths they hide behind.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
2014
The story begins with what seems like a trivial interview with gossipy parents at a public elementary school. This commentary continues through the book almost as a reminder of how damaging gossip and lies can be. It doesn’t take much for a situation to get totally twisted and out of control. There’s always a price to pay for misrepresenting the truth. In the end everyone suffers the repercussions, the person keeping the secret of the truth and the person who seeks to hide the truth. The truth is ultimately revealed along with its accompanying consequences.
Initially, I was unimpressed with the shallow, materialistic characters. This is a chic lit with attitude and a powerful message. As the story develops it becomes apparent how people’s lives are constantly judged by others. “The grass is always greener” syndrome can often have various effects on people. It can make some people feel better about themselves and others feel worse. This comparison occurs across the board whether you are rich or poor, beautiful or homely.
The story addressed rather serious subjects in a way which was palatable and touching.
What a lovely book. I was enthralled from the beginning. And, completely shocked to find out the “dad” to Ziggy. Love that this book brought several women and their families together. The little side romance building for the main character was just enough to hint to something more. I loved that the author did some “after” story so the reader can see how each person’s life has changed.
This book was about three mothers who had a child starting Kindergarten. One mother was a divorced/remarried mother. One mother was wealthy but being abused by her husband. One mother was a single mother whose child was a product of a one night stand. Their lives intersect and they become friends. The whole book is leading up to a murder that has happened among the parents at the school and figuring out who was murdered and who did it.
I really enjoyed this book. It is a good summer read and even with almost 400 pages, it didn’t take me long to get through it. After all the more serious reads I have read lately, this was a nice break.
This book made me laugh in a lot of places. I found me thinking of people in our own school district that would fit into some of the mothers who were described in this book. It was your typical mother vs. mother that you can’t escape no matter where you live. It had me chuckling quite a bit.
The more I read her, the more I like her writing style. It keeps me a little off kilter. The books are a bit dark, but in a captivating way. It makes dark feel normal. Is that bad?
Wonderful book that any divorced woman can relate to.
I watched the HBO series first but when I read the first couple pages of the book the writing style grabbed me, even though I knew what was going to happen (the events in the series are very close to what happens in the book). The book gives more detail and information about the background and thought processes of the characters and this adds substance to the story. I recommend the novel, it catches the reader’s attention and provides lots to enjoy.