Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is by FAR the best book I've read in a long time! It's moments like this that I wish I belonged to a book club so I could discuss this book with other people! BIG LITTLE LIES is the first book I've read by Liane Moriarty, and I can easily say that I've found a new favorite author. I can hardly wait to read her other books.
BIG LITTLE LIES is a fantastic mystery, which is slowly unwoven thread by thread. Every once in a while, the author gave a big yank on the plot line or a character's development ... one time I almost tripped on the treadmill and another time I sat up in bed - - - both times with a dropped jaw and a "What the heck?" mentality.
Moriarty got me.
She surprised me more than once both with the plot and with the characters. And I love that in a book.
The story is based in Australia, and I found that interesting. Since I live in the U.S., most of the books I read are written by U.S. authors and set somewhere in the U.S. ... so this was a great cultural change for me as well as an adventure in reading.
The book is primarily about three moms ... with very different lives ... who become friends because their children are going to school together. On page 122 it reads, "It had never crossed her mind that sending your child to school would be like going back to school yourself."
But it is so much more than that.
The reader is told at the very beginning that someone has died, but the reader doesn't know who died or who killed that person. Therein lies the primary mystery; however, as layers and layers are revealed, the story is so much more complex than just a murder. The story is told from different perspectives, and it's such a great study of our current society and the way we interact with each other.
Are the photos we post on Facebook an accurate representation of our lives? What messages are we trying to send each other? And likewise, when judging others, do we immediately jump to a critical conclusion? Or do we try to give each other the benefit of the doubt and realize we are all doing the best we can to lead happy and healthy lives?
"She felt like a caricature to Madeline. It was impossible to imagine her doing anything normal. Was she ever grumpy? Did she ever yell? Fall about laughing? Eat too much?" (page 305)
"It's because we live in a beauty-obsessed society where the most important thing a woman can do is make herself attractive to men." (page 196)
If you are in a book club - choose this book! If you are not in a book club - choose this book, and then feel free to message me with your opinion about it! :)
There is domestic violence in this book. I think there was one sex scene (as a flashback). There was minor usage of the F word.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. The writing was excellent. The plotting was fantastic. And the character development was wonderful.
View all my reviews
Hi there!
ReplyDeleteI just stopped by to check out your blog. I've signed up for yet another year of the A to Z Challenge and look forward to reading many, many posts next month...;~)
Take care,
Donna L Martin
www.donnalmartin.com
author of THE STORY CATCHER (Anaiah Press 2015)
coauthor CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL: ANGELS AMONG US (Simon & Schuster 2013)
I was at a party this weekend, and a woman I met started talking about books and she recommended this very book to me. Now, I must read this.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this book but after reading your review I'm going to have to add it to my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteSounds amazing. Adding it to my TBR list. :-)
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