Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
by Liane Moriarty
Synopsis
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.
Review
This is a classic Liane Moriarty book… and while I loved her two other books (The Husband's Secret & What Alice Forgot) this one fell a little flat for me. I will say her writing and story style is awesome, I love the mysterious element she adds to her genre - which I would call "smart chick-lit". I have been in a reading funk lately and that could be why I didn't absolutely love this book. Mostly I did not really relate to the parents at all. I went into the book hoping that I would since I have children in elementary school as well, and I know how some moms can be chatty/catty. Mostly the characters seemed full of self loathing and uninspired - or maybe I just took it too seriously when it should have been a "for fun" read. I would say visit Liane Moriarty's other books first and then try this one. She really is a fantastic storyteller.
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