Big Little Lies in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Nov 16, 2017 Jaime rated it it was amazing

Shelves: thriller-psychological, read-2017

I completely missed the boat on this book the first time around. It was one of those that flitted around the periphery of my reading world, but nothing drew me to pick it up and give it a try.

And then I watched the first episode of the HBO show. I don’t get HBO, so it was going to be a long wait before I could see the rest. But I needed to know what happened! So I immediately picked up the book.

Big Little Lies follows three women. Madeline is the social director, the glue that keeps the group to I completely missed the boat on this book the first time around. It was one of those that flitted around the periphery of my reading world, but nothing drew me to pick it up and give it a try.

And then I watched the first episode of the HBO show. I don’t get HBO, so it was going to be a long wait before I could see the rest. But I needed to know what happened! So I immediately picked up the book.

Big Little Lies follows three women. Madeline is the social director, the glue that keeps the group together. But behind her bubbly facade, she harbors deep insecurities about her ex-husband’s new wife and their relationship with their daughter. Celeste is the beautiful and collected mother of twin boys with an uber-successful husband and gorgeous home, if you don’t notice the dark cloud that hangs over it. Jane is young, insecure, and new in town, a mystery to nearly everyone.

All we know at the beginning is, someone is dead. Is it one of these women? Or did one of them do it?

I thought this was a great book. I enjoyed the gossipy feel of the police interviews. I enjoyed how the lives of the three women were woven together, yet some of the darkest secrets remained hidden. They all have very real problems, from Madeline’s struggles with her daughter, to Celeste’s relationship problems, to Jane’s worries about her son and whether he is troubled. And compounding the issues is the town where they live, where your position is determined by the size of your house and how stylish you dress when you drop your kids at school, and everyone knows everything.

Moriarty does a great job of weaving the story, dropping hints at the same time as she shows how things can be misunderstood and blown out of proportion. By the time you get to the climax, you feel like you should have known it all along, even if you weren’t quite sure. The ending was not expected, yet it made perfect sense.

I recommend this book even if you’ve seen the TV show. As you would expect, it’s more fleshed out and I feel you get more understanding of the characters. I understood the ending better than I would have if I just watched the show. But I do have to say, the casting was perfect. ...more

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Feb 15, 2016 Stacy rated it it was ok

Shelves: lady-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow, I am honestly puzzled and torn about this book. I'm puzzled by everyone's 4- and 5-star reviews. It's hard to even find one with less than four stars that has more than a few likes. Is this book really SO perfect? But I am torn because I was entertained throughout the book and did want to find out how everything turned out, although the book was far too long. I also enjoyed the inner dialogues we saw from the characters, who showed an incredible amount of self-awareness of their issues and Wow, I am honestly puzzled and torn about this book. I'm puzzled by everyone's 4- and 5-star reviews. It's hard to even find one with less than four stars that has more than a few likes. Is this book really SO perfect? But I am torn because I was entertained throughout the book and did want to find out how everything turned out, although the book was far too long. I also enjoyed the inner dialogues we saw from the characters, who showed an incredible amount of self-awareness of their issues and flaws. The thoughts from Celeste were interesting, especially when she questioned whether she could be a victim of abuse if she herself provoked it or hit back.

The one plot line that I thought was really honest and real was that of Abigail, Madeline's 14-year-old daughter who chooses to live with her father and super-chill, younger stepmom, and then tries to auction off her virginity online to raise money for Amnesty International without thinking through the consequences. Her stubbornness, impressionability, and passionate, black-and-white views really resonated with me and reminded me of the simplicity of my own views in high school before I learned to see nuance and complexity in the world around me.

However, the book itself was disappointing when I sat back and started to think about it. It was predictable, cliched in places, and played a klunky hide-the-ball game with the reader. Someone was murdered at the trivia night. Who is it? Why did they do it? Um, it's lady fluff fiction, so the victim is probably not someone you care about... And the characters you do care about are probably going to all be mostly happy and content in the end, so it's hard to feel too much tension on the way there.

Not many of the hidden balls, secrets, shockers, whatever you want to call them, were that surprising. Of course none of the three main characters would be murdered, or be the murderer (can't alienate your readers). Of course the violence in Celeste's marriage would escalate (sad, but true, because you cannot write about domestic violence unless it comes to a head and a resolution during the story). Of course Perry had to be murdered (there could be no truly happy ending for Celeste otherwise). Of course Ziggy's father was in Pirriwee (or we would know who we was at the beginning of the book, and Jane wouldn't have been inexplicably drawn to to move there). Of course Saxon Banks was really Perry (Jane obsessed about him but never Googled him? Please.) Of course sweet Ziggy was not the bully (there were no clues that he was secretly mean whatsoever, so billing him as "inscrutable" was a bit overkill on the book jacket's description). If the bully wasn't Ziggy, of course the bully had to be one of the twins who had secretly witnessed violence against their mother - cue the violins - although I did think for a while that Amabella hurt herself for attention). Of course Tom was not gay and was going to hook up with Jane (why would we hear about how hot he was and how good he smelled, otherwise?) Of course the sad and frumpy mom Jane would get her groove back (why start with a severe ponytail if not to later flip the switch with a makeover later?).

So, I was entertained while reading, but disappointed afterwards (much like when I read "What Alice Forgot"). I will need to remember that the next time I'm tempted to pick up a Moriarty book. I will save it for the beach and not when I have the time and energy to think much about it later. ...more

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Dec 14, 2016 MacDuff rated it liked it

Shelves: 2016

I skim-read the last 300 pages. This was a very clever book, and Moriarty is excellent at writing dialogues. The characters were compelling, and there were little secrets in every corner.

But oh my gosh, it was long.

Maybe it would make a better book on tape?

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