Big Little Lies in Around the Year in 52 Books

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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Nov 02, 2014 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, womens-day, lotsa-buzz, 100-best-of-21st-c, chick-lit

This keeps showing up in Best of lists for 2014, so ... I read it. And, can I just say? ***I REALLY REALLY LOVED THIS BOOK!!*** I haven't been this pleasantly surprised, this in love, with a book since ... well since I read Station Eleven a few months ago. They are very different books, but I had the same reaction. <3 But that's not the point.

As soon as I started it, I found it's not at all what I expected! I figured it would either be deep and difficult, or light chick lit (neither of which wou ...more

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Nov 10, 2014 Sue rated it really liked it

This author does a great job of developing characters, showing the public face that we all show and the hidden truth in every person and behind every closed door. The whole story comes together in the end, things that seem like coincidences never really are and peripheral details are important. I thought this was a really good book.

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Jun 06, 2016 Jana rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-club, x2016-reading-challenge

A quick read. I really liked it. I kept changing my mind who I thought was going to die and who was going to be the murderer. I like how I was manipulated by the author... (: Also, I liked seeing how the education system works in Australia. Some pieces that are so similar to here, and yet I thought were very unique to the US.

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Sep 10, 2014 Celeste rated it really liked it

I like Liane Moriarty's writing. I will read all of her books at some point in my life. I enjoyed this read and can't wait to talk about it at book club. ...more

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