Author: Liane Moriarty
Published: 1 Apr 2015
Series: -
Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis:
The internationally bestselling author turns her unique gaze on the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves every day and what really goes on behind closed suburban doors.
'I guess it started with the mothers.'
'It was all just a terrible misunderstanding.'
'I'll tell you exactly why it happened.'
Pirriwee Public's annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. A parent is dead. Was it murder, a tragic accident... or something else entirely?
"Big Little Lies" is a funny, heartbreaking, challenging story of ex-husbands and second wives, new friendships, old betrayals and and schoolyard politics.
'I guess it started with the mothers.'
'It was all just a terrible misunderstanding.'
'I'll tell you exactly why it happened.'
Pirriwee Public's annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. A parent is dead. Was it murder, a tragic accident... or something else entirely?
"Big Little Lies" is a funny, heartbreaking, challenging story of ex-husbands and second wives, new friendships, old betrayals and and schoolyard politics.
Trigger Warning: domestic abuse, bullying, sexual assault
This book was the Bookish Bean Co. book club pick for Nov 2020.
I know that this book has been turned into a TV series featuring actors like Reese Witherspoon and our own Nicole Kidman (I know she wasn't born in Australia, but we've pretty much adopted her as our own), however I haven't seen it so I went into this book without being biased.
Overall, I didn't mind the book, however it did feel like it dragged on a little bit and I was usually more interested in Jane's back story and what was happening with __________. I was a little irritated that by page 100 out of 450+ I still didn't even know who had died, but I think that may just be a point to do with me in general and less about the book -- after all, isn't that the entire point of this plot?
'Let me be clear. This is not a circus. This is a murder investigation.'
Ed threatened to kill Nathan and frame Bonnie. Madeline threatened to kill Renata. Is Madeline dead? Or Celeste? Or maybe Jane? So many options!
At the start I was curious why Celeste wanted to 'put down her marriage', but the more that you read, the more the story unfolds and makes sense why she would say that.
I did like when Patricia Cromwell was mentioned and The Australian newspaper though as it brings a little of real life into the fictional story.
In regards to the bullying and the domestic violence warning at the start of this review: people need to remember that the victim is never at fault -- that's what makes them the victim. There are many reasons for people to stay in their situation, whatever that may be, but we all should do our best to notice the signs and help them out of trouble if we can!
I wouldn't have picked up this book on my own if it hadn't been one of the books that the book club picked, but I'm oddly glad that I did. It may not have quite been my pace, but it did deal with adult themes like domestic abuse and sexual assault in a way that impacted without sounding false.
Spoilers!
I did have a theory around page 160 where I wondered if maybe Ziggy had choked Jane before, or maybe an ex, and it turns out that I was right about the ex -- in a weird, twisted sort of way.
At one point I did also have a theory that maybe Juliette choked Amabella and that she blamed Ziggy as Juliette may have had a child with Saxon and seen the resemblance between her own child and Jane's -- but luckily that wasn't true.
I was surprised when we found out that Perry was Jane's Saxon Banks though -- that he'd used his cousin's name as his own when dealing with 'one night stands'.
End Spoilers!
