Big Little Lies

Another rare adult choice. I can’t believe I’ve not read this before! (Or seen the tv series) I loved the drama but was a bit disappointed that I’d guessed the twist two thirds in. Still, I raced through this, relishing it. Definitely going to watch the tv series, and I have Liane’s Nine Perfect Strangers already lined up once I’ve caught up with my new MG reads for the classroom.

St Just Monday Morning Reading Group 25th January 2021.

Big little lies. Liane Moriarty.

In general, this book was enjoyed by the reading group and labelled ‘A good read’, although there were some reservations.

Positive comments were how easy it was to relate to the ‘politics of the school playground’, and parents taking on their children’s battles; the genuine long term friendships formed amongst the women; the clever device of using gossiping voices at the beginnings or ends of chapters to give both hints and red herrings about the plot; the general credibility of the characters and their situations; well written dialogue; a fair amount of humour, which kept the narrative from being too dark; fully developed characters; and a dramatic denouement. Also admired was the very original idea of concealing the identity of the victim of the crime, as well as the perpetrator, until the very end of the book. Clever plotting and good development, too. The main theme of the book, bullying, both by children and adults, was thought realistic and courageous. And we all liked the setting in the beautiful Australian sunshine… ‘a real page turner’.

There were one or two complaints – a common one was that it was hard to get into at first, and the similarities between characters were muddling. Also, not everyone liked the gossip snippets, and thought them ‘tiresome’, or unnecessary and irrelevant. The ending, one reader commented, was ‘a real disappointment and not very believable’, and another found it contrived. Not everyone liked the characters either, some considering them a bit stereotyped, and some thought the build-up was too long. A few elements of the book, also, some readers considered might have been done more subtly, principally Jane’s ordeal. Most readers did agree that the subject of bullying was generally well handled, a serious issue effectively opened up.

No one, it seemed, guessed the identity of the victim or of the perpetrator (this seemed like a ‘murder story’ although the death was actually accidental), but one reader did comment that the victim ‘more or less had it coming to him sooner or later’!

This book was read during January 2021 and the continuing social distancing because of the Covid-19 virus, and so the discussion was not 'live' as usual, but took place via a Facebook group, email and telephone conversations.