Debbie's Reviews > Big Little Lies

UPDATE June 2019:
Season 2 begins Sunday, June 9, on HBO. Queen Meryl Streep is part of the show now! Read why she joined the cast: https://www.backstage.com/magazine/ar...
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If I said I loved this one, it would be a Big Fat Lie. But I definitely LIKED it, despite the rough beginning.

Here is my love story with Moriarty books, and it doesn’t stay all lovey-dovey, I’ll tell you that. But that sounds dramatic—I need to say that I don’t hate her books now, it’s just that the honeymoon is way over. I became an avid fan after reading What Alice Forgot, which is about a woman who hits her head and forgets her identity. I thought it was completely brilliant, and it made me think.

High from that experience, I then went on to The Husband's Secret. Since I couldn’t forget What Alice Forgot, and I thought Moriarty could do no wrong, I glistened and glowed about that book, too, even though the spark had started to go out a little, if I had been honest with myself. I was still euphoric from the first book and didn’t want to admit that the second one wasn’t as good. Whereas What Alice Forgot made me ponder ideas (about memory and identity, for example), there was no such hook in The Husband’s Secret. It was a good book and I enjoyed reading it, but it was definitely lighter. I anxiously awaited Big Little Lies.

After I’d read the first few chapters of Big Little Lies, I had to admit I just wasn’t wowed. First off, two of the main characters seemed really superficial. I asked myself, do I have to hang out with these rich, beautiful, and self-absorbed airheads who are taking this kindergarten thing way too seriously? I was beginning to understand why Moriarty’s books are often categorized as chick lit.

Plus, there was a stylistic gimmick (a sort of Greek chorus) that I hated because it made the book confusing. The story is about three moms whose kids are entering the same kindergarten class. We learn right away that there has been a scandalous death. The way we learn about the death is through gossipy conversations, like little asides, splashed throughout the story. It’s these little asides that I had trouble with. Each comment has a name preceding it, and there are too many names to keep track of. It drove me nuts! But wait, was I supposed to actually keep track of them, or ignore which gossiper said what and just concentrate on the gossip itself? It wasn’t clear what I was supposed to do, and that sucked. It was just too much work, which made it impossible to have a smooth reading experience. Moriarty, you shouldn’t make the reader work that hard. It should be a seamless experience. I was pissed that there were all these unknown and undeveloped characters whispering important secrets. It’s hard to sit still and enjoy the gossip if you’re busy trying to figure out who’s who.

I eventually recognized some of the people, but still, some of the gossipers weren’t real players in the drama, so why give them names? It was a stylistic technique that didn’t work for me. On paper, it’s a cool way to dole out clues, but maybe it has to look different. Maybe the author should have made some or all of the whisperers anonymous? I don’t know. It just drove me crazy.

I don’t know why I’m poo-poo’ing this book so much, because I did end up liking it. As the book progressed, what I thought were shallow characters became way more complicated and interesting—and I did get invested in all of them.

And really, a lot of important issues are addressed: domestic violence, bullying, rape, and teenagers posting scary shit on the web. The way the characters handle these issues is realistic and satisfying without being predictable, sappy, or preachy.

And there’s lots of suspense—I always looked forward to opening the book; it soon moved into the “juicy read” category. The story is rich and it’s twisty as all get out. The ending is very satisfying, and everything is tied up nicely.

One final complaint, though: the book is way too long. This should have been a 250- or 300-pager; it’s not epic or important or engaging enough to warrant 480 pages.

Final verdict: It took me a while to get into it and trust that Moriarty was once again going to spin a good yarn. And she does. That little imitation Greek chorus thing made me knock the rating down to 3 stars. But ah, shucks, I really do like you, Moriarty--even if I did feel compelled to go back and remove one of my stars for The Husband’s Secret!

Update: March 2017
Catch the 8-part HBO series if you can (it's on the 5th segment, but some of you with HBO might be able to watch the earlier segments). It stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, and Laura Dern (all are excellent), and it's filmed in beautiful Monterey. I'm loving it; like it better than the book. And the Greek chorus works way better. I even downloaded the theme song!