Review: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

I'm a bit late to the party with this book. I remember my friends raving about it when it first came out, and I kept meaning to read it but somehow never got around to it. Then I saw the TV series advertised on Sky and thought I'd watch that instead - and had to give up after one episode because I found it so boring! Yet my friends had loved the book! So when I had another chance to download it, this time I said 'Yes, please!' I'm so glad I did!

The story is about a group of women who live in an Australian beach town called Pirriwee (in the TV series it was set in America). They have young children who have started at the local school. Despite their apparent 'perfect' lives, they all have very real problems. Madeline is struggling with her relationship with her teenage daughter. To tell you Celeste's secret would be a bit of a spoiler, but you'll work it out for yourself. Jane's reason for constantly moving house comes out a bit later.

The story starts with a death on school Trivia Night. Was it murder? The police think so, and each chapter ends with a statement from one of the characters about what they think has happened and who they think is guilty. The reader doesn't find out anything until the end, not even the name of the victim, but to be honest I didn't care who was murdered or why! I was having far too much fun reading about the lives of these fascinating women!

The strength of the book is in the horribly realistic characters. I recognised myself, my friends, the mothers at my children's school... All the rivalries, misunderstandings, petty jealousies... The way a small, insignificant incident can be twisted and blown out of proportion. In some ways the mothers behaved more like children than their offspring! By turns hilariously funny and desperately sad, the dialogue is full of classic one-liners - but the real skill of the author is her ability to observe and recreate everyday life, and yet make it so relatable and entertaining. I am in awe.

In theory, I should have hated Big Little Lies. I prefer escapism in the books I read and tend to avoid anything with a domestic setting or serious issues. So it just goes to show, you should always try reading something out of your comfort zone!

One of my favourite books this year!


Thank you to Liane Moriarty, Penguin and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review. 

Review: The Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig

I absolutely loved this book! Wickedly funny with brilliant characters, I could hardly bear to put it down. The story is about Lottie and Quentin Bredin, who are forced to uproot from London and settle in the wilds of Devon because they can't afford to divorce. Dragged along for the ride are Lottie's son Xan and their young daughters, the precocious Stella and good-natured Rosie. Most of the humour comes from the shock of exchanging their lovely home in the city for an old farmhouse, which is damp and overrun with mice (and, on one occasion, a large rat). Worse still, there's barely any mobile phone signal or Internet. And then the Bredins find out exactly why the house was so cheap to rent  - and what happened to the previous tenant ...

The joy of this book is in how the characters deal with (or, in some cases, don't deal with) adversity. Lottie is a control freak, trying desperately hard to keep her family from going under while utterly devastated by Quentin's serial infidelity. Quentin is a self-obsessed idiot, who spends the first half of the book trying to claw his way back into the London elite, gatecrashing the parties and clubs where he used to reign supreme. Unfortunately he never spent much time being nice to people on the way up, so they are all quite gleefully watching him get his comeuppance on the way down.

Pampered teenager Xan, who has failed to get into Cambridge and sulkily refuses to consider an alternative university, has a horrible shock when he finds out they can't even afford Netflix and he is forced to get a job at the local pie-making factory. (After reading about his adventures, you'll probably never want to eat a ready-made pie again!)

The story is told from each viewpoint over the course of a year, with the addition of Sally, a local midwife, who first meets Quentin when his car forces hers into a ditch. Despite this, Sally becomes good friends with Lottie and we also see village life from her more sensible perspective.

The plot skillfully covers the harsh realities of divorce, caring for elderly parents, trying to fit into a new community, poverty, infidelity and infertility. Despite the humour, the story was a little dark in places, particularly with regards to the mystery of the previous tenant - and exactly what happens to that meat before it ends up on your table as a Sunday roast. 

My favourite characters were Xan, who was the first to realise what a sheltered life he'd been leading, and his step-father Quentin - even though Quentin was so horrible: "Without selfishness, I'll have a life of misery and boredom."

The Lie of the Land is one of my favourite reads this year. Recommended if you love cleverly written stories about eccentric characters, with a bit of humour and a mystery thrown in. I'll definitely be seeking out more of Amanda's books!

Thank you to Amanda Craig, the Little Brown Book Group and Netgalley for my copy of this book, which I received in exchange for an honest review.