Big Little Cannonball

In addition to being my 52nd book for CBR10, this is the perfect selection for bingo – for god’s sake, my Brain Candy choice has an exploding lollipop on the front cover.

I’m so happy this one’s my cannonball book, I just adore Liane Moriarty’s writing. I’ll read pretty much anything she’s written, and I’m reaching the end of that list, so soliciting recommendations from my fellow cannonballers in this wheelhouse.  Her books are saucy without being trashy, serious without being grave, and always a joy to read.   Once I’m through her bibliography, what book is gonna be my warm sweater and hot coffee reading equivalent?

Big Little Lies is possibly the platonic ideal of Moriarty’s writing.  Multiple protagonists with lives that intersect in unexpected ways. Middle class Australian women with darker problems under the surface of apparently perfect lives.  Imperfect husbands. Tiny details about modern motherhood without losing the distinct characters to reductive mommyhood.  A twist that’s all you want a twist to be, obvious in retrospect without being obvious during the initial read.  I felt the knife twist more in the flawed Truly, Madly, Guilty, and What Alice Forgot is so far the Moriarty book to beat, but this is a damn close second

I almost made this my book/movie choice as I’m excited to see the HBO adaptation, but that’s the thing about brain candy, it’s all about immediate gratification – I couldn’t wait.