Big Little Lies

I've had a friend in the hospital for the past five weeks and so I've been in the car a lot, traveling back and forth. I've listened to audio books in the past and sometimes I find them too distracting, or I find the road too distracting and I miss parts of the story (God forbid). But, seeing I was traveling the same road over and over, I decided it might work this time.

What a great pleasure it was to listen to Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies. I thoroughly enjoyed the Greek chorus of interviews, the mystery of who died and how, the Australian accents. But this story also had a surprising heft to it. I was prepared for light and fluffy and there is that--with glamorous, hilarious women who are sometimes catty, sometimes sweet--but there's also substance here. Moriarty takes on the oft-told tale of domestic violence with a lot of heart. She doesn't over-play the issue and she definitely doesn't shy away from looking at it from all angles.

I finished this book weeping, and with the feeling that these characters were real women with whom I would love to spend more time.