Truly Madly Guilty

I like most of Liane Moriarty's books, but this one is my favorite. It shows how one fleeting moment can have a huge impact on the lives of everyone involved, how different people process their feelings in different ways, and how important it is to forgive not just others, but also yourself. Most of all I loved Ms. Moriarty's characters. They are so well written with distinctive voices and viewpoints, and I grew very fond of all of them by the end, even some who I didn't like earlier in the book. This was a page tuner with a satisfying ending.

Another great story by Ms. Moriarty! I just love her books so. Here's why this one is so great...

1. The characters are very deeply constructed. The reader really gets a great sense of who they are without a lot of "this is what happened in the past" kind of back-storytelling. All of the details are gently woven into the story along the way to help explain motivation, emotion, and drive. Clementine is one of the main characters in this book. She is a professional cellist. Being a professional musician myself, I really appreciated the research that was done and the complete understanding of what it is like to live and breathe this lifestyle. Yes, it's a lifestyle. There are no days off from practicing and maintaining our endurance and technique. I couldn't believe when Ms. Moriarty even talked about "the wolf!" Yes! That is a very specific detail of cello playing! Clementine's preparation and feelings about auditioning and performing in general were spot-on. Erika is another character who's mother is a hoarder. That complicated relationship is explored on all levels and is also spot-on.

2. The storylines are not at all outlandish. What happens in this book can and does happen to everyone. Some things are mundane, some things are big. But everything is relatable to every reader, either personally or through knowing someone else. I think that's what grabs my attention - I want to see how my experience is the same or different so I feel more connected.

3. The chapters are told from different perspectives, and sometimes out of time sequence. I find that this is a fantastic storytelling technique that works perfectly for Ms. Moriarty's style. Hearing different versions and sides of an event gives a nice 360º view of the truth. It's what keeps me hooked!

I read this book the week of the November 2016 USA Presidential Election. I needed this book!!! I needed the distraction, I needed the pull to a reality that wasn't mine, and I needed the escape. Upon reflection, I would have still loved this book. But I read it during a time where it was nice to shut off the tv, get away from the internet, and read a truly wonderful book. My only regret was that I couldn't stay home from work, curled up in bed, so I could just plow through in one day. Fans of Ms. Moriarty will enjoy. New readers - this is a great book to start with!! Then go read her other books.

This is a steady page-turner about human nature and how people react to emergency situations and those situation’s lasting effects. Written in third person, the book alternates perspectives between the six adults and one of the child characters. Therefore, different personalities get the chance to speak and be understood. One amazing thing about this book is that I thought I was trying to figure out one mystery. It turned out there were several twists and turns still coming. After the “incident” was explained, the story continued to unfold is surprising and shocking ways. Tough issues are brought to light and life for people that go through these things are a little better understood. Because of the different perspectives, the reader is given the story from every different angle. The expectation on women and mothers is one subtopic that is true to life and very frustratingly realistic. Who’s to blame when things go wrong? Can an accident actually be an accident when adults could have stopped it? This is a stressful but great read. The only problem I found with the book was the use of withholding information. The characters were clearly upset about something that had happened at a barbeque and it was brought up constantly, without being explained until halfway through the book. It was a bit annoying that the information was being held back just to make me keep reading. It went on too long that way. BUT, it was worth it. The “incident” was as bad as the characters were making it out to be.

Spoilers below The six adults at the barbeque had very different, very real personalities and were easy to accept as they were. The circumstances of them having an enjoyable time, standing around being playful with each other was also very understandable. It’s easy to feel like there are too many people around for things to go wrong. So, when Ruby fell into the fountain, and no one noticed, it’s also easy to see how this could happen. A parent’s worst fear is to lose a child. But to lose a child when they were just feet away would be unbearable. The whole situation is possible and terribly frightening. The reactions of blame and self-blame and avoidance seem very realistic. Everyone has an opinion of what should have been happening and who is to blame when a child is hurt and at the same time, it’s something that could happen to anyone. This story hits a serious and dangerous situation from all angles and gives a very realistic approach to how people handle this sort of event. This is a powerful story that I would recommend.

Liane Moriarty had me a little worried with this book. For the majority of the first half of the story, I felt like I was in the dark, walking cautiously around waiting for a light to shine and show me the way. Then, the second half happened and that flash of light appeared and made things so much more clearer.

Seriously, the second half of the story really saved this book for me. The first half didn’t really engaged me. Having the narrative perspective shift from the different characters and jump timelines, kinda gave the story a disjointed tone. It took me a time to get used to the shifting and time changes and that happened once I saw that Moriarty was trying to relate the aftermath of the events of the barbecue while also building up that curiosity regarding that day. And while she did succeed on that end, not knowing exactly what happened until later on in the book, left the first half as a confusing bunch of narratives that seemingly had no purpose or connection. It made it hard for me to get interested in what was going on with all the characters. So my reading of the first half was one of indifference. The one thought that kept running in my head was that the payoff better be good considering the build up towards the barbecue.

Once you get to the second half and finally know what exactly happened, then the things you read in the first part made sense. Moriarty used the first part to help establish not only the characters themselves but more importantly the relationships (or lack thereof) between the players which would play a part in the upcoming second act. Finally knowing what happened (which is a pretty serious event), gave the story that spark it was lacking when we didn’t know what happened back in the beginning. Knowing the source of conflict and guilt (the title now makes sense and highly appropriate), gave context to the current situations and emotional state all the characters are in. It made them and their story more interesting. And this is where Moriarty really shines and what made her other works good. She’s able to get to the heart of the story, focusing on the characters themselves and their inner turmoil. And I enjoyed how she managed to give every character some amount of guilt and was able to make it all connect to one another.

I consider myself a patient reader, who is willing to wait through a slow/mediocre beginning with the hope that the book gets better. While there have been times that it doesn’t pay off, more often than not, my patience gets rewarded. Fortunately, this book was on in the pay off pile. The second half saved this book for me. While it had pockets of interest (e.g. Erika’s hoarding mother and the exploring the possible cause, how it manifests in a person and the impact it has on the family especially the children of hoarders), it lacked the energy that was existed in the second half once you knew exactly what happened. Once that context was provided, it clicked everything in place and not only do you see where everything and everyone fits in, it made the story interesting and engaging. If the whole book was basically like the first act, this would probably be just a good/average read which is disappointing considering the author.

I seriously would never thought I could give one of my absolute favorite author anything less than a 5 star review, heck all her books have been 10 star reviews for me.Well to be super honest maybe the Hypnotist's Love Story could have been a bit more exciting and maybe only that one book would have been a 4 stars read but all the other books, seriously all her other books are 10 star reads until this one sadly to say.The first part of this read was long,long,and more long,I never struggle to read with this author and I was struggling to be very honest.I think it just was to bland and disengaging of a storyline for the first half and I really couldn't decide if I liked Clementine or despised her .It was just hard to find anything likeable about her for almost the entire book,and Erika and her together was just oil and water,painful to read because their relationship was just so aweful towards each other,you just didn't want to know or read anymore about their petty,bitter,contempt for each other,it just was so unlikable. I felt like there was a important character bonding piece missing from Ms.Moriarty 's usual and always amazing writing during the first 80 percent of the book, but thankfully at the 80 percent mark Ms.Moriarty brought out her AMAZING MAD SKILLS and wrote the last 20 percent to perfection and what I've come to treasure from my favorite author.So if you are like me and count on this author to give you a breathtaking read just hang on very tightly and get to about the 60 percent mark and then take a deep breath and know just a bit further and you will get exactly what you need,want and expect from this beloved storyteller.It takes awhile but you will connect, come to feel for everyone thank goodness . Seriously the only character that I could feel from the very get go was Tiffany, loved that about her character, only wished I could have felt that same connection to the others from the very get go too.Seriously though no matter how slow the first half of the book felt for me this author is still "top notch",and to mimic Holly I'm using my fingers to emphasize with all do respect and honesty. You will always get a quality read from Laine Moriarty just this book was not quite as "Wow" as her other reads,well that is up until the 80 percent mark and then it was what I expected and come to count on.So a say read,hang strong because Ms.Moriarty will show her amazing self just not as quickly as I would have hoped for.

There are authors whose books are automatic pre-orders for me, often without even knowing the subject, simply because I have read a number of their other works and loved them so I just assume I will love any subsequent releases as well. Liane Moriarty is one of those authors for me. I have read and loved all of her other books and loved them so much that when I saw she had a new book coming out, I pre-ordered it months before it came out. I even planned the other books I would read around this book so that I could start reading it as soon as it showed up on my Kindle. After six long and somewhat painful days of reading this book, I finally finished it and have to say that this is the first of Liane Moriarty's books with which I have been disappointed.

As many other reviewers have mentioned, Truly Madly Guilty centers around a barbecue and three couples and their families. Sam and Clementine have a good marriage and two little girls, Holly and Ruby. Everything is going well with them in their lives. Oliver and Erika also have a great marriage but they desperately want children. Vid and Tiffany are the third couple and own the house where the barbecue takes place. They have a daughter, Dakota who spends every spare minute reading. Clementine and Erika have been friends since they were little girls and when Erika extends a last-minute invitation to Sam, Clementine and their daughters to come to Vid and Tiffany's barbecue, they accept. What happens at the barbecue ends up changing all of their lives, including others who aren't at the party.

In typical Liane Moriarty fashion, this book is filled with quirky dialogue, a scenic Australian backdrop and a host of three-dimensional characters. There are a lot of details and character development in this book and we really get to know the characters, their histories and why they are the way they are. In her other books, I've found this style of writing to greatly develop the story and it's made the novel that much more enjoyable. I feel most of her books have a good balance of character development and plot. This novel, however, almost has too much detail and character development and not enough plot because we spend so much time reading about how the characters think and feel only to barely make any progress on the plot. In fact, it seemed like the story trudged along and I had a very hard time continuing to read it but I forced myself to keep reading. Unfortunately with so many details, the majority of the book takes place only over the span of a week or two, with a couple chapters spent on what happens a few months afterward.

I had such high hopes for this book and was so excited for it to come out but now after having read it, I am unfortunately disappointed with it. I enjoyed Liane Moriarty's usual quirky style of writing and her good character development but not enough of the book focuses on the plot. There is definitely emotion, sadness, and dry humor within these pages and I got caught up in certain parts of the story. I felt for the characters but I mostly felt frustrated with this book and was extremely happy to finally finish it. Some readers may enjoy it but if you are also like me and have loved her other books, you may find this one not nearly as good. I'll still read any other books Liane Moriarty writes but I would've been happy had I not read this one.

This is an interesting book with a diverse cast of characters that are artfully developed by Liane Moriarity. Unfortunately, many of the characters are frankly unlikeable and are also difficult to relate to. Their flaws seem to heighten their unappealing nature, rather than provide them with relatable humanity. The novel highlights the characters as they experience a horrible incident involving a child, one of the daughters of two of the main characters in the book. The book then follows the unfolding consequences after the incident to all the characters present at the incident, as they threaten to spiral out of control. Moriarity's book provides enough backstory to show most of the characters' childhoods and depicts how their development impacts their ability to cope with the crisis. The psychology of the characters and their subsequent reactions makes up much of the drama in the book. Many themes persist through the novel, including the impact of childhood trauma, the challenges of parenting, marriages, and the role money, class, and privilege play upon the psyche of the children and the adults in the novel. This could be a compelling book, with intriguing characters and a suspenseful plot, but the pacing of the novel is somewhat awkward, and the characterization is not what it should be. Thus, the 3-star review. The dynamics of the book will be familiar to Moriarity's other works, but enough new ground is covered to make this an unique read.