New Moriarty is not as ‘Truly Madly Guilty’ as we’d hoped
Liane Moriarty is a big tease. Not there’s anything wrong with that.
Who can resist a prolonged buildup, with the tantalizing promise of a scintillating payoff ? It has seduced many a Moriarty reader, turning tasty treats such as The Husband’s Secret into literary hotcakes. Even Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman aren’t immune to Moriarty’s Aussie charms: They star in a forthcoming HBO adaptation of Big Little Lies, Moriarty’s highly entertaining tale of helicopter moms caught up in what may be murder. Which brings us to Truly Madly Guilty (Flatiron, 432 pp., out of four), which Witherspoon and Kidman have just acquired as well, Deadline reports. Moriarty’s latest novel sports yet another sexy title. Guilty of what? We’re dying to know. Alas, Truly Madly Guilty is a bit of a letdown, a summer bummer, if you will.
The story’s mystery — strung out for hundreds of pages — is what awful thing happened at a backyard barbecue in the Sydney suburbs. Did a barbie blow up? Was (shudder) a child seriously injured, or worse? Or did somebody just disappear upstairs with somebody else’s hubby?
I won’t tell, promise. But the real sin of Truly Madly Guilty is that it’s simply not as much fun as The Husband’s Secret or Big Little Lies.
The central problem resides with the two main characters, Erika and Clementine, childhood “best friends” who aren’t even sure they like each other now that they’re all grown up. Believe me, this is not a duo I’d want to invite to my cookout.
Clementine carries a lifelong grudge because as a kid her mother forced her to befriend poor lonely Erika, whose own mom is a serious hoarder. Erika is married to Oliver; they have no children, which saddens sweet Oliver.
Chilly Clementine, a cellist with a terror of auditions, is married to affable Sam, and they have two little girls, Holly and toddler Ruby.
When Truly Madly Deeply opens, we learn right off the bat that something terrible happened, because Clementine is giving a cautionary community talk in penance for the events of “One Ordinary Day” that wasn’t so ordinary.
Moriarty is a talented talespinner and a sharp, witty social observer, and this book certainly has its moments. Many are supplied by Erika’s hilariously eccentric hoarder mom, and barbecue hosts Vid and his va-vavoom younger wife, Tiffany, are priceless. Then there’s the weird old guy next door, Harry. So sure, Moriarty fans, pack
Truly Madly in your beach bag. But don’t be surprised if this isn’t quite the Guilty pleasure you’d hoped for.