Truly Madly Guilty

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Moriarty, Liane, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Moriarty, Liane
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Westgate Branch

"The new novel from Liane Moriarty, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Husband's Secret, Big Little Lies, and What Alice Forgot, about how sometimes we don't appreciate how extraordinary our ordinary lives are until it's too late. "What a wonderful writer--smart, wise, funny." --Anne Lamott Six responsible adults. Three cute kids. One small dog. It's just a normal weekend. What could possibly go wrong? In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty turns her unique, razor-sharp eye towards three seemingly happy families. Sam and Clementine have a wonderful, albeit, busy life: they have two little girls, Sam has just started a new dream job and Clementine, a cellist, is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime. If there's anything they can count on, it's each other. Clementine and Erika are each other's oldest friends. A single look between them can convey an entire conversation. But theirs is a complicated relationship, so when Erika mentions a last minute invitation to a barbecue with her neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, Clementine and Sam don't hesitate. Having Tiffany and Vid's larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite. Two months later, it won't stop raining, and Clementine and Sam can't stop asking themselves the question: What if we hadn't gone? In Truly Madly Guilty, Liane Moriarty takes on the foundations our lives: marriage, sex, parenthood, and friendship. She shows how guilt can expose the fault lines in the most seemingly strong relationships, how what we don't say can be more powerful than what we do, and how sometimes it is the most innocent of moments that can do the greatest harm"-- Provided by publisher.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Good! submitted by Judeyblu on September 18, 2016, 10:09am Book Review: Truly Madly Guilty, by Liane Moriarty (2016, Flat Iron Books, ISBN 9781250069795)

Moriarty is the master of ‘Something Bad Has Happened’ and she pulls and prods you through the book enticing you as you tease out the Very Bad Thing.

The story is told primarily from the viewpoint of three couples as they recount the current happenings and a barbecue where the Very Bad Thing happened.

Set in Sydney (Vegemite!) this is a story with universal appeal.

Clementine is the successful woman that befriended an unhappy and neglected girl. As the girls grew Clem stopped seeing her as a friend and more of a burden.

Friendship, marriage, what-is-a-neighbor, sex, death, repressed memories, pole dancing.

There. Now doesn’t that sound interesting ?If you haven’t read any of her books before, this is a good way to get started!

Almost a mystery and certainly a drama submitted by mickplu on July 28, 2018, 11:37am A worthwhile book on many levels. The reader is slowly drawn into the big reveal of what terrible event happened at the BBQ. It doesn't feel like as earth shattering as it should simply because the "reveal" takes so long. However, the characters are all likable, the ending is happy, and through the secondary character of Erika's mother, the reader learns about hoarding.

Exploring guilt from all angles submitted by pk on August 6, 2018, 12:58pm A good read, though slow at times. The author jumps back and forth among the main characters of the book, giving you a little glimpse, slowly about what big thing happened at the BBQ. As another reviewer said, it is not as earth shattering as I imagined, and that was a bit of a let down. But what wasn't is the author exploring all the angles of the guilt that surrounds this event. In 3 couples and 3 children. Everybody struggles after the event and their guilt about it colors so much of their lives following it. Very interesting

not my favorite moriarty book submitted by laurenalysse on August 17, 2018, 3:25pm not my favorite of her books, but still worth a read. I felt like the "event" was dragged out a bit too long, and wasn't the most believable.

Irritating submitted by ktwerns on December 2, 2018, 4:18pm This book was nothing like the other books I have read by this author. The "unknown" event was lead up to far too long. Instead of feeling curious, I felt stress and dread that the event, once revealed, was going to be immensely sad. And the chapters leading up to it weren't really enjoyable. All the characters were miserable and at times , unlikeable. I finally googled the event and gave up the book! Skip this one.

A lot of build up submitted by bjkoch on July 15, 2022, 1:59pm Unlike her other books, i agree with the other reviews, this had too much unnecessary build up

Descriptive and interesting book submitted by Bethybeth07 on July 24, 2022, 9:53pm A great read that was rather suspenseful. It wasnt as fast paced as the average beach read but sometimes a slow burn works better