Book Review: Big Little Lies
March 22, 2017
BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Chicklit
Blurb
Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal...
A murder…a tragic accident…or just parents behaving badly?
What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what?
Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:
Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).
Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.
New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.
Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.
Non-spoiler review
Awalnya buku ini rame banget diomongin di linimasa twitter karena mau dibikin serial TVnya di HBO. Then I came across a media portal and read it through; this series will starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley, pertamakali baca itu yang ada di kepala gue adalah: Wah, gila lo semua!
It must be very difficult to cast them for a limited series. They're big stars, I mean...ya gitu deh. Kudos to Big Little Lies team, it must be nightmare-ish.
Mungkin akan gue pertimbangkan untuk mereview adaptasi serialnya kalau sudah tayang semua. Okay, back to the book!
Inti ceritanya disini sih ya tentang menemukan siapa yang membunuh siapa. Berat banget? Iya. Probably the funniest book about murder and domestic abuse I'll ever read. Kenapa? Karena pembawaan ceritanya, konflik dan karakternya yang ditulis dengan witty dan lucu banget.
Within the first few page diceritakan adanya pembunuhan dari sesi interview beberapa saksi. But the details are not clear enough, barulah ada flashbacks.
Sebenarnya buku ini nggak berfokus pada semata-mata tentang pembunuhan yang diceritakan di awal tadi, tapi pada kehidupan beberapa keluarga yang menyekolahkan anaknya di Pirriwee Public School.
Diceritakan ada semacam 'geng ibu-ibu' di tempat sekolah anaknya, ada kubu Madeline dan ada kubu Renata. Kedua kubu ini sering banget tubir. Diawali dengan berita pem-bully-an yang terjadi di hari pertama sekolah terhadap anak Renata, since then drama-dramanya ibu arisan keluar. Seru. Mulai dari situ pokoknya konfliknya makin besar sampai adanya pembunuhan di akhir cerita.
Yang paling menarik disini menurut gue adalah karakter-karakter utamanya yang ber-develop dengan sangat baik dan mudah engaged sama pembaca karena persahabatannya.
Meet the characters:
- Madeline Mackenzie: Kalau bisa dibilang ini karakter yang paling 'grow on me' since the first page. Bubbly, outspoken dan caring. Siapa yang menyangka kalau dimana ia menyekolahkan anaknya sekarang adalah sekolah yang sama dengan anak mantan suaminya. Definitely not an ideal situation.
- Celeste Wright: Cantik, pintar, ex-lawyer and envied. Menikah dengan suami yang sangat-sangat sukses, makmur dan kaya raya, juga ibu untuk dua putra kembarnya. She seems to have the perfect life and marriage.
- Jane Chapman: An independent young single mother. Dia baru pindah ke kota itu jadi awalnya rada pendiam dan malu-malu gitu. His son is accused of bullying Renata's daughter on the first orientation day. Pokoknya kita akan dibikin simpati sama dia di buku ini. Udah anak baru, kena fitnah, hadeh. But she always got Madeline and Celeste on her back.
“All conflict can be traced back to someone’s feelings getting hurt, don’t you think?”
Overall
Mulai dari karakter, cerita, gaya penulisan dan plot, this is definitely cup of my tea. It's a witty, realistic story about children, friends, husbands, exes, cliques and the little lies we tell everyday. The suspense is good. Tapi gak tau deh, menurut gue cutoff dan eksekusi plot twist-nya (btw plot twist-nya geblek banget, nggak nyangka banget gitu gue hahaha) disayangkan kurang. Kurang mantep aja. Jadi pas si plot twist ini revealed, yaudah 'gitu' tok hasilnya. Setelah disambung ke bab-bab berikutnya juga masih hnnnggg 'Hah, gimana?'. Not an exactly happy ending, not for all. Satisfying? This is maybe enough but I want more disclosure details.
Buku ini ceritanya sangat realistis, undeniably realistic: konflik rumah tangga, society dan gengsi ibu-ibu. Gue sih nggak bisa relate karena gue belum ber-rumah tangga hahaha, tapi mudah buat gue dan mungkin pembaca lainnya untuk 'tenggelam' dalam ceritanya. We're just people who worry about the breath we take, not how we breathe. Do we?
Buku ini ceritanya sangat realistis, undeniably realistic: konflik rumah tangga, society dan gengsi ibu-ibu. Gue sih nggak bisa relate karena gue belum ber-rumah tangga hahaha, tapi mudah buat gue dan mungkin pembaca lainnya untuk 'tenggelam' dalam ceritanya. We're just people who worry about the breath we take, not how we breathe. Do we?
On the other hand, the serial is looking good so far. Sebenarnya gue nonton serialnya dulu tiga episode baru memutuskan untuk beli bukunya, it planted more than enough for me to follow the miniseries and to buy the book. Dan Ya Allah cover bukunya itu cakep banget! Sejauh ini Big Little Lies The Series adalah adaptasi buku yang lumayan sukses, walau ada bolong-bolongnya dan banyak tambahan tapi udah bagus banget menurut gue. Nggak mengurangi sedikitpun keseruan dan the-heart-of-the-book. Remarkable banget Witherspoon disini, she's so effortless, even outshines Kidman in every way!! I love her, and her lines is a God's work.
Ndymeter
Disayangkan banget eksekusi ending yang ditunggu-tunggu dan bikin penasaran cuman 'gitu' doang. Bikin kaget sih, tapi tindak lanjutnya cuman seuprit. Kalau ada 'tense' sedikit di akhir mungkin buat gue akan lebih lepas dan clear. Empat bintang meluncur, deh. At least its a fun ride overall!
★★★★
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