Big Little Lies: Book vs Series

Big Little Lies
by Liane Moriarty
Pages: 460
Published by Berkley
Publication Date July 29th 2014
Source: Library
Genres: Chick Lit
Goodreads

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.

Big Little Lies is my first in my analysis of books vs their film (or series) counterpart.  Big Little Lies has been circulating the book blogosphere for a while so the novel is nothing new, however what brought me to read it was the HBO series.  It looked like a trashy romp and is one of many books that Reese Witherspoon is adapting to screen.  She obviously has an attraction to the word “little” as Little Fires Everywhere is set to hit Hulu later this year.

Anyway, back to ‎Liane Moriarty’s novel. I slowly read Big Little Lies over the past week, dutifully not watching ahead despite the DVDs sitting tauntingly on my tv console.  The novel is a beach read, there is no way to get around it.  However, for what it is, it was highly readable.  This was until Madeline’s 14-year-old daughter, to protest child slavery and sex trafficking decides to auction off her virginity.  This was just too much for me.  It jumped the shark and was slightly laughable.

Do not let that subplot deter you though because overall it is still very enjoyable. The story also deals with domestic abuse, bullying and sexual assault. Although, the characters, Celeste, Madeline and Jane (as well as a few side characters) are all so self-absorbed that it lightens the mood with sly humor. The main plot point, handled with suspense and pacing which keeps the story moving forward is a murder that occurs at the elementary school’s trivia night fundraiser. As a whole, the novel was satisfactory and was a fun read.

As for the series, it was a great soap opera and I would liken it as the Millennial’s Peyton Place. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley nail the snobbery in the community and were as I pictured them. Madeline and Celeste (played by Witherspoon and Kidman) and Jane (played by Woodley) are on a constant quest to be their best selves and to build a confidence that quite frankly, none of them have.

It should not have surprised me as it is an HBO program but, there is quite a bit of nudity in it. If Nicole Kidman’s scantily clad appearance in Dead Calm was too much for you, her role in Big Little Lies certainly will be. Although, as I mentioned earlier, this is my generation’s Peyton Place so that should be expected.

There were a few changes made to the series, the main one being an affair between Madeline and her coworker Joseph. It was brief and was clearly there to add even more drama to the plot, but overall this adaptation stayed true to the book.

Despite the fact that my mantra is “the book is always better” I will have to eat my hat on this occasion. In my opinion, it was the presentation of the story that put the series over the top. While Liane Moriarty was descriptive in her novel it was not vividly so thus having a true visual enhanced the experience. In this case, the winner of the age old question, is the film actually better, the answer is yes.