Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsLoved, loved, loved, LOVED
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 October 2014
Basically, I loved this. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I read it in a day, and quite literally couldn't bring myself to put it down - and was pretty annoyed when my Kindle ran out of juice.
I've read all of Liane Moriarty's other books now I think, and what I consistently enjoy is her ability to create really quite unlikable and flawed characters that are so real you love them. Sophie Honeywell is another such one. She's flight, she's a bit shallow, she's way too spoilt, I bet she'd be a bit of a know-it-all what with her wine habit and all, and that heinous crime, everyone loves her - those who don't hate her that is. Yet poor Sophie is nearly 40 and her biological clock is ticking away and there's no-one on the horizon. She's scared, and she's worried about being alone (unlike her perfectly-in-love parents) and she's a bit bored at work, and everyone around her seems to have a perfect life, but Sophie hides it all and smiles and gets on baking her pretty tasteless cakes, and that's what I loved about her. I loved the way she had a running narrative in her head about her life, and I loved the way she could see all her faults too.
Then there's the story. An abandoned baby mystery and a strange selection of family making money from it for decades, and obviously doing a great cover up job. What really happened all those years ago? Why do the family have to wait until they are 40 to find out? To find out WHAT?????
And the family too - who include Sophie's ex. There's Grace, who has post-natal depression, and thinks her baby would be better off without her. There's Enigma, the grown-up abandoned baby who has a bit of a superstar complex. There's prickly Veronika who is also a bit in love with Sophie (the only person not in love with Sophie is Sophie) and there's Rose, one of the original sisters who found the baby. There's Marge, who is sick of being told by her husband she's a beached whale. And there's the absent, irritating, perfect Louisa. Liane Moriarty lets us inside all their heads, warts and all.
This is funny. It's really funny in places - as in laugh out loud funny - and not many books are. It's poignant. It's a great story - actually lots of great stories. It's a fantastic character study (studies). And it's just a great read. I even liked the ending which had several great twists in the tail. Loved it, did I say that?