Monday, April 27, 2020

Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarty)


This book kept me up way too late. Usually I don't like to read books about domestic violence and infidelity, but I loved this book. In some ways it seemed shallow and yet it seemed entirely realistic. The way everyone kept their secrets is what people really do. As a teacher who watches families who become friends through school, the banter between people in the story made me laugh. Each of the characters in this book represented people I know. It was very relatable. The story was well written and light-hearted while being very serious. I didn't figure out who died until way after most readers probably do. LOL


Goodreads says:

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.
 

Sunday, April 12, 2020

Saints, Volume 2 No Unhallowed Hand

This one started slower for me than volume 1 did. It took me a while to get into. I have been reading both books in the series with my daughter. She abandoned me on this one.

 I thought the beginning was kind of boring - some members traveled here and some traveled there. Brigham Young went back and forth and back and forth. But as they got to Utah and started to settle, those stories became much more interesting. Much of this book was on the challenges the members of the church had because they practiced polygamy and there were laws against it. This resulted in leaders and many other people going into hiding. The whole polygamy story is still hard for me to read about and I found it hard to feel sorry for them - especially the men. Even when Allen and I would talk about some of these stories, the conversations were uncomfortable and short. How it all ended was fascinating too - kind of a story of relinquishing to the law. Is that how really inspiration? Or is it desperation?

All this makes me sound like I'm a real questioner of the church - which isn't the case. The polygamy story though is a hard one to swallow. I wouldn't recommend this book to people trying to learn about the church because that issue is so huge in this book. However, there are many other wonderful faith filled stories. I did love the fact that the stories of women were aplenty. I do look forward to the next book in the series.

Goodreads says:

Saints Volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand, 1846-1893, begins with thousands of Latter-day Saints fleeing mobs in Nauvoo, their gathering place for the previous seven years. Readers follow Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles west across prairie and plain, witnessing their trust that God has prepared a home for them beyond the towering peaks of the Rocky Mountains.