Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Search This Site

| Log in
  1. Follow us on Facebook
  2. Follow us on Twitter
  3. Follow us on Instagram
  4. Follow us on Goodreads
  5. RSS Feeds

  • Home
  • About
    • About CBR
    • Getting Started
    • Cannon Book Club
    • Diversions
    • Event Calendar
    • Fan Mail
    • Holiday Book Exchange
    • Book Bingo Reading Challenge
    • Participation Badges
    • AlabamaPink
  • Our Team
    • The CBR Team
    • Leaderboard
    • Recent Comments
    • CBR Interviews
    • Our Volunteers
    • Meet MsWas
  • Categories
    • Review Genres
    • Tags
  • Fight Cancer
    • How We Fight Cancer
    • How You Can Donate
    • Book Sale
    • CBR Merchandise
    • Supporters and Friends of CBR
  • FAQ
  • Contact
    • Contact Form
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Follow Us
> FAQ Home
> Genre: Fiction > A Beach Read in January

A Beach Read in January

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

January 26, 2017 by Jenny S 3 Comments

This novel by Liane Moriarty was a good way to start 2017 and was my second foray into an interestingly structured Moriarty tale.  In Big Little Lies, the first novel of hers I read, the story circles around a death, the details which are not revealed until almost the end.  Similarly, the events of Truly Madly Guilty swirl around something catastrophic that happens at an afternoon barbeque, but what that event involves exactly takes most of the story to get to.  However, in both cases, it really is all about the journey.

This barbeque brings together three very different couples.  Erika and Oliver, who are reserved, a tad OCD, and childless have invited Erika’s longtime friend, Clementine, her husband Sam and their two kids over for lunch.  However, a spontaneous invitation from their neighbors, Tiffany and Vid, turns the affair into more of a party as they all go over to enjoy Tiffany and Vid’s luxurious back yard and Vid’s grilling skills.  However, a lot is going on under the surface of this suburban gathering, especially relating to the friendship between Erika and Clementine, which runs deep but also has its rocky elements.  As a kid, Clementine was pushed by her social worker mother to befriend, Erika, the odd and socially awkward daughter of a hoarder, and though they have experienced many important life events together, they also drive each other crazy.

Moriarty is good at creating realistic characters, who you care about but are also frequently exasperated with.  The awkwardness of the friendship between Clementine and Erika is excruciating to witness but rings true.  Yes, something happens at the barbeque and it shakes the relationships between all involved to the core but the result is disastrous, revelatory, and very engaging to read about.

NOTE TO SELF:  Self, write review right after you finish the book.  Don’t wait two weeks.  Sigh.

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Liane Moriarty, truly madly guilty

Jenny S's CBR9 Review No:1 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Liane Moriarty, truly madly guilty ·
Rating:
· 3 Comments

About Jenny S

CBR13 participantCBR12 participantCBR11 participantCBR10 participantCBR  9CBR 8CBR 7CBR 6

By day (and night really), I teach writing and run a writing center at a community college in the Chicago suburbs. However, my superpowers include racking up large library fines and creating towering stacks of to-read books next to my bed. View Jenny S's reviews»

Comments

  1. Mikki Blu says

    January 26, 2017 at 9:27 am

    I just finished “Big Little Lies” and enjoyed it, so I was thinking about reading this one. Good to know you liked this one as much.

    Reply
  2. Jenny S says

    January 26, 2017 at 10:26 am

    I keep wanting to call it Truly Madly Deeply, perhaps because Clementine plays the cello or because I’m still mourning the loss of Alan Rickman a year later.

    Reply
    • Mikki Blu says

      January 26, 2017 at 9:33 pm

      I know what you mean – the title makes me think of that too!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Recent Comments

  • lowercasesee on Another roundup (sorry)Thank you!! It was the first of this bunch I'd read so I couldn't remember everything.
  • narfna on Another roundup (sorry)I'm reading Eve Brown right now (so good!), and Jacob explicitly tells Eve he's autistic almost as soon as he meets her, in the job...
  • ingres77 on The Wheel of Time (Part I)I’m sorry. If it helps, I really wish I didn’t know either. I saved all these books so my kids could read them when they...
  • narfna on “I’m dealing with a lot of scary things. I think you have to react to them. And you either laugh at them or you go insane.”I'm enjoying seeing your thoughts on this series so much! Looking forward to your review of six (and seven!)
  • persnickety chick on Stepping out of the comfort zoneIt was a nice read - nothing too extreme and some good twists
See More Recent Comments »

Want to Help Out?

CBR has a great crew of volunteers, and we're always looking for more people to help out. If you have a specialty or are willing to learn, drop MsWas a line.

  • How You Can Donate
  • FAQ
  • Shop
  • Volunteers
  • Leaderboard
  • AlabamaPink
  • Contact

Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo
© 2021 Cannonball Read | Log in