CBR13bingo: Libations
I read this book after trawling through my extensive unread collection on my Kindle looking for something with food on the cover for Bingo. It was an easy enjoyable read. A bit like a well-made cupcake.
It’s a very Liane Moriarty book, about three sisters, triplets, struggling to break out of the stereotypes they have been cast in since their youth. There’s the driven one, the wild one, the ditzy one. They all live in picturesque housing that would look great on TV, even the unsuccessful sister has access to great real estate through housesitting.
The story starts with a birthday party at a restaurant, narrated by an observer, that descends from joyful celebration to chaos and violence. We then step back a year or so to find out how the sisters got to this place in their relationship and lives.
The opening vignette of the sisters observed by someone who doesn’t know them, is a motif repeated throughout the book. This gives the sense of three women who are used to being on display, as ‘the triplets’, performing their set roles for others, roles they are finding increasingly constrictive.
By the time the story rolls back to the birthday party, we have got to know these women well and feel for them. But the final act feels rushed as it ties off all the loose threads, and sweeps some important issues under the rug.
This is an early Liane Moriarty book. She hasn’t yet fully honed her bestselling as-seen-on-TV craft, but she’s on her way.