Sadly, for the most part, Big Little Truths fails to deliver ... This isn’t to suggest there’s no fun to be had here. There’s enough happening in the first half of the novel to keep things moving, and the return of familiar faces feels like putting on a beach cardigan. But for its 400-plus pages, Big Little Truths is too long and offers too little reward.
As with its predecessor, Big Little Truths plays with timelines, telling its multistranded narrative through back-and-forward reveals ... It is skilfully done ... There is no sagging to this storyline. Instead, this is popular fiction, as addictively quaffable as a holiday spritz. It’s a seriously fun read that should satisfy fans of the first book as much as those of the screen version.
Moriarty is not an author who likes to coddle her readers. She demands engagement and partnership in her works. Frilly details or apparent passing jokes may be there just for decoration or amusement, but may also be clues to the final reveal ... She is also unafraid to raise morally grey questions in a world increasingly pushing towards the black and white ... Moriarty has built a considerable reputation using this kind of narrative, and Big Little Truths is no exception. The ease of the writing glosses over the complexity of the world she has created ... That is what Moriarty offers, the chance to examine and work through these challenges in a fictional setting masquerading as reality. The rest is up to us.
Meanders away from its predecessor’s core values ... Moriarty argues that this novel could be read as a standalone piece of writing; I firmly believe in the exact opposite, given that without an emotional connection to the characters (which I partially possess), the rest of the plot is mind numbingly trivial and largely underdeveloped ... Overall, Big Little Truths is a faintly enjoyable read that did bore and exasperate me to tears at certain points, but the faint echo of its predecessor’s strengths were enough to get me to slog through the rest of it.
There’s no shortage of plot, but Moriarty’s real gift is for witty dialogue and relatable characters ... Don’t wait for the TV series—Moriarty’s sparkling writing is worth the read.
