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It is 12 years since best-selling novelist Liane Moriarty thrilled readers with Big Little Lies, set in the fictional Sydney location of the seaside \u201cparadise\u201d of Periwee Peninsula.<\/p>\n
The bestselling novel was adapted with great success into a TV series. Now, with a sharp play on the original title, the main characters, Madeline, Celeste and Jane, are back, 10 years older, and perhaps a little wiser. The children previously in kindergarten are now in high school, and are no less problematic.<\/p>\n
Moriarty has said readers need not be familiar with the earlier tale, although once you have savoured the heady sequel Big Little Truths, you will surely rush to gobble up the earlier incarnation.<\/p>\n
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The cast of the screen adaptation of Big Little Lies: (from left) Shailene Woodley, Zo\u00eb Kravitz, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Laura Dern.Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
As with her previous work, one of the story\u2019s greatest wonders is its very structure. Moriarty is a master of the cliffhanger and a magical trickster who spins plot elements like plates. If you think she has dropped one, she hasn\u2019t \u2013 you have.<\/p>\n
The chapters are short and bound along, mostly headed by the names of the main characters. There are other recurring elements such as snippets from a parents\u2019 WhatsApp group and conversations among the teenagers, who function like a Greek chorus as they chat in the presence of Brenda, who supervises the Safe Space of Student Counselling.<\/p>\n
An epigraph attributed to Winston Churchill introduces a meditation on whether historical truth can ever be fully known, while a recurring thread labels a pivotal day in the characters\u2019 lives as \u201cD-Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Perriwee High School serves as a central setting, presided over by a tragic, foolish, and repellent new headmaster. Naming is key in this story, and his \u2013 Ferdinand Seawright (\u201cSee Wrong\u201d) \u2013 is among the most telling and entertaining.<\/p>\n
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Novelist Liane Moriarty.AP<\/p>\n
Moving swiftly from the lovely Blue Blues beach caf\u00e9 to Dr Seawright\u2019s office, the narrative confronts the reader with a sinister piece of mail: a severed, cling-wrapped finger hinting at organised crime. The finger\u2019s significance becomes a grisly motif woven throughout the novel, leaving poor Dr Seawright hopelessly out of his depth as truth plays hide-and-seek across the plot.<\/p>\n
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One hallmark of Moriarty\u2019s fiction is her ability to move in the blink of an eye between the amusing, the romantic, the satirical and the deadly without missing a beat.<\/p>\n
Paedophilia, trauma, chemotherapy, non-monogamy, drive-by shootings, murder, divorce, insanity, menopause, school refusal, car accidents, alcohol abuse, vaping, stalking, dementia, teenage pregnancy, open marriage, corpses, phone misuse, scams, drugs, steroid-induced mania, domestic violence \u2013 the list goes on as the tantalising plotlines surge, bubble, and crisscross. All this, and a bunch of relatable characters.<\/p>\n
There is also a certain amount of love, although the characters are seldom sure about how this works. There are parties and art exhibitions and haircuts and talk of birthdays and weddings \u2013 but there is always a sense that shadows will soon move across the sunshine of Periwee Peninsula. There is less sex than might be expected. Will Jane give in to her husband\u2019s desire for a baby?<\/p>\n
Colourful characters abound, too. The students are delighted by their new history teacher, Melody Montclair, who assigns them a project on exploring historical truths and organises a \u201cshowcase\u201d night where student videos will be presented to parents. Her name is particularly ironic \u2013 she may seem sweet, but her true role in their lives remains unclear to them.<\/p>\n
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