Always on my mind: a "Truly Madly Guilty" review
Guilt can eat up anyone's subconscious. There's something about the feeling that permeates memories, reminding you of an incident long ago that should be past you now but always comes creeping back in regardless. Why is that? I'm not entirely sure, but I have definitely been there, and it's not fun. Perhaps reading a book may give another perspective to this phenomenon?
Liane Moriarty is one of the current reigning queens of domestic thrillers. While The Husband's Secret cemented her name in the American literary scene, the success of the Big Little Lies novel and TV show brought her into celebrity status. Although I preferred the series to the book (and have yet to watch the second season at the time of this review), the premise of three women growing closer amidst personal turmoil paralleled with the present investigation of a shocking murder drew me in, and the same was true with other readers and viewers. However, when this anticipated novel was first released in 2016, critical reception was divided. Although literary publications were impressed, readers didn't like the slow pace, the twist reveals, and felt disconnected from the protagonists and their seemingly perfect lives undercut with the revelation that not everything is as great as it seems. The premise has been replicated in Moriarty's present work and in her fellow contemporaries wanting to make their own name within the market, but I was curious for myself to see if I would find her sharp and witty writing more compelling in Truly Madly Guilty. What did I find?
A pretty good thriller, if I'm being honest. Although Truly Madly Guilty does take a while to get going and perhaps spends too much time getting to the point of its existence, Liane Moriarty has written an engaging and biting slice of domesticity that isn't as placid as most would expect. Her characters are funny and intricate, warping their own version of the truth so no one knows if the real liar is others or themselves. The situation that builds until the reveal keeps a reader's attention despite a present narrative only lasting two days. The writing itself is flirtatious and fun, keeping general slice-of-life events lighthearted while understanding when it's time to be serious. Although I feel like the immense build-up to the climax led to an extended denouement, and the narrative's attitude toward mental health wasn't super great for a character, Truly Madly Guilty kept me engaged for the month I listened to it via e-audiobook. It left me intrigued to see what the rest of Moriarty's books look like from this point on.
It happened at a barbecue, spontaneous and frivolous. A few months have passed, and the guilt still lingers. Erika is the next-door neighbor, happily married with no kids, but her life bends under the remnants of her mother's treatment on her psyche and a desire her husband wants that she may not want as much. Clementine is Erika's best friend, a vivacious cellist whose relationship with her is just as strained as her marriage. Sam is Clementine's husband, bending under the weight of unspoken trauma that he projects at his wife. Holly and Ruby are Clementine and Sam's daughters, sweet girls that don't seem to be reeling from what happened. Oliver is Erika's husband, gentle and intellectual but still recovering from childhood trauma. Tiffany and Vid were the hosts that day, Vid a charismatic man from overseas who is trying to remain jovial through it all and Tiffany a woman who rose from a low-income family in a surprising way no one saw coming that day. Dakota, Tiffany and Vid's daughter, hasn't been herself since the barbecue. Harry is the old man across the street, harsh and biting, but where has he been this whole time? As each adult (and Dakota) reminisces on the barbecue in present day, bits and pieces of the impromptu barbecue reveal secret after secret, revelation after revelation, all leading up to the event that changed everything.
A lot of Truly Madly Guilty deserves to be left to the imagination, revealed in time as a reader flips the pages. This may give someone the idea that the reveals are shocking and scandalous, and maybe that will be the case. Some will find the twists rather dull because they were expecting more outrageous things and didn't see that delivered. But I think each little morsel that uncovers who these people are and why they act the way they do is utterly fascinating. It may be mundane, but that's the magic of a domestic thriller. The cold hard truth is found in the darkest places of a normal home, the places no one thinks of shining a flashlight on until it's too late.
The characters do a lot of the lifting to make sure a reader stays invested. Moriarty does a really great job of balancing the humor and grave seriousness through her narrators. Although much of the tone Clementine and Erika convey ends up being serious, there's a sarcastic comment here and there to bring up a chuckle, whether it be through an observation or just a petty remark at the state of their friendship. Tiffany gets her spotlight as well, making wry observations on tween girl culture and serving a slice of bubbly with the kind of open sexuality that is unashamed and enchanting. The men are featured less than the women (and on top of that, there's Dakota), but their spotlights reveal just as many glimmers of humanity as the others. Sam's franticness, Oliver's gentle calculations, Vid's vivacity, Harry's bitterness, and Dakota's quiet fear are just as invigorating as the others, and even though their moments may not feel necessary, their motivations hit just as hard as our main characters' journeys. It's like Moriarty is allowing every figure we may see in life a chance to breathe in the context of Truly Madly Guilty, and it's nice to see.
The nonlinear narrative was also a nice set-up. Although the present-day storyline unfolds primarily over the course of a few days, there's enough tension within the moderate back-and-forth that reveals different facets of the characters' personalities in a way that never takes away from the narrative. When the reveal happens, while it does feel climactic, it's a quiet moment where everything clarifies in a single instance. But after the reveal of the incident, there's a prolonged denouement where multiple days and then months pass in a way that we lose bits of development from the characters. It felt more like an extended prologue than an ending. Additionally, how this break in time treats mental health, and how Sam specifically seemed to mock the very notion of getting therapy for his trauma, didn't sit well with me. Part of that is understandable; men in our society aren't allowed to process their emotions due to the idea that they need to be strong. But the fact that he didn't view his trauma as serious enough was a little discomfiting for me, yet he did eventually get the help he needed and was able to emotionally work out things with his wife, so that was one little good thing about that subplot.
However, Moriarty's writing was a constant good part of this novel. While I did enjoy her style in Big Little Lies, I found myself disconnected at points despite how funny it was overall. But her writing here was stronger. I felt like the characters were well-rounded and engaging, and the support for them existed within the prose itself. Their personalities were captured well, and even when their everyday life could seem very banal, they were always riveting. I hope this improvement of characterization continues throughout Moriarty's future books.
Truly Madly Guilty is a great domestic thriller, an improvement over the novel that put Moriarty on the map and may go one of two ways for readers. Although response may be divisive, I feel like its slice-of-life nature really benefits the twists and turns, the mindsets of all of the characters. As such, it was hard to stop listening, but when I did, I thought about this novel fondly every single time. Consider this if you want a longer novel for a vacation or if you need a domestic thriller rather than a straightforward one. It'll be worth the read.