Comment

Sep 03, 2017
The Whistler Public Library and Armchair Books Community Book Club read "Big Little Lies" in July 2017. This novel surprised many of us; it was chosen as our "light summer read", but it has surprising depth and handles some serious subject matter very well. Much like the TV series, I think many "serious" readers dismissed this book out of hand because of the premise - what could a book about gossipy kindergarten moms have to offer a lover of literature? But even those of us without children (which was 80% of the group on this occasion) found much common ground with these characters. We particularly enjoyed discussing: - How parenting has changed since our childhoods (some more distant than others), and how it has stayed the same. In the same vein, what are the new challenges that 21st century parents are facing? - The depiction of female friendship/relationships in this novel, particularly in the climactic scene. Our three main characters are fiercely loyal to one another, and even those women who are hardly "friends" band together to protect one another when needed. - The inclusion of emotional and physical abuse in this supposedly "light-hearted" story. This added surprising depth to both Jane's and Celeste's backstories, and made what could have been a couple of pretty one-dimensional characters that much more complex.