The Husband’s Secret and What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

The Husband’s Secret:

Pub Date: July 2013

Fiction (Adult)

416 pgs. / 12 audio discs

 

What Alice Forgot:

Pub Date: January 2009

Fiction (Adult)

496 pgs. / 13 audio discs

Lately I have been listening to more and more audio books (with a toddler, I would love to be able to sit down and read more often but that is easier said than done!), and recently devoured this double-serving of Liane Moriarty, an author new to me.  She is now one of my new favorite authors and I am eagerly looking forward to her next book (Big Little Lies, just published this month!).

I started with What Alice Forgot, on the recommendation of a patron. The narrative follows Alice Love, 29 years old, happily married and about to give birth to her first child.  One day she wakes up on the floor of her gym after a fall and a bump on the head. She sees friends and family members she recognizes, but they react to her strangely. Instead of commenting on her pregnancy, they are talking about her three kids, her impending divorce, and her upcoming 40th birthday.  What happened to Alice’s life? How did she get here?

What follows is Alice’s attempt to piece together the previous 10 years.  Moriarty’s novel is well-paced and by turns funny and poignant, thought-provoking and engaging. Tamara Lovatt-Smith’s narration is delightful.  She deftly portrays the point of view of not only Alice, but also Alice’s long-suffering sister Elisabeth and their heartsick grandmother Franny. Not to mention I could listen to her lilting Australian accent all day.  I almost couldn’t bear to turn the novel off!

The Husband’s Secret, one of last summers most buzzed-about titles, is three intertwining narratives of three separate women: Cecelia, Rachel, and Tess.  Cecelia accidentally comes across a letter written to her by her husband to be opened only in the event of his death.  Cecelia’s husband is still alive….and Cecelia can’t stop thinking about the letter. Like Pandora before her, Cecelia opens it.  And the consequences for the three women begin.

This was a darker book that has elements of a thriller in parts, but retains Moriarty’s engaging, well-written female (and male) characters and her gift for depicting complicated relationships. The audio version’s narration by Caroline Lee is equally captivating.  Fans of Jojo Moyes, Kristen Hannah, and Sue Miller would enjoy Moriarty’s books.

-Becky