I am a HUGE fan of Liane Moriaty's books since first listening to Big Little Lies. In fact I am such a fan that I have told pretty much everyone that I know this fact and recommended her books to all my friends and family ( most of whom also love her stories)
So, when this book came out in 2019 I was eager to read- it made Waterstones book of the month- I could hardly wait to get started. This is what the Waterstones website says:
** One house. Nine strangers. Ten days that will change everything...
The eagerly-anticipated new novel from the worldwide Number One bestselling author behind Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning HBO series Big Little Lies and smash-hit novel The Husband's Secret.
The retreat at health-and-wellness resort Tranquillum House promises total transformation. Nine stressed city dwellers are keen to drop their literal and mental baggage, and absorb the meditative ambience while enjoying their hot stone massages.
Miles from anywhere, without cars or phones, they have no way to reach the outside world. Just time to think about themselves, and get to know each other.
Watching over them is the resort's director, a woman on a mission. But quite a different one from any the guests might have imagined. For behind the retreat's glamorous facade lies a dark agenda.
These nine perfect strangers have no idea what's about to hit them...
** ( taken from https://www.waterstones.com/book/nine-perfect-strangers/liane-moriarty/9781405919463)
Whew- sounds pretty incredible. I was excited to find out what the dark agenda at Tranquillum house was, who this strange director was- yes, I was well and truly drawn in by the hype and couldnt wait to read the book.
What can I say other than, 'Oh dear me!' From the start it just did not do it for me in the slightest. The nine perfect strangers , with their varying hang-ups and issues just did not ring true and as for Masha- she was so far fetched that I often had to re-read sections to check that I had actually read it correctly. I read right to to end as I kept hoping that it would grab me like every other of her stories, but instead it became more and more ridiculous. Had it been sold as a comedy ( a pretty black one at that ) it may have worked better but to be taken seriously in any shape or form seemed an impossibilty. Each time I thought - well that couldn't possibly be about to happen - it did.
I know it's been made into an incredibly popular drama with the rather wonderful Nicole Kidman but I'm not planning to watch it. I am still a fan of Ms Moriaty and will read her next books with interest. Perhaps she was writing with her tongue firmly in her cheek and the whole thing was just two fingers to the high priced ( and perhaps not necessarily scientifically approved) centres that promise much and charge more. I suspect Covid put paid to many of those.
So, if you are looking for utter nonsense with cliched characters, bizarre treatments and a cartoon-esque villain ( think Cruella, Maleficent- that's the type of character Masha is !) then you may well enjoy it. But if you like credible storylines with characters that you can empathise with and a plot that intrigues, this may not be the best choice.
One word to sum up-
- 1.impossible to believe.
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