Junk Food Binge: Big Little Lies, The Rosie Project, and The Girl on the Train

Big Little Lies, The Rosie Project, and The Girl on the Train

(For those days when you don't want your brain to work too hard)

Sometimes we read books that are bad for us - sugary sweet, designed for addiction, filled with additives devoid of nutritional content, and leaving a chemically aftertaste.  I'm coming off just such a binge, and while none of these books really deserves its own post, I did spend some time reading them and ignoring my husband (sorry!)  So, without further ado, a quick blurb on why you should/should not read each.

Good/decent junk food binge - Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty 

Has a book ever been so geared toward a book club of thirty-and-forty-somethings with small children at home and a hankering for a bottle of wine and some drama?  Although I'm not in that particular category of readers, I couldn't help but find Moriarty's story of drama mamas at kindergarten in an Australian beach town entertaining.  

Part of the hook is the structure - the story is told chronologically from the point of view of several characters in the beach-side community, but the narrative is interspersed with what might be police interviews revolving around a school fundraiser that ended in murder.  There are three mysteries at play here: who is the victim? Who is the murderer?  How did parenting five-year-olds in such a picturesque town turn deadly?

I'll admit that this intro (and the awful title!) might induce some eye rolls, and so will this book - but like I said, this is the Junk Food Binge edition.  And, of the three books in the binge, Big Little Lies might actually be the best.  It's well-paced, it's entertaining even when it's being ridiculous, its characters are more well-rounded than you might expect at first glance, and with a light touch, it tackles some more serious issues: bullying, marriage and parenting challenges, domestic violence, sexual abuse, child slavery... I suppose that makes it sound like a deeper and more depressing book than it really is.  It's not as heavy as all that.  It's just a good page-turner and often, surprisingly funny.  And I only half-guessed the ending.  Call it, Cheetos, made with Real Cheese!

Cotton candy junk food binge - The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion

This book is really just delightful.  Read it in 24 hours, giggle to yourself (or out loud), sigh or groan a little, and then go give someone a kiss.  I read it by a fireplace in Vermont and then on the long drive home, and that might be why I just glow when I write about it.  It's nothing special, but it definitely delivers that cotton candy sparkle on your tongue - highly enjoyable for just a moment, and ultimately forgettable.

The protagonist and narrator is an Australian professor who must be on the autism spectrum, who embarks on a hunt for a wife the way you would construct an anthropology experiment.  (Is it just me, or - including The Slap, both the worthwhile book and now a TV series, The Rosie Project, and Big Little Lies - aren't we getting much more Australian literature on this side of the world than we used to?)

Don the hapless professor is a great combination of hilarious, (cotton candy) sweet, and infuriating.  He's an unlikely hero that you just want to root for, as he shifts his focus from trying to find the perfect mate or companion, to helping his new friend Rosie in her quest to find her biological father.

The whole story is a bit ridiculous, especially some of the travel anecdotes and the completely unrealistic ending.  But goodness, did I smile the entire time I was reading - this is as romantic comedy as it gets.  (Just wait, because I'm fairly sure a movie and a sequel are in the works.)

"Can I get a time refund" junk food binge - Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins

Pretty please, can I find whichever publishing/marketing maven called this "The New Gone Girl!" and give them a well-deserved smack?  I may be in the minority here, given how many people I see reading this (yes, on the train) and its spot on bestseller lists.  But I HATED almost every minute of this book.

One of the narrators is a drunk, overweight woman named Rachel, whose marriage has collapsed, who has lost her job, and who rides the train to and from London on a daily basis, pretending that she's a commuter, and stalking her ex in the house where she used to live.  To say that she is an unlikable narrator, however pitiable, is an understatement.  Who wants to spend precious junk food calories on this person?

Another narrator is a beautiful blond woman with secrets, who - you guessed it! - has disappeared.  Is she dead?  Did her husband do it?  If you're Gillian Flynn, you're feeling pretty happy because Paula Hawkins tried to cheaply rip off some of your gimmicks, and made you look fantastic by comparison.  (If you're Gillian Flynn, you're also pretty happy because you're talented, beautiful, and swimming in money.)

One more detestable narrator here - the woman who slept with, and then married, Rachel's husband.  Ugh.

I would be afraid of giving away too much of the ending by going on, but suffice it to say that I NEVER guess the twist, but this one became pretty obvious to me as I went on.  I will admit that the book does become addictive.  But - an obvious public service announcement here - just because something is addictive does not mean that it has any redeeming qualities.  SKIP!

P.S. - I just bought 3 very educational-sounding, non-fiction books.  Maybe this will make up for my junk food diet!