Cultural Dessert

‘Apples Never Fall’ by Liane Moriarty

30 September 2022

I’m new to the Australian novelist Liane Moriarty (the author of ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’, both now adapted for TV) and have really enjoyed reading her 2021 novel ‘Apples Never Fall’. This is a family story, very much in the same territory as the novels of Anne Tyler, where the subtle interactions between siblings and parents tell so much while saying so little. But ‘Apples Never Fall’ also cleverly weaves in a genuinely gripping mystery plot which Liane Moriarty resolves very satisfyingly, with painstaking attention to detail: every little incident comes to have some significance as the truth is revealed. The relationships between the four tennis-playing Delaney children and their professional tennis coach parents reminded me a little of Jesse Armstrong’s brilliant black comedy-drama TV series ‘Succession’. This is a dysfunctional family full of regret and recrimination but whose members still love each other deeply. I’m looking forward to reading more Liane Moriarty novels soon.

Labels: Books

posted by Robin Simpson @ 2:09 pm