Nine Perfect Strangers - Liane Moriarty

Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they can’t even admit to themselves. Amidst all of the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be.

Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She’s immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them don’t look to be in need of a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances didn’t even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can?

It’s not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking exactly the same question.

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

✼

I've read all of Liane Moriarty's books to date, so when I was looking for a book to take on holiday, I knew her latest novel would be a reliable choice. If any of the rest of her books was anything to go by, I knew Nine Perfect Strangers would be funny, sweet, and very easy to read.

This was no different. It was very easy to get into, and the tone of the plot, as always, was very gentle. Moriarty knows how to make a story intriguing but also so easy to follow, probably by her use of such likeable and relatable characters. It didn't take me long at all to finish this, and it made for the perfect book to read while on a summer holiday.

Rating: ✫✫✫✫

SPOILER ALERT

The Story

I really enjoyed the plot of this book, which, for me, grew steadily more interesting the further I got into it. It could have been super complicated to follow all of the different characters and individual stories, but I was surprised to find that it really wasn't too bad at all. It was also a story of humanity, which I think is always really emotive. Liane Moriarty gives her characters so much depth that half of the intrigue of her novels comes from discovering the incentives of the personalities involved. Placing emphasis on that will always make for an interesting story, and it was really effective in this book in particular; the story-lines of the different characters intertwined really neatly. All of the characters are dealing with some sort of emotional upheaval, and their interactions were, I found, very touching.

I also found that this book was a lot funnier than I was expecting. Yes, Moriarty's novels are always sweet, but this surprised me by making me smile a lot more than I was expecting. The connections between the characters when they arrive at the resort make for enough lighthearted awkwardness that I found it impossible not to feel the humour coming off the page. The scenes that followed - the remote silence, the midnight meditation, and such others - were just funny. The whole think was comprised entirely of fictional flair and madness, definitely, but it all just worked and made for a really enjoyable read.

The only reservation I had about the plot was the whole LSD bit. I don't understand how that contributed anything to the actual story; it felt just a little too random and out of place. Elements of this story were silly, but this one was a little too far for me, and I feel the wider plot could have managed to head in the same direction without that unnecessary element. The plot seemed to fizzle a little bit after that. The visitors to the resort spent much too long locked in that room, and it didn't really feel like the story was going anywhere at all for a little while. That being said, it still made for an enjoyable read because of all those interesting characters.

The ending was incredibly satisfying. When you invest your time reading about so many different, interesting, imperfect characters, you can't help but want to know how they end up. It was very cute, seeing how, despite the interesting methods, the characters had grown through their experience. They all made noticeable changes in their lives between the novel's beginning and its end. More than anything, it just kind of made me want to get it together and be a little healthier in my own life. Well, minus the LSD.

The Characters

• MASHA: Masha is such a dominating character; a queen of control. It's really no wonder that she spiralled so dramatically. I'm not entirely sure how to feel about the magnitude of her crazy, because it was all a little bit Disney villain. Think Ursula the sea witch kind of crazy. But the little bit of backstory about her sad history helped to provide some depth to her character. It was sad to read about her husband and child, and I wish there had been a little more resolution to her story.
• YAO: Yao could have been a much bigger character. He was sitting under Masha's spotlight,. which did serve a purpose for most of the story. However, it would have been good to see his character come to something more by the end of the novel. DELILAH and JAN could have benefited from a bit more substance as well, although I appreciate that there were already so many characters to write.
• FRANCES: Bless her. She was such a good person, that much was clear to see from the very beginning. Moriarty did a good job of capturing her bubbly, caring personality, and she was probably the most dominant character of them all. I thought the whole internet scam was odd, and the romance novels on top of that made her a very random character, but she was clearly a good egg.
• TONY: What a cutie. I could see exactly where things were headed between him and Frances immediately but I was not mad about it. I could see their kind personalities mixing well together, and I did root for their happiness.
• NAPOLEON, HEATHER AND ZOE: It was really sad learning about this family, and about the death of Zoe's twin brother, Zach. When Zoe was chatting to Frances about her presence at the resort, it was really sweet. You could see that each they really needed somebody to lean on, and it was nice to see that little interaction. I couldn't take to Heather quite so easily, especially at first. You see eventually that she's bitter because she's holding onto a secret, but she was very difficult to warm up to. Napoleon, on the other hand, was solid gold in human form, and I thought he was such a wonderfully kind character. I'm glad they found a way to finally come to terms with Zach's death, and the little 21st birthday party they had for Zoe and Zach was very sweet.
• BEN AND JESSICA: This was an interesting pair. Ben made me so sad because he just wanted to be happy, which they clearly weren't. It was a really interesting statement of how money can't buy you happiness. Her looks were her most prized feature, but Ben just didn't think the same. I was torn between agreeing that you should do whatever makes you happy, and learning the lesson that looks definitely aren't everything. It made me sad how hard she tried to be what she thought Ben, and society, wanted. I'm not surprised that they ended up parting ways, but I'll admit that I was rooting for them a little bit to work things out.
• LARS: Lars was largely very uninteresting, but when he told Ray at the end of the book that he would be open to having a child, I thought it was just so sweet.
• CARMEL: Carmel was the character that I found hardest to make out. She was a bit of a mystery, and not necessarily particularly likeable for the most part. The end of her story was random, and I'm not sure how I felt about her playing happy families. I suppose it does send a positive message, though.

The Verdict

I've said it before and I'll say it again, you can always rely on Liane Moriarty to write a really enjoyable novel. They're not particularly thought-provoking plots, but the characters are what make them so great. Moriarty writes characters that are relatable, endearing, and, if not always very likeable, then at least interesting enough to maintain my attention through the story.

Nine Perfect Strangers was no different. The characters kept me engaged, and it didn't take me long to get to the end of the book. I also enjoyed the premise of the heath resort, and the multiple different characters choosing to stay there, each for a very different reason. I didn't think every element of the story was necessary, but for the most part it was surprisingly funny, very lighthearted, and it was such a good book to read in the summer sun.