SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers for “Big Little Truths,” the follow-up novel to “Big Little Lies.” It all starts with a mysterious finger sent to the school principal. Liane Moriarty is back with “Big Little Truths,” a book set 10 years after the events of her novel “Big Little Lies,” which was adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO series back in 2017, with a second season in 2019. While Moriarty has confirmed this book will lay the groundwork for “Big Little Lies” Season 3 (which has yet to be ordered officially by HBO, go into production or set a release date), there are key differences between the world in the books and the show’s universe: the main one being the HBO adaptation is set in Monterey, California and Moriarty’s books are set in the fictional Pirriwee Peninsula in Australia.
Additionally, Moriarty incorporates elements of “Big Little Lies” Season 2, like the introduction of Meryl Streep’s show-only character, Mary-Louise, into “Big Little Truths.” In the sequel book, which hit shelves on Aug. 25, Moriarty picks up with Madeline (played by Reese Witherspoon on the HBO series), Jane (Shailene Woodley), Celeste (Nicole Kidman), Renata (Laura Dern) and Bonnie’s (Zoë Kravitz) lives as they experience a whirlwind of life changes following a 10-year time jump. As their 15-year-old kids navigate the complicated emotions that come with being high-school students, the past also comes up like a current, leading the moms to reckon with what they haven’t told their kids about the circumstances under which Celeste’s husband, Perry (Alexander Skarsgård), was killed by Bonnie all those years ago. Throughout “Big Little Truths,” Moriarty cuts back and forth between the moms’ perspectives and the months leading up to one big event: “D-Day,” which is revealed to be the infamous day on which Jane’s son Ziggy and his classmates give a presentation that reveals the true intentions of their new red-haired history teacher, Melody.
The presentation serves as a wake-up call for the moms as they find out that their new friend Melody has actually been preying on young kids, setting up her brightest students with a job prospect that lands them squarely in the lap of her predator husband, Seth Montclair. And she’s been doing it for years at different schools. While the book starts off teasing a potential death with the implication of somebody’s finger getting cut off, it turns out that Clara Long, a former student of Melody’s, was the one who sent the finger.
In order to get the attention of the school and the community turned toward Melody, the cremation consultant cut off the finger of town local Ewan Drew, who was already dead. In a conversation with Detective Adrian, Clara even goes on to call Melody “the best teacher” she’s ever had. But that’s precisely why she is able to have so much influence over her students.
Ahead of the highly anticipated eventual release of “Big Little Lies” Season 3, read below for Variety’s character-by-character breakdown of the main plot in “Big Little Truths.” Madeline, now working part-time in a local hotel’s events department, is just trying to get through her 50th birthday intact with all the emotions that come with hitting 50. Her party is a huge hit (not that it was a competition to anyone but Madeline), and it becomes a successful effort to get her daughter Chloe back talking with Jane’s son Ziggy and the rest of the kids after they found separate friend groups over the years. Madeline, however, is quickly riddled with guilt after her mom (who was supposed to show at the party) faints at home and was waiting all day for somebody to call and realize.
On top of that, Madeline finds out that her eldest child, Abigail, who is now 25, is getting married to “Picture Perfect Boyfriend,” as Madeline calls Luka. Madeline is also privately struggling with a lump on her chest that she fears could turn out to be breast cancer. However, after she gets tested and finds out she is cancer-free, it turns out Ed is the one that actually has cancer, which completely throws Madeline’s life into disarray as she takes on all responsibility in caring for both Ed and her mom (as only Madeline could).
Extract — continue reading at the source.
