The idea of self-improvement is often an appealing one, but it takes so much work, so when someone offers us a quick solution, how can we not jump on it?
That's what is bringing nine people to Tranquillum House, an exclusive health resort in a remote part of Australia. They're coming to lose weight, to detox a bit from the alcohol they've become fond of, to get lots of spa treatments and massages, and to get a jump on the problems that have been plaguing them. In 10 days, the resort promises, they'll feel totally changed.
Frances Welty, once a best-selling romance author, is one of those coming to Tranquillum House. She knows she needs to lose some weight and come to terms with menopause, the imminent decline of her career, and the hurt and humiliation she feels after a romance has gone awry. She's been nursing a bad back, a cold, and a vicious paper cut, and she hopes the pampering and the light fasting will help solve her problems.
Ben and Jessica are a young married couple whose relationship has definitely seen better days. All Ben seems to care about is his fancy new sports car (well, it's a Lamborghini, so can you blame him?) while Jessica has spent tons of money on plastic surgery to make herself look better (at least in her eyes), yet her husband doesn't ever tell her how great she looks. They're hoping some marriage counseling might make the difference.
Napoleon, Heather, and Zoe, are a family that certainly looks healthy. But they're carrying around a lot of grief, anger, regret, fear, and guilt related to a tragedy that happened just three years ago. While it might have been a better idea to go on a cruise or some other vacation, they hope that the time to meditate and reflect might help them move past these issues.
These people and others expect that their stay won't be all pampering and relaxation, but they're not prepared for all that the health resort is going to throw at them. It's going to take some work to make change happen, but they have no idea just how far the director of the resort is willing to take things. It's going to be more than fasting, yoga, massages, and hikes in the beautiful countryside. In some sense, their very survival may be at stake—certainly their willingness to fight for themselves will be challenged.
I had high hopes for Nine Perfect Strangers given how much I enjoyed some of Liane Moriarty's previous books, including Big Little Lies and The Husband's Secret. But this one never took off for me; in fact, the pacing was so slow it felt like I was reading it for 10 days, as long as these characters were planning to be at the health resort!
First of all, when a book introduces 11 characters to you and provides in-depth backstories for most of them, that's a lot to wade through. There definitely were some interesting characters to follow with fascinating (and sometimes sad) stories, but I could have done with half of them, because the constant shifting of narration made it difficult to keep any sort of rhythm.
But honestly, the whole situation with the director of the resort and her decision to take things in a new direction I found utterly laughable. I was waiting to see just how over-the-top Moriarty would take things, and found some of it really hard to believe. I did like the way she tied things up with some of her characters, but I was really disappointed on the whole.
I hate when you've been waiting for an author you like to come out with a new book and it disappoints. The good news for me is, there are still some of Moriarty's earlier books I haven't read, so I look forward to those. And who knows? You may enjoy this one more than I did.
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