The Last Anniversary: A Novel

by Liane Moriarty

Book Overview

From Liane Moriarty, author of the #1 New York Times bestsellers Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers, comes an unforgettable novel defined by her signature sharp wit, page-turning storyline,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060890681
• ISBN13: 9780330442787
• Release Date: June 2014
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Meh

I was fairly bored by this book. I got it because I've absolutely loved other books by this author. This one was underwhelming and I didn't really care about any of the characters. The plot twist was not a twist at all... I'd guessed it not very far into the book. If you like other Liane Moriarty books, go ahead and skip this one.

Entirely too much to keep track of..

Soooo many characters it's excruciatingly hard to keep up with. The whole basis of why the main character Sophie gets the house is bogus & boring? Also everything is smooshed together until the last 10 pages. Very long read for little sizzle.

Not my favorite from LM

Honestly I couldn't get into this book. I love her other books and didn't have this one, so finally made my way around to it but was slightly disappointed. It is a mystery style which is not my taste and not a very interesting one at that. The characters were okay but I wasn't very interested in solving the mystery that the whole book led up to.

Loved it!

Have read all her books and this was my favorite. Read it in one day!

A wonderful storyteller brings Oz to life!

I read THE LAST ANNIVERSARY before reading Liane Moriarty's first novel, THREE WISHES, and it got me completely hooked on her writing. Some authors seem to write basically the same genre book over and over again, but Liane Moriarty is not one of them. This novel is quite different from THREE WISHES: a bit more complex, more of a mystery story, and with some darker edges. The subplot in LAST ANNIVERSARY about Grace's post-partum depression quite literally gave me chills. And I didn't see the Munro Baby Mystery's resolution coming, which is a pleasant surprise when you have read as many too-predictable mysteries as I have. I loved the uniquely Australian setting and became completely absorbed in this story, which took me right into the lives of everyone connected to Scribbly Gum Island. If you have not yet discovered Liane Moriarty, don't wait: She's the best thing to come from Australia since Yellow Tail wines!

Better than chick lit

I picked this book up on a whim. From the back of the book (Sophie dumps boyfriend; was she right?) I was expecting a run-of-the-mill chick lit "oh-is-this-guy-right-for-me?" sort of deal. Which would have been fine. But that's not what the book was at ALL. I was blown away by something which was much more complex and interesting. Sophie is a wonderful character, someone whom I'd like to know, and someone who is much more real than a chick-lit heroine cliche. The entire book, in fact, is peopled with quirky, lovable people who are really fun to spend a book with, none of whom descend into one-dimensionality. The focus is mostly on the characters and their interactions, but somehow she finds time to weave in an interesting plot with a couple of twists I didn't see coming, a mystery (I have to admit I wasn't quite as impressed by the mystery, having figured out most of it fairly early on, but the details were still surprising), family drama, love stories on several levels, and a truly awesome comedy(tragicomedy?) of errors at the book's climax (which reminded me-- just a little-- of the spectacularly exploding dinner party in Bujold's A Civil Campaign). All this without ever becoming heavy or too full of itself-- at its darkest, it's still a cheerful, affirming book.

Original Story!

Having read Liane Moriarity's first book "Three Wishes", which I highly recommend,I could hardly wait for this book, her second, to be published. Although I didn't find it as funny as I remembered "Three Wishes" to be, it wasn't a disappointment. The plot and the characters are all very original. Not all the characters are as likeable as others, but they're all well written and defined and sympathetic in their own way. Liane Moriarity excels in her ability to draw the dynamics of a family and their relationships in a way that portrays them lovingly, yet realistically - faults and all. You feel the bond that exists, despite their differences and you glimpse beyond the surface, in which many people can be hard to take - and she reveals the insecurities, vulnerabilites or reasons for their sometimes less than appealing qualities that makes them more sympathetic and understandable. As in real life, you can often overlook behaviors if you can see the person underneath and what made them that way or drives them. Several weeks after reading this book, I'm still mentally envisioning the way I pictured the location and the characters, so you could say the author wrote in a way that was vivid and descriptive. I found this an enjoyable book, recommend it and look forward to her next.

"Love is a decision."

Liane Moriarty's delightful novel, "The Last Anniversary," which is set in Australia, offers a potpourri of pleasures. It has romance, mystery, family conflict, laugh-out-loud humor, heartbreak, and deep dark secrets, all laid out for the reader in beautifully crafted, witty, and intelligent prose. Sophie Honeywell dumped Thomas Gordon just as he was about to propose to her. Among her thoughts at the time of the breakup was whether it is right to love a man for being kind but wrong to love him for his net worth. Furthermore, "Was it right or wrong to love a man for his marzipan tart? Thomas could cook like an angel and Sophie is a woman who likes her food." Finally, she concludes that Thomas's irritating qualities outweighed his many virtues, and his pleasant nature did not make her heart sing. How was she to know that the very day she dumped him, he had planned a surprise trip to Fiji to propose to her? Thomas is the grandson of the legendary Munro Baby, the centerpiece of the Munro Baby Mystery. It seems that back in the thirties, in a place called Scribbly Gum Island, Jack and Alice Munro, the parents of the Munro baby, disappeared without a trace. The owners of the island, Connie and Rose Doughty, took the baby in, named her Enigma, and brought her up as their own child. The Munro Baby Mystery has turned out to be a cash cow, since it has attracted tourists ever since from far and wide, who come to see the Munro house as it was when Jack and Alice disappeared. They also savor the tasty island cuisine and enjoy the beautiful scenery. As a result, Connie, Rose, and Enigma have become quite wealthy. The author demonstrates what happens to a family when secrets fester and people are not candid with themselves and one another. For instance, Grace, Enigma's granddaughter, has just had a baby boy named Jake. The young mother has a monstrous case of postpartum depression, and she is afraid to tell her husband the truth. Instead, she secretly makes some morbid plans to end her pain. Grace's cousin, Veronika, is a shrill and irritating blabbermouth who is perpetually unhappy. Family rifts and conflicts abound, partly because no one wants to sit down and calmly discuss what is really bugging him or her. "The Last Anniversary" is a whimsical novel about life's vicissitudes. Most people in the book have their share of struggles and disappointments, but the lucky ones also experience deep and abiding love, laughter, and moments of joy and dazzling beauty. The lively cast of characters includes the bossy and formidable Aunt Connie, Grace's chilly and distant mother, Laura, and Grace's adoring but clueless husband, Callum. Enigma's daughter, Margie, is perpetually battling her weight, while her sarcastic husband, Ron, verbally abuses her. Will Margie ever find the courage to stand up to her nasty spouse? Sophie Honeywell is a marvelously appealing character. She is beautiful, charming, funny, self-deprecating, and vivacious; she adds just the right a

Fabulous

This was a great book, which kept me up till 2:40 am! I enjoyed Liane Moriarty's previous book, Three Wishes, but this was so much better...a fully realized family drama. It's the story of the Doughty family, who live on the secluded Scribbly Gum Island off the coast of Australia (near Sydney), and the Munro Baby Mystery. In 1932, a baby was found in a kitchen with a cake cooling on the counter and some blood on the floor. Two sisters, Connie and Rose, decide to raise the baby, and the mystery is never solved. Not publicly, anyway. Another main character is Sophie, who dated one of the Doughty men for a time. When Connie dies near the beginning of the novel, she leaves her house on Scribbly Gum Island to Sophie, who always secretly coveted it, and Sophie becomes a part of the family. All the characters were fascinating - dreamy Rose; snappy, determined Connie; sweet, lovable Sophie; and the devastatingly attractive Callum. I did think the ending was a little unfair for Sophie, but it was a really engaging read. Moriarty has a lot of great insights into human nature and the human condition.