Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Published 2014 · 466 pages · 132,646 words · about 9 hours at an average pace
How hard is Big Little Lies to read?
Big Little Lies scores 44 out of 100 for difficulty on ReadingRate, making it moderately challenging. The score is a weighted composite of nine measures: four of how hard the prose is to parse, five of how hard the meaning is to extract.
- Vocabulary: 35 out of 100
- The vocabulary is contemporary and highly accessible, typical of popular fiction. While it includes common terms related to hypnotherapy and general medical/legal contexts, these are either explained or easily understood within the narrative flow, posing no significant challenge to a general reader.
- Sentence structure: 45 out of 100
- Sentences are generally of moderate length and clear structure, supporting a fluid reading experience. While some sentences incorporate multiple clauses or internal thoughts, they remain navigable and do not feature the complex hypotaxis or extreme length found in more demanding literary works.
- Abstraction: 40 out of 100
- The narrative is firmly grounded in concrete events, character interactions, and immediate emotional experiences. Discussions of hypnotherapy and psychological states are presented in an applied, personal context rather than as abstract philosophical or theoretical explorations, keeping the content highly relatable.
- Information density: 40 out of 100
- The story unfolds clearly with a manageable pace, alternating between two distinct internal monologues without overwhelming the reader with excessive detail or complex interwoven subplots. The information is presented directly, making the narrative easy to absorb without requiring intense attention or frequent re-reading.
- Narrative indirection: 40 out of 100
- The narrative is primarily direct, offering explicit access to the thoughts and feelings of both Ellen and Saskia through their first-person perspectives. While Ellen's self-delusions and Saskia's justifications are evident, the text largely tells the reader what characters are thinking and feeling, rather than requiring extensive inference. The reveal of Saskia's identity as Ellen's client Deborah is a direct plot twist, not a prolonged interpretive challenge, placing it above the directness of '1984' but well below the inferential demands of 'The Great Gatsby'.
- Symbolic density: 35 out of 100
- The text is largely literal and character-driven, focusing on immediate emotional and relational dynamics. While recurring motifs like the sea, houses, and the concept of hypnosis highlight character traits or thematic concerns, they do not carry deep, multi-layered allegorical meaning. The narrative prioritizes direct emotional impact and plot progression over extensive symbolic interpretation, placing it closer to 'To Kill a Mockingbird' than 'The Great Gatsby'.
- Ironic distance: 45 out of 100
- Ironic distance is present but generally clear, stemming more from situational ironies and character self-delusion than a pervasive authorial critique. The dual perspectives allow for contrasting viewpoints (e.g., Ellen's initial judgment of Saskia versus Saskia's internal pain), but the reader is typically invited to understand these perspectives rather than constantly questioning the narrative's sincerity. This approach fosters direct emotional engagement, similar to 'It Ends with Us', rather than the deep satire of 'Ulysses'.
- Resolution withholding: 40 out of 100
- The excerpt ends on a significant cliffhanger, with Ellen's pregnancy and Saskia's presence in Noosa setting up immediate future conflicts. While the ultimate resolution of the book's larger mystery (implied by the title 'Big Little Lies' but not present in this excerpt) is withheld, the immediate questions posed within the narrative are concrete and clearly building towards an eventual, rather than ambiguous, resolution. The narrative structure aims to build tension and reveal plot points, not to resist closure indefinitely, placing it near 'Beloved' where haunting lingers but the story resolves.
- Structural complexity: 65 out of 100
- The novel employs a significant structural element through its alternating first-person perspectives, shifting between Ellen's main narrative and Saskia's italicized internal monologues. This interweaving of distinct viewpoints, combined with the dramatic reveal that Ellen's client Deborah is actually Saskia, creates a complex reading experience. While largely chronological within each perspective, the juxtaposition and the late-stage convergence of these narratives elevate its complexity beyond simple flashbacks, placing it above 'The Great Gatsby' in this metric.
How Big Little Lies is regarded
Big Little Lies holds a literary regard score of 39 out of 100, weighing its place in the canon, its critical reception, its influence on other writers, and the standing of its author. Regard is measured separately from difficulty: a demanding book is not necessarily an admired one.