Thursday, June 23, 2011

What is Liane Moriarty reading?

The current featured contributor at Writers Read: Liane Moriarty, author of What Alice Forgot.

Her entry begins:
I’m reading the manuscript for The Kingdom of Cello by my sister (well-known YA author, Jaclyn Moriarty). I’m the first person in the world to have the privilege of reading what is going to be an extraordinary new series.

I’m also re-reading Anne Tyler’s The Amateur Marriage, for probably the third time, because I just finished writing my new novel (The Hypnotist’s Love Story), and I only let myself read Anne Tyler when I’m not writing. Otherwise I catch myself imitating her style. It’s extremely embarrassing. All my...[read on]
Among the early praise for What Alice Forgot:
"This winning not-quite amnesia story parses what happens when Alice, a married mother of three whose marriage is disintegrating, takes a knock on the head and comes to thinking she is herself, but 10 years younger and in the middle of a blossoming young marriage, with her first child on the way. As younger Alice adjusts to her older life and body, she finds much to be surprised at: a wealthy lifestyle she never dreamed of, a rejuvenated mother with a surprising love interest, and a sister whose life has turned out unexpectedly disappointing. And everyone is so sorry for something that happened with her best friend Gina, whom she doesn't remember, but apparently who helped sow the seeds of her marriage's collapse. But as the young Alice takes over the older Alice's life and applies her goofy, laissez-faire approach to living, the tension builds: what will happen if old Alice regains her memory? Alice's journey of reconciling herself to how her life came to be what it is, and her slowly building understanding of how the threads of her marriage began to unravel, is moving, well-paced, and thoroughly pleasurable."
--Publishers Weekly
Learn more about the book and author at Liane Moriarty's website.

The Page 69 Test: What Alice Forgot.

Writers Read: Liane Moriarty.

--Marshal Zeringue