“My life isn’t perfect… bad things have happened to me. I do understand the concept.” Celeste, Big Little Lies

I was so glad that this book was made into a series and not a movie because I think there was so much that would have been left out of a movie. There were quite a few differences from the book to the series but they weren’t all bad ones. I loved the casting, especially of the main three, but would have liked a little more of the story to come out at the end.

SPOILER ALERT

I thought that Alexander Skarsgard as Perry was absolutely spot on and terrifying. He was the perfect mix of charming husband and shocking abuser. Him and Nicole Kidman, as Celeste, were a very believable “America’s Favorite Couple.”

I didn’t like that at the end of the show how there was little to no wrap-up. I haven’t heard any whispering about a season two of the show but I suspect that they gave the ending they did to leave that door open. In the book, we learned why Bonnie pushed Perry to his death: because her father abused her mother and her and her sister saw it. But in the show, she just shows up and pushes him to stop him from hurting Celeste. It wasn’t huge, but I like the backstory about Bonnie that we learned. It added so much to her character. Additionally, I enjoyed learning that Perry’s estate helped fund Ziggy as well, which was also left out.

I thought the show did a good job of adding more commentary and backstory to the other characters Renata. The additional stories added more depth to the conflict going on. Not sure I bought the extra story with Madeline, but it did show that there was more pain in her life too.

SUMMARY

I thought this series was very entertaining but I, for one, hope it doesn’t continue. I like the story and where it was left. I think the overall message was that no one is perfect and even though people have money or status, they don’t always have happiness. And happiness is something that can’t be bought.

GRADE: B