Nine Perfect Strangers gather at an exclusive health resort for ten days of restoration, rejuvenation, and in some cases, redemption. Tranquillum House is the very picture of perfect, set in a remote, yet tranquil area outside of the city. Frances Welty arrives hoping to gain some clarity to what steps she should take next. Her career is in shambles and her love life is worse. Carmel is there to lose weight. Plain and simple. Lars is there for a bit of rest and relaxation. Tony is there to change his life. Ben and Jessica Chandler are there to try to save their marriage if they are honest about it. And then there is the Marconi family. Heather, Napoleon, and Zoe are there for an anniversary they all wish would go away. They are all intrigued by the less than conventional methods used by the director, Masha. The long periods of silence, the fasting, the daily smoothies that are infused with more than just fruits and vegetables. But they all realize that there is more to Tranquillum House than meets the eye and there is a very strong possibility that they will not survive the full ten days.
Nine Perfect Strangers was one of the most anticipated books of the year. And sadly it did not live up to the hype. The characters are all stereotypes. Even Masha, the director of Tranquillum House, fit a stereotype of a strong Russian woman. Of all the characters, I think that Tony was my favorite. He was the one trying to go against his stereotype in a few different ways. The worst was Jessica Chandler, she was painted almost like a cartoon in my mind. Everything about that woman was fake, including her voice. Things got interesting after the great silence when Masha revealed the ingredients of their smoothies and went downhill from there. - CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS - I heard that Nicole Kidman bought the rights to the book and was going to develop Nine Perfect Strangers into a television series. And I am really excited to see what she does with the characters and the story. With enough time to flesh out the characters, I think my opinion could change.
Bottom Line - The premise of Nine Perfect Strangers was a good one, but the characters needed a lot more work than they were going to get at a ten-day health retreat. I didn't give up on it because I wanted to see what happened in the end, but it was definitely not her best work.
Details:
- Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
- On Facebook
- Pages: 464
- Publisher: Flatiron Books
- Publication Date: 11/6/18
- Buy it Here!
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