Book Brahmin: Liane Moriarty

photo: Ber Photography

Liane Moriarty is the author of several novels, including What Alice Forgot and The Hypnotist's Love Story, and a series of children's books. Her new novel, The Husband's Secret (Amy Einhorn/Penguin; July 30, 2013), is about three very different women whose lives intersect in ways no one could foresee. One day Cecilia finds an envelope that says it's to be opened only upon the death of her husband--but her husband is very much alive. When he rushes home early from a business trip, frantically trying to find the letter, Cecilia realizes there's something important in that letter, something she needs to know. Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia--or each other--but they, too, are about to feel the repercussions of her husband's secret. Moriarty lives in Sydney, Australia, with her husband and two small children.

On your nightstand now:

Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. I'm halfway through and adoring it. 

Favorite book when you were a child:

The Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. When I think about that book, I can taste salt from the sea, as if it's a memory of an actual journey.

Your top five authors:

Anne Tyler, Carol Shields, Kate Atkinson, Maggie O'Farrell, Jaclyn Moriarty and Nicola Moriarty. That's technically six, but Jaclyn and Nicola are both my younger sisters, and so there must be some sort of two-for-one deal. 

Book you've faked reading:

I would never fake reading a book. I'm a bad liar and blush easily, but I do change the subject quickly whenever anyone brings up Moby Dick

Book you're an evangelist for:

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler. It was my introduction to Anne Tyler's work.

Book you've bought for the cover:

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. It was a combination of the title and the whimsical illustration. Absolutely loved it.

Book that changed your life:

The wonderful, hilarious YA novel Feeling Sorry for Celia, by my sister Jaclyn Moriarty. It changed my life because it inspired me to finally finish my own first novel. She had achieved our childhood dream of being published, and although I was thrilled for her, I was also very, very envious. Envy is such a powerful motivator.

Favorite line from a book:

"If only she would stop speaking French. Or go to France, where it would be less noticeable." --from The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler.

Book you most want to read again for the first time:

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I love anything to do with time travel, and I was enchanted by this novel. 

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