Three Wishes: A Novel

I just don't get the people who gave this book 1 or 2 stars and called it boring and underwhelming. I'm going to assume they aren't fans of Marian Keyes either. This book wasn't difficult to read. It did NOT jump all over the place. I'm seriously stumped by this. I followed the characters and events quite easily. And one person went so far as to say that the book was depressing! Holy guacamole, people! It's called LIFE! And anything that WAS depressing was handled with a lot of humor and love. Not everyone is perfect and this book shows that even as imperfect as you THINK you are, there are always people out there that love you unconditionally. With that being said, I really loved this book. It's the first one I've read by this author and I'm so glad I didn't listen to any of the 1 and 2 star givers. I would have missed out on a witty and poignant book about three flawed (who the heck isn't?!) but connected triplets who, when all is said and done, have each others backs. As I said before, it's reminiscent of Marian Keyes and the five Irish sisters and their whacky mom and dad. This story very effectively gives the points of view of three very different women who all happen to be one of a set of the same triplets. They all face serious dilemmas and momentous personal tragedies and self-doubt and anger and resentment and love and a family bond that only strengthens in their times of upheaval. I enjoyed this book so much that I have purchased the author's four other books and pre-ordered her fifth one. And no, I do not know the author. Not a relative, never met her, and never even heard of her name until one of her books showed up in my BookBub. Thankfully, I purchased the paperback book (not on Kindle) and now have a new favorite author to add to my list. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading over to my bookshelf to open up and start enjoying The Last Anniversary. Cheers!

I was initially a bit hesitant to read this. I had read her most recent novel, Big Little Lies, a few months before and, while I enjoyed it, I felt that it was a bit on the satirical side. That is fine now and then, but I had the feeling--unfairly--that this tone would show up again in Moriarty's other novels. But, then came the day I needed something light to read on my phone (I'm hiding my face in shame as a I type that....) and, scrolling through the many, many kindle titles I own, I settled on Three Wishes. I did not realize that this was Moriarty's first novel until after I had finished it--there is nothing less mature about this book compared to her latest novel. In fact, I found this book to be superior to Big Little Lies, The strongest aspect about the book is how well Moriarty crafts here characters. At the center of the story, of course, are the triplets. Each woman has a very distinct personality, and Moriarty doesn't base their characters solely on the fact that they are triplets (I've read a number of books with twins as characters where this was the case). Yes, there is some element of their birth in their personalities, especially in Gemma's character. Lyn and Cat are identical and Gemma is not, which would, of course, have some impact on her. For the most part, however, the women are shaped by what they experienced in their back story and will experience as the plot of this book. Even the secondary characters--the women's parents, their assorted parents, and their grandmother-come to life and, with the exception of the Grandmother, are able to buck any cliches (and, even though she is a bit stereotypical, Nana Kettle is still a treat). Moriarty deftly structures this novel so that you are sucked in at the opening scene and you spend the next 3/4 of the novel getting back to that point. It doesn't read as a flashback--instead, it is almost like looking at scene through a window and then walking through a door into the scene itself. I was afraid that the last 1/4 of the would be a letdown. Once the reader swoops back to the original scene, where can they go? While Moriarty does use this part of the book to wrap up the rest of the story, it doesn't fell like a throw-away. She takes the time to draw each character's arc to a satisfying conclusion. There is only one point that keeps me from giving this a 5 star review. Two of the sisters are or were involved in adulterous situations, but on different ends. Moriarty makes a few comments about this, enough to make the reader think that this should be a point of contention between the two characters, but then she drops it without offering any closure. I think Moriarty missed a great opportunity to delve even deeper with these two sisters. In the end, though, this was a delightful read and one that convinced me that Liane Moriarty is more than Big Little Lies. This is a book that I would recommend to just about anyone looking for sometime fun and light--but not fluffy--to read.

Liane Moriarty has become one of the authors whose books I automatically pick up. My previous experiences with her other books such as The Husband’s Secret and Big Little Lies has shown me a consistent level of great storytelling, intriguing plot and interesting characters. Moriarty’s Three Wishes is not any different in this regard. While the book remains consistent with what I would expect from Moriarty, I wouldn’t put it on the same level as with some of her other works. Moriarty has a talent of creating some pretty unique and dramatic characters. In Three Wishes, you get a triple dose of these characters with the Kettle triplets: Cat, Lyn and Gemma. They each have their own distinct personalities that add to a close dysfunctional family. While I can appreciate their uniqueness, at times they can be a little too much for me. There are times where their quirks can be charming but more often than not, they tend to make me think they’re being a bit melodramatic while I’m rolling my eyes. And it usually happens these sisters are within a scene. There’s a certain chaos occurring in the scenes and I can’t help but think how they all need to be medicated. When you have a favorite or go-to author whose works you’ve read it’s understandable that you won’t love them all equally and there are certain books that you like less than the others. Three Wishes is not one of Moriarty’s books that I’d put on an elevated level. While some of the plot points are a little out there (pushing the whole notion of coincidences to the limit), Moriarty’s writing and storytelling ability was able to put it all together to create a nice story about life, love and family

There are already 2,511 reviews of this novel on Amazon, and so I will just explain why I found it such a pleasure to read. It wasn’t for the plot or action (mostly chick concerns) but for the witty, humorous voice of the author in describing her characters. In general, she tends to find people and the situations they get themselves into far more droll than tragic. The novel is filled with comments that made me laugh out loud. Instead of a review, I will just list a few of them to show what I mean: • Dan had cooked the spaghetti, so it was hearty and bland.…He stirred his ingredients like concrete mix, one arm wrapped around the bowl, the other stirring the gluggy mix so vigorously you could see his biceps working. • Gemma was dressed, as always, like an oddly beautiful bag lady. • She was wearing jeans and a white T-shirt that looked suspiciously like it might have been ironed. • In fact, she generally swore only in situations involving cockroaches or her sisters. • He was always so chipper after sex. • It was a bad habit of hers, complimenting strangers on their physical attributes. She once told a woman in an elevator that she had an especially lovely collarbone. The woman had looked panic-stricken and had begun jabbing at the elevator buttons. • Sometimes when Gemma thought about sex, sometimes even when she was having sex, she felt a faint echo of that horror she felt as an eight-year-old. My goodness, she’d think, looking up at the ceiling as some boyfriend earnestly scrabbled around her body, what in the world is he doing now? • “My wife is a triplet, you know,” Dan said chattily. He leaned back against the squeaky vinyl sofa and crossed his arms comfortably behind his head. Cat watched him suspiciously. He was finding marriage counseling far too enjoyable for her liking. • The cab pulled away from the curb in a mature, sober fashion so Cat could see just how childishly she’d behaved. • Perhaps she could just choose to stop being angry, as recommended by Lyn’s self-help gurus. • When Lyn was in her final year at university, she had a profound, almost religious experience: She read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Every page brought a new epiphany. Yes! she kept thinking, as she highlighted another paragraph in fluorescent yellow and felt herself expanding with potential. • Next thing she knew Michael had his arms around her and they were kissing in a way that had a very distracting sexual element. Lyn had become the Other Woman—an event not listed on her five-year plan. • It was later that night and Lyn stood at the bathroom mirror applying her moisturizer with upward patting motions. • Most men, Gemma knew, were convinced they were extraordinarily talented lovers and simultaneously terrified that maybe they weren’t. It was important to pay them lavish compliments about their abilities. It put them in a good mood. • He could remember rugby league grand final scores from fifteen years ago and quote whole slabs of Simpsons dialogue, but his memory of personal events was notoriously shocking. • “There you go, my dear! All defuzzed!” The beautician patted Cat’s legs with uncalled-for intimacy. • One of the multitudes of ex-boyfriends had been a country music fan and left Gemma with an unfortunate passion for Tammy Wynette. It was like, Cat thought, he’d given her herpes. • He was a strange, inscrutable man, with a disconcerting habit of allowing his eyelids to droop, turtlelike, whenever any of his staff spoke. The longer they spoke, the more it seemed he was drifting into a deep, comfortable sleep. • Cat didn’t need to see her mother’s face to know the lemony expression of distaste that would be pulling at her mouth as she said the word “counseling.” Counseling was something other people did. • “I’m a little tense” was a deeply personal revelation for her mother. It must be something terrible. It would be just like Maxine to announce terminal cancer over Christmas lunch. • There was a moment’s silence in the kitchen. The central characters had left the stage, leaving the supporting cast without a script. • Lyn had even given her a book called Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives and helpfully indicated with a Post-it note the chapter on the stupid thing she believed Gemma was doing. • I’ve always had an interest in lepers,” Nana Kettle told Dan. “I beg your pardon?” Dan looked dazed. His paper crown was leaving a stain of red across his forehead. “Lepers!” chimed in Gemma. “Nana has always had an interest in lepers. It means your present is probably a donation on your behalf to the Leper Foundation. That’s what she gave Michael last year. • Something about the expression on his face made Gemma think, Uh-oh, he’s about to share. It was lovely of course, but she had a terrible habit of laughing in the wrong places when boyfriends got profound. • For starters, Hank was American. Americans were more open about this sort of thing. They liked chatting about deeply embarrassing emotions. They loved weird phobias! There was no such thing as an Aussie Oprah. These are just a few quotes from the earlier parts of Three Wishes. If they don’t make you want to read the novel, I guess the novel isn’t for you.

Having just discovered Liane Moriarty this summer, first with "The Husband's Secret" and next with "Big Little Lies," I decided to read her earlier works as well, and "Three Wishes" was next on my list. My first thought was, "Oh, this isn't quite as polished and brilliant as her latest two." Well, maybe not--but I couldn't put it down. Moriarty has such an amusing and fresh way of "outing" real, and very serious problems, in a deceptively breezy, fun, "frolic" (I dislike that overused word, but it really fits in this case) that the reader scarcely realizes that she is coming face to face with terrible truths--in this case, mental abuse, which can be as serious and life-defeating as physical abuse--and that is the point of this story. But it's all wrapped up in a funny, original tale about 30-something triplets (two identical; one fraternal, and boy, has THAT been an issue all their lives!) in suburban Australia whose somewhat ordinary lives are anything but. Told with tremendous wit, this story introduces each triplet in turn, and with great sympathy, the author shows us that all is not what it seems. I won't do any spoilers here, but I will say that this is more than a beach read, and well worth reading. Is it as good as Moriarty's later works? No...but it's a preview of her brilliance to come.

My explorations of this author's work began with her later books, and I have subsequently moved backward to her earlier ones. Three Wishes was a delightful read, and I thoroughly enjoyed "meeting" the Kettle family, with the sibling rivalry intensified due to the fact that the Kettle girls are triplets. Set in Sydney, Australia, the story moves back and forth in time, alternately narrated by various characters, including brief notes from random observers. Lyn and Cat are identical, while Gemma is the fraternal one. Lyn and Cat are blond and Gemma has red hair. Their parents, Maxine and Frank, divorced when they were six, but something seems to be happening between them now, as the girls, at age 33, approach birthday number 34. Cat has a lot of issues, starting with her difficulty in getting pregnant. Then she discovers that Dan, her husband, has been unfaithful. She learns a few other things about Dan that throw her world upside down. Lyn, on the other hand, is obsessively controlled, with her numerous lists...so why is she suddenly suffering from panic attacks in parking lots? As the "perfect" business woman and mother to Maddie, a toddler, why does she feel so estranged from her teenage stepdaughter Kara? Gemma has a lot going on beneath the surface; why do her relationships seem to self-destruct before they barely get off the ground? What really happened between her and her fiancé Marcus? With a great peek behind the facades that families present to the world, the story was engaging and kept me glued to the pages. I loved the dynamics between the siblings; the dialogue was often funny, which made me want to be a part of their family, or to be their friend. There were sad, angry, and emotional moments. They felt like real people, and I didn't want the story to end. I wanted to stay connected to them indefinitely. 5.0 stars.

She's an excellent writer. There is much character development and lots of twists and turns. The story is told from multiple perspectives and keeps you wanting to know more about each person's life. I would have given 5 stars but I've read other books by this author and there is a lot of repetition in the characters. They have very similar experiences and characteristics that made it slightly less surprising. Still, very funny, fun and serious in perfect measure. Great book to take you away from your own crazy life! Highly recommend.

I am a huge fan of Liane Moriarty's books.. she is a great writer and she has a gift for creating characters and situations that are at once hilarious and poignant. I liked this book just as much as her others, even though I noticed some other reviewers didn't. The book follows the lives of 3 sisters, and although it jumps around quite a bit both in terms of perspective and chronology, I didn't find it difficult or frustrating to follow. I liked and cared about each of the sisters, and their relationships with one another, their husbands, and their parents felt messy and real, but also understandable. All together, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes chick-lit or other books by Liane Moriarty. It's a little bit lighter and fluffier than her later books, but her sharp wit is still there. A word of warning; several of the themes in this book are very similar to those in her other books, so if you've got a limited threshold for reading about middle-aged woman with divorced parents, cheating husbands, and fertility problems, I would not recommend you read more than two Liane Moriarty books in a row (this is the fourth one I've read this month) The only complaint I have about this book is the seemingly random italicizing of parts of sentences.. I didn't notice it in her other book.. maybe it's an Australian thing?

O livro é maravilhoso, enredo, personagens, tudo! Leitura agradável e enriquecedora! Recomendo!

As always, Liane Moriaty does not disappoint. Her style is tight and moves at a good pace, her characters, although a little larger than life, are appealing and identifiable with. An enjoyable trip around familiar social mores and human foibles.Any funny too.

Este es el segundo libro que leo de Liane Moriarty (el primero fue The Husband's Secret) y ahora me compraré otro. Me encanta su estilo de escritura, es muy fresco y descriptivo. Sus personajes generar empatía y las historias te atrapan desde el primer momento. Para mi esta autora ha sido todo un descubrimiento.

Après avoir lu ses dernier romans en français, j'attaque ses premières parutions en version originale faute de traduction disponible. Ce livre est vraiment digne de l'auteur, on reconnaît dès les premières pages son style et la lecture est fluide. Je n'ai pas vu les pages défiler ! Si vous avez aimé "Le secret du mari" et "Big little lies" n'hésitez pas, vous ne serez pas déçus.

My sister has recommended me "Three wishes" by Liane Moriarty and at first I was a bit sceptical, as I generally read other books. But when I started reading I noticed that the characters were really interesting and kind of 3-dimensional, so I kept reading and was really grateful for this hint. A gread read, not just for summer !