Apples Never Fall

This novel by Australian Liane Moriarty is a multi-layered saga that reveals how dysfunction can simmer just beneath the surface of family relationships that appear to be happy and enviable. It is about a couple that runs a tennis academy and their four children who also played competitively. As a third subplot, this book chronicles how relationships can be challenged during major life transitions, such as retirement.

Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty uses a masterfully crafted non-linear timeline. It tells a story about family dynamics that is highly entertaining while also serving as an enlightening examination of interpersonal dynamics. Many of the family’s “truths” were built on a foundation of lies. However, some of those lies were spawned by a misunderstanding of prior actions and motivations. Life is complex.

The book ostensibly starts when a stranger knocks on the family’s door, but the story actually begins many years earlier. In jumping from the present to the past, Moriarty creates intrigue as current events are supplemented by the hindsight of history and emotional baggage.

Tennis serves as the backdrop for this story, and Moriarty’s portrayal of the sport was spot on. It will particularly resonate with anyone who has been involved with parents and junior tennis. For example, when one of the tennis academy owner’s kids told his mother that he hated tennis, this was her response:

“You don’t hate tennis,” Joy had told him. It was an order. She had meant: You can’t hate tennis, Troy. She’d meant: I don’t have the time or the strength to let you hate tennis.
Excerpt from Apples Never Fall

Apples Never Fall is an intricate mystery revolving around the disappearance of one of the former tennis academy’s owners, Joy Delaney. The presumptive murder creates a whodunit narrative of complex motivations. Moriarty weaves an entertaining story while also providing a stark reminder that relationships are not always what they seem.

I highly recommend this book to tennis fans as a “beach read.” You won’t learn anything about the sport from Apples Never Fall. However, it is a fully entertaining story and an enjoyable read.