‘Nine Perfect Strangers’: Liane Moriarty Thinks Her Books Are ‘Probably Too White’
Liane Moriarty is an Australian author who is enjoying increasing popularity. Her books Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers have been adapted into television series for HBO and Hulu. Moriarty is a skilled writer. Still, she admits that she lacks diversity in her books. This becomes even more apparent when the characters are on TV.
The characters in ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ are mostly white
Nine Perfect Strangers features a small ensemble cast. Kristin Corry, a writer for Vice, points out that of the twelve main characters, only three are Black. These characters are Ben (Melvin Gregg), Carmel (Regina Hall), and Delilah (Tiffany Boone).
Corry points out an especially problematic part of Carmel’s character. Her anger issues perpetuate a certain stereotype. “To write a violent Black character who takes her anger out on white women in 2021 is just tired,” Corry said. Interestingly, Carmel’s anger and violence are only in the Hulu series. In the book, Carmel does not have anger issues. She also doesn’t shoot Masha.
Liane Moriarty admits her books could use more diversity
Most of Moriarty’s characters in Nine Perfect Strangers are said to be from different parts of Australia. Masha, who is from Russia, is the exception. Manny Jacinto’s character Yao is also written as the son of Chinese immigrants. Jacinto himself is of Filipino and Chinese descent. However, race and ethnicity aren’t mentioned much more than that in the book. Moriarty may have had in mind mostly white characters when writing her novels.
“I’m sure my books are probably too white … I think that’s a natural tendency for any author to write about characters too similar to themselves. And I think that’s something everybody’s trying to catch themselves out doing,” the writer told The Independent.
“We do need more diversity, and, really, in some ways, just automatically giving characters similar sort of Irish Catholic names to myself… it really doesn’t take all that much to add more diversity to your cast of characters.”
Moriarty’s stories also tend to center around financially well-off characters. However, the TV adaptations of her books may have exaggerated this idea. “I think people think that because of the HBO series [Big Little Lies],” she told Independent. “I made Celeste glamorous and wealthy, but none of the other characters in that book were particularly wealthy.”
David Heyman secures the rights to Moriarty’s ‘Apples Never Fall’
Another book by Moriarty is getting a TV adaptation. Moriarty’s upcoming book Apples Never Fall releases worldwide on Sept. 14. The novel focuses on the Delaneys, a family of six. Joy, the matriarch of the family, mysteriously vanishes.
Deadline reports that David Heyman and NBC Universal International Studios have secured the right to the television adaptation. However, it will likely be some time yet before the series is ready to watch.
