Nine Perfect Strangers


Nine Perfect Strangers is a 2018 novel by Australian author Liane Moriarty. It was published on November 6, 2018. It is a New York Times Bestseller.

Synopsis

Nine Australians from different walks of life attend a pricey 10-day "Mind and Body Total Transformation Retreat" at a place called the Tranquillum House run by a mysterious Russian woman named Masha.

Characters

Tranquillum House staff:
  • Masha, the Russian woman that runs the Tranquillum House
  • Yao and Delilah, her dedicated employees
The nine strangers:
  • Frances, a romance novelist
  • Tony, a former Australian rules football star
  • Jessica, a plastic-surgery obsessed lottery winner
  • Ben, Jessica's car-obsessed husband
  • Carmel, a single mother of four who was left by her husband for a younger woman
  • Lars, a divorce lawyer who happens to be gay
  • Heather and Napoleon, a married couple who lost a twin son
  • Zoe, Heather and Napoleon's 20-year-old twin daughter

    Reception

The book received mixed reviews. Patty Rhule of USA Today gave the book two out of four stars, and said that it "does not match up to her captivating previous books." Specifically, she criticized the book for spending too many pages on character development. While Lisa Scottoline of the New York Times said that all the characters are all "fully realized, with compelling lives, relationships and motivations" and says that the novel is "thought-provoking, but never pedantic" as it "raises fascinating questions about our relentless quest for self-improvement."
It was 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist: Best Fiction.

Television adaptation

In January 2020, it was announced that the novel would be adapted into a television series, premiering on Hulu in 2021. The series will be co-written by David E. Kelley, John-Henry Butterworth, and Samantha Strauss and will star Nicole Kidman as Masha and Melissa McCarthy as Frances. On 27 May 2020, Manny Jacinto was cast in the role of Yao. It has also been announced that Luke Evans has been cast as Lars, and Melvin Gregg as Ben. The cast also includes Samara Weaving as Jessica, Asher Keddie, Grace Van Patten as Zoe, Tiffany Boone as Delilah, and Michael Shannon as Napoleon. The series will be directed by Jonathan Levine. Filming will begin in August 2020, in Byron Bay, Australia.