Here One Moment

★★★★★★★½☆☆ 7.5/10

432 pages

What’s it about?

For most passengers, it is an ordinary domestic flight in Australia. Partway through the flight, a woman suddenly gets up from her seat and stops at each row to make a pronouncement to each passenger. She predicts the date and cause of death for each person on the plane. The passengers walk away from this experience and process it differently. This novel tells the stories of various passengers, crew members, and the woman herself.

What did it make me think about?

How much of life is predetermined?

Should I read it?

About 40 pages in, I thought, "I am sure this book will be a streaming series soon." I just looked it up, and I was right. The book was reminiscent of  "The Measure" by Nikki Erlick, with the same appeal to book clubs.  It should make for excellent discussions.  That being said, I did not love this book.  It was well-written but wordy and long (500 pages).  The first half was a bit of a slog, but I warmed to the stories as I reached the novel's second half. I did enjoy the characters and appreciated the storytelling.  You will not be disappointed if you are a Liane Moriarty fan.  For many others- you might wait for the series...

A passage I marked

" 'Sometimes I worry I've lived the last forty years on autopilot,' says Sue, 'like I'm always thinking, okay, I'll just get through this next thing, then I'll start living: once I'm married, once this baby is born, once this kid sleeps through the night, once this one is done with school, once they've all finished school, once Christmas is done, once Easter is done, you know how it goes.  The hamster wheel.' "