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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Alcohol
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Funny enough, I bought this to read on the plane. It was a great vacation read. Hit most of the vacay travel notes- easy to read, engaging characters, some mystery and an odd protagonist..
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Later, not a single person will recall seeing the lady board the flight at Hobart Airport. Nothing about her appearance or demeanour raises a red flag or even an eyebrow.
Those are the first lines of Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty and just like that I was hooked! The opening chapter is so clever because as the author tells you what the lady was not, at the same time this tells us what the passengers on the plane are like and introduces us to them.
The ‘death lady’ as she becomes known, walks down the aisle of the plane making what seems to be predictions about the other passengers. The flight is already rather fraught having been delayed for some time resulting in some people missing important events, others being frustrated by a screaming child and one poor flight attendant not only injuring her back but also being vomited on. The ‘death lady’ predicts age and cause of death for many of the passengers. Some people are happy enough as it seems they will live to a ripe old age. Others are horrified that they or their loved ones might die at an early age.
I thought this book was just brilliant. During the flight we get to know some of the passengers and afterwards, the book focusses on around half a dozen of them and how they react to the ‘predictions’. Mostly they try to laugh off the predictions as fake but often they play on their minds. When the first few predictions appear to come true, not surprisingly, more people take it seriously.
It was so interesting how people reacted to what had been predicted for them. Some tried to change their lives to make sure that they could cheat death. Others decided that if that was what fate had in store for them, then they would make the most of the lives they had. Almost all of them didn’t want to believe it could be true but were uneasy enough to wonder if it could be. As I got to know the passengers as individuals, I was so invested in their stories that I was desperately hoping the predictions wouldn’t come true.
Interspersed with the story of the passengers, we hear from the death lady herself. This is told from her first person point of view and we find out all about her life and what happened in the lead up to this event. This was terrific storytelling and was just as compelling as reading about the passengers. This part of the book as well as being intriguing was rather moving.
Would I want to know when and how I’d die? No thank you! But the book does make you think about how we should make the most of the lives we have, as we just never know what will happen. I thought this was a fantastic read, gripping, fast paced and a real page-turner. Despite it being a fairly large book at almost 500 pages, I could not put it down and flew through the pages. This clever and thought-provoking book is one I highly recommend and I can’t wait to read more from Liane Moriarty.
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 What a great read! Imagine taking a short flight and a lady takes it upon herself to tell you your age of death and cause of death. What would you do with that information? Would you ignore it thinking she’s just a loon? Would you change your lifestyle to prevent your death from happening? Would your anxiety increase? Would you cause your own death by trying to avoid it? What would you do to try to counteract this prediction? These are some of the things that happen in this novel.
Liane Moriarty weaves six of the passengers' stories along with the “Death Lady’s” story. Moriarty alternates between the passengers' handling of their death prediction and details explaining the Death Lady‘s” life story and her mind set when she got on the plane that day. I loved the interconnectiveness of the characters in this story.
“Fate won’t be fought.”
“Those passengers were living their lives clouded and complicated.”
“Friends can save your lives.”
“You can’t always choose your future. Not in a world of risk and uncertainty. No matter what the self-help gurus tell you. You can only attempt to guide it in the right direction, like a willful horse, but accept there will be times when it will gallop off in a direction not of your choosing. No one can tell you what lies ahead with one hundred percent accuracy. If your doctor tells you ninety-nine out of one hundred people die of your disease, you most likely will die, but you might also be the one who beats the odds, and if you do, you will believe yourself special and blessed, and your loved ones will believe the fervency of their prayers for you paid dividends, but it’s just math. It’s all just math.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent
reminded me a lot of something fredrik backman would write
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
So good, no notes. Definitely recommend!