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Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent
Audiobook Narration: 5 🌟
There is a huge number of characters, each of which gets introduced to the reader in very little time, only to disappear and reappear in choppy, random, little chapters. The characters are unlikeable... Apart from the Death Lady! The chapters from her point of view saved the book. Half of them are dreary and awful, too, but there are a few beautiful, reflective words told in her whimsical voice.
The writing is lengthy and meandering. The book is far too long and the middle part was largely unreadable. The premise has been done in better ways (see: The Measure). However, the final part of the book was written in a beautiful and moving way. The narrative voice of the Death Lady is charming, especially the descriptions of celebrities!
Despite considering to DNF or return it, I made it through the book as quickly as possible so it could be over. I hated how the sensitive subject matter was handled and I will most definitely not repeat the entire experience. However, there were a select few beautiful pieces of writing in there that raise it to 2.75 stars.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War
I was surprised to read in here about the Korean adoptees. It was recently news to me, a scandal I thought was broken by PBS and AP, but apparently, this was better and sooner known in Australia.
The main character feels like what I’m headed toward - I have longevity in my family. I expect to see a lot more than I want in my lifetime. Perhaps that’s why her story resonated with me so much.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Terminal illness, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Death of parent
Minor: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Stalking
for a 500+ page literary fiction novel, it sure didn’t read like one! the short chapters & constant POV changes made the story seem so much shorter! and I loved meeting cherry, our “psychic” telling everyone how they’re going to die, and the passengers on the plane
stories focusing on choosing how to live & choosing how to accept fate always get me in a crossroads… it reminds me to live my life to the fullest and be grateful for the time on this planet that I have, but also gets me a little down when I think about losing everyone eventually in life 🙃 but also that’s a ✨ trauma ✨ trigger for me so…
while cherry’s backstory felt a little mundane and odd at times, it all paid off in the end. I love the concept of picking up on little details in stories and in real life, and liane moriarty did an excellent job tying everything together!
definitely my favorite by this author so far!! thank you netgalley and crown / random house for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: tasmania sauvignon blanc
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Infertility
Minor: Alcoholism
One day, all passengers on a flight from Hobart to Sydney get accosted by one elderly woman, who gives them all the same prophecy: cause of death, age of death. Some people get a reassuring prediction: old age at 101. Others get more disturbing news, of horrible deaths at a young age. Some people choose not to believe it, others get stressed and try everything to avoid their fate, especially as the first predictions seem to have come true. It makes you wonder: what would you do if that happened to you?
Inmidst their stories, the elderly lady, Cherry tells us her own life story, that of a very mathematical and analytical mind, and we understand how statistics but also her upbringing (her Mum was a psychic) influence her thinking.
This is a book with many characters which might feel alarming at first but I was gripped from the first moment when we get introduced to the passengers one by one.
The abrupt switch from 3rd person POV to first person POV (Cherry) takes a bit of getting used to and I would have liked to stay with individual stories a little longer instead of hopping from one story to the next like a demented Tasmanian devil, but by God, does it ramp up the tension.
Like her sister Nicola, Liane Moriarty is ludicrously talented. This book didn't let me go until the last page. If I could have read it in one sitting, I would have but it's a bit too long for that.
This is a tense and compelling drama, with beautifully plotted character studies of people whose storylines interact more than we thought at the beginning, and who we are all willing to survive their predictions.
I loved Cherry and her often rambling thoughts and how she tried to make sense of the world through various scientific theories. Can we try to influence fate, and should we?
The moral of the story is that we should live every day as if it's our last as we can't know when that will be.
Loved this, highly recommended. Also, the cover is beautiful.
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail