Review: Here One Moment

Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Liane Moriarty is an incredibly gifted author, as evidenced by the popularity and critical acclaim of each of her novels. The beauty of her body of work is that no two pieces are alike. Her literary choices seem to develop organically, rising to the occasion each plot presents, allowing Moriarty to create profoundly moving characters brought to life through the carefully crafted development of each unique voice. Here One Moment is this author’s most recent offering.

The premise of the story is that a flight from Hobart to Sydney is suddenly disrupted when an elderly woman who, just before the flight lands, moves down the aisle, points to each passenger in turn and shares at what age that person will die as well as their eventual cause of death. Reactions run the gamut from shocked to dismayed, from entertained to horrified. As they deplane, they each take with them a new burden—the burden of facing their own mortality and the forced exploration of their foundational beliefs. The remaining chapters alternate between those told by Cherry, the elderly woman passing sentence, and those that explore the lives of the passengers themselves as they face their new reality. Even many of those aboard who were initially skeptical begin to feel more than a little uneasy as the pages turn and predictions are realized, in exactly the way they were shared.

Cherry’s chapters move through time like mercury, slipping smoothly from decade to decade as she steeps her story in pop culture references that anchor her in time. From Taylor Swift to Ed Sheeran, line dancing to the Lion King, the reader is able to follow Cherry’s footprints as she traverses the timeline of her life. The passenger chapters aren’t, by design, as dependent upon the past and are instead firmly planted in the present with a wary eye to the future. One constant is repeated in each passenger’s story—in some way, Cherry has brought to them chaos and discomfort.

Whilst the writing itself is truly memorable and moving, as are many of the stories shared by both passengers and Cherry, the book was, for me, a very slow burn that never transformed from smoldering to actual flame. The payoff of the build fell flat and was more anticlimactic than the plot of a Lifetime movie. I wanted fireworks and instead received a fizzling sparkler. The disappointment was real.

I encourage readers to find joy in the clever wit Moriarty brings to the page. Revel in the details as they unfold and enjoy feeling like they are insiders when they can identify with current events. Read for the beauty of Moriarty’s art and allow the denouement to occur without judgement. In the case of Here One Moment, it’s all about the journey, not the destination. 3.5 stars rounded up, because…Liane Moriarty!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to receive an ARC. Publication is slated for late September of 2024.

#NetGalley #HereOneMoment

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