Here One Moment

Liane Moriarty is bewitchingly clever. And entertaining. Her latest novel will grab you from the first page and not release you until you finish the entire novel. Along the way, you will meet characters that feel like friends, you will visit places you have been before and you will remember experiences of traveling, of weddings, or of loss. This is what Moriarty does best – she makes everything familiar and then she twists it all into a compelling story of humanity.

The premise of this novel is particularly good. Passengers board a plane from Hobart to Sydney and during the flight a woman walks down the plane and tells each person how they are going to die and when. Complete nonsense, right? Or is it possible that the Death Lady, as she becomes known, has astute powers? Consider how you would react, or how your parents or friends might react, and then imagine what would happen if the predictions started to come true.

Moriarty’s plea to us, her readers, to make the most of our one wild and beautiful ride is clear, but she also allows us, through her genius storytelling, to consider what propels us. She identifies the ordinary as extraordinary; that most people are doing their best, but sometimes circumstances stand in the way.

If you loved her previous bestselling novels, well, of course you will love this. If you have not read any of Moriarty’s work before, this novel is an excellent place to start. Here is a portrait of contemporary Australia that will delight you. My suggestion is to save reading it for a long plane trip, or for a weekend with nothing planned. Once you open it, you will not want to put it down.