Liane Moriarty: Here One Moment (May 2025)

The book begins with a strange occurrence on a domestic flight from Tasmania to Sydney. A completely normal seeming grey-haired woman gets up from her seat and walks down the aisle of the plane pointing at the other passengers and forecasting their manner of dying and at what age.

Some are amused, some baffled or angry and others, taking it at face value, are extremely alarmed.

The book goes on to show how this  impacts the lives of several of this diverse group of people, particularly those whose foretold deaths are imminent or premature.

We follow them as they re-evaluate their life choices, relationships and health.

Interdispersed with these narratives is the rich life-story of Cherry, the woman at the centre of the novel. She is quickly dubbed “The Death Lady” on social media and generally presumed to be a psychic gone rogue, but, without wishing to give too much away, things aren’t as they at first seemed.

We found this a very interesting plot device and became engaged with the various characters, watching how they developed and grew, becoming willing to take risks and live life to the full.

We discussed the notion of fate versus choice and shared our own experiences of psychic readings.

The underlying themes of this book are grief, love and fear but in an entertaining way. We sometimes consider whether a novel should be appreciated more for the poetry of its writing and style than the storytelling but telling a good story is an art in itself.

One take-away from Here One Moment, which you will discover if you read it or watch the up-coming screen adaptation, is not to underestimate the importance of looking after yourself during stressful times.

And, of course, Carpe Diem.

4.5/5