Funny. Smart.

Very philosophical. Life. Love. Destiny vs free will.

A very different kind of book.

Here One Moment (2024)

The plane is jam-packed. Every seat is taken. So of course the flight is delayed!

Flight attendant Allegra Patel likes her job—she’s generally happy with her life, even if she can’t figure out why she hooks up with a man she barely speaks to—but today is her twenty-eighth birthday. She can think of plenty of things she’d rather be doing than placating a bunch of grumpy passengers.
 
There’s the well-dressed man in seat 4C who is compulsively checking his watch, desperate not to miss his eleven-year-old daughter’s musical. Further back, a mother of two is frantically trying to keep her toddler entertained and her infant son quiet. How did she ever think being a stay-at-home mom would be easier than being a lawyer? Ethan is lost in thought; he’s flying back from his first funeral. A young couple has just gotten married; she’s still wearing her wedding dress. An emergency room nurse is looking forward to traveling the world once she retires in a few years, it’s going to be so much fun! If they ever get off the tarmac. . . .
 
Suddenly a woman none of them know stands up. She makes predictions about how and when everyone on board will die. … 

How would you live your life if you thought you knew how it would end? Would you love who you love or try to love someone else? Would you stay married? Would you stop drinking? Would you call up your ex-best friend you haven’t spoken to in years? Would you quit your job?

For me it was less a plot than a series of slices of life. The characters unrelated — other than their reactions to what happened on the plane.

At times I found the book long.

Still — it’s unique. And it will make you consider your own life.

Are YOU living each day as if you already know the year of your death?

related – Guardian – Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty review – interesting premise, disappointing result