What would you do if you knew when you were going to die? Not “if” (that’s not negotiable) but “when”.
Answers would probably vary wildly, but this is the premise on which Liane Moriarty’s new novel is based. A woman gets into some sort of trance, on a flight, and – while seeming normal – goes around the cabin telling each passenger when they will die, and how.
People think she’s a crank – wouldn’t you? – but then, after the passengers disembark and go about their lives, her predictions start coming eerily true.
The media picks up the story and the protagonist, Cherry, is perceived by people varyingly as a witch, a fortune-teller or a criminal. The truth is that she is none of these things. In fact the answer to the mystery is almost prosaic, but this takes nothing away from the suspense of the story.
The only drawback, if you could call it that, is that there are so many characters that you may find it hard to keep track of who is who if you take long pauses while reading (such as going to work, for instance). Take a weekend or a day off and read it at one go, if you can.
As for the mystery part, the book starts off very promisingly, describing Cherry in a sort of negative-space way – telling us what people did not notice about her, and heightening the suspense. This effect isn’t sustained through the book, however; but by then the mystery has picked up and the stylistic effect doesn’t matter much.
So, is Cherry a psychic? Or something sinister? The revelation will have you looking twice at your everyday actions and plans. And one cannot say more without giving the answer away!
Title: Here One Moment
Author: Liane Moriarty
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Pages: 464
Price: Rs 899
