The Instant
by
78/99
Critics' Rating Index
14/99
Readers' Rating Index
n/a
Scholars' Citation Index
66/99
Volume of Reviews
70/99
Volume of Reader Ratings
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About This Book
Wishing to leave the quiet isolation of her Orkney island life, Amy Liptrot books a one-way flight to Berlin. Searching for new experiences, inspiration and love, she rents a loftbed in a shared flat and looks for work. She explores the streets, nightclubs and parks and seeks out the city's wildlife - goshawks, raccoons and hooded crows. She looks for love through the screen of her laptop. Over the course of a year Amy makes space for something to happen, hoping for the unexpected. And it comes with an erotic jolt, in the form of a love affair that obsesses her. The Instant is a frank and luscious look at the addictive power of love and lust. It is also an exploration of the cycles of the moon, the flight paths of migratory birds, the mesmerising power of Neolithic stonework and the trails followed behind by a generation who exist online.
Reviews
"Liptrot is a noticer of places, people and words ..."
"Heartbreak is relatable enough, but the story lacks the self-discovery that one expects of a memoir ..."
"It could become frustrating, but in each book Liptrot eventually comes down to land on something, and it is the wait that gives the whole its brilliance."
"It's rarely heroic and inevitably entails flesh wounds to the pride if not spears to the heart, resulting in moping and tears."
"It feels revelatory to read serious, thoughtful writing on the sorts of experiences that so rarely receive it."
"A slim, impressionistic, often melancholy work that, along with following her adventures in a new place, grapples with ideas of solitude, romance and a life lived simultaneously online and off."
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