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Londra, oggi. Una mattina qualsiasi, nella stazione della metropolitana di Paddington, un rumore improvviso fa incontrare gli sguardi di un uomo e di una donna. Prima di avvicinarsi, Fern ed Elliott hanno un attimo di esitazione, un momento d’incertezza che fa trattenere loro il respiro. Perché si sono appartenuti, tanto tempo prima, e tra loro scorre la stessa bruciante intimità di allora, come se i ricordi riprendessero vita tutti insieme. Come se gli anni non fossero passati. Londra, vent’anni fa. Un ragazzo e una ragazza si conoscono a una festa e si innamorano, per la prima volta. Il loro non è più un gioco di adolescenti: è un’appartenenza fisica, un’affinità elettiva, una corrispondenza esclusiva. È un presente infinito, perché vissuto in ogni istante con intensità totale. Quanto può durare il tempo presente? Oggi, alla stazione. Il tempo di un caffè, lo scambio dei numeri di cellulare, l’impulso irrefrenabile di sfiorarsi con le labbra, poi ciascuno continua il proprio percorso verso l’ufficio, la casa, un matrimonio, i figli. Dalla mattina al tramonto, mentre dal passato riaffiorano le immagini e le emozioni di una breve eppure infinita stagione, Fern ed Elliott riportano indietro il loro personale orologio. Per riprendersi il tempo, e questa volta, forse, il loro futuro.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
12 people are currently reading
234 people want to read
About the author
Claire Dyer
18 books32 followersAuthor and poet. My literary thriller 'The Significant Others of Odie May' is out July 2021.
Please be aware that messages on Goodreads are not checked regularly but I'm on Twitter as @ClaireDyer1 so please get in touch with me there and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you.
Please be aware that messages on Goodreads are not checked regularly but I'm on Twitter as @ClaireDyer1 so please get in touch with me there and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
December 4, 2014
Kill me now.
What on earth was that ending or should I say endings? After slogging it out through the book with what seemed too much perfunctory detail, causing me to skim over sections (and believe me when I say, I loathe to do this, as I usually savour every word of a book), I kept thinking, 'it's okay, it will be worth it'... but then... BAM! The endings of endings - and yes, I meant the plural form.
Seriously, who needs so much detail about the mundane parts of life, Fern's every thought and insecurity in her pottery class, and Elliott's for that matter? Reading is what we do to escape the mundane, to delve into exciting and different worlds. Fern and Elliott nearly killed me.
I felt all the reviews and endorsements on the cover and in other reviews were overrated.
Apologies to the author Claire Dyer - you had a great thing going on but killed with too much mundane detail and an inconclusive ending.
What on earth was that ending or should I say endings? After slogging it out through the book with what seemed too much perfunctory detail, causing me to skim over sections (and believe me when I say, I loathe to do this, as I usually savour every word of a book), I kept thinking, 'it's okay, it will be worth it'... but then... BAM! The endings of endings - and yes, I meant the plural form.
Seriously, who needs so much detail about the mundane parts of life, Fern's every thought and insecurity in her pottery class, and Elliott's for that matter? Reading is what we do to escape the mundane, to delve into exciting and different worlds. Fern and Elliott nearly killed me.
I felt all the reviews and endorsements on the cover and in other reviews were overrated.
Apologies to the author Claire Dyer - you had a great thing going on but killed with too much mundane detail and an inconclusive ending.
February 9, 2021
I would rather have watched paint dry.
June 8, 2019
I was actually really enjoying this this book, until the ending spoiled it for me.
Fern and Elliott are bump into each other in Paddington station twenty five years after they last saw each other. They agree to meet later and both spend the rest of the day reflecting about their own lives, the choices they made and the big 'What If?'
This seems like more of a dilemma for Fern because, she actually has a nice life but after years of being a mother, her boys have left home and she's feeling lonely.
Elliott on the other hand, is in the middle of divorcing the woman he left Fern for. It only really feels like he he would gain if Fern decided to give it another go.
I hated the ending because it did a different couple of scenarios before jumping to the next day. Although I wanted Fern to stay with her husband, I felt cheated as we don't actually know much about the meeting between the two. We don't know how Elliot felt afterwards. The whole book had been leading up to 'The Moment' and then it was a massive anticlimax.
Fern and Elliott are bump into each other in Paddington station twenty five years after they last saw each other. They agree to meet later and both spend the rest of the day reflecting about their own lives, the choices they made and the big 'What If?'
This seems like more of a dilemma for Fern because, she actually has a nice life but after years of being a mother, her boys have left home and she's feeling lonely.
Elliott on the other hand, is in the middle of divorcing the woman he left Fern for. It only really feels like he he would gain if Fern decided to give it another go.
I hated the ending because it did a different couple of scenarios before jumping to the next day. Although I wanted Fern to stay with her husband, I felt cheated as we don't actually know much about the meeting between the two. We don't know how Elliot felt afterwards. The whole book had been leading up to 'The Moment' and then it was a massive anticlimax.
September 7, 2015
Started off pretty good. I liked the Fate intervention (right place, right time...or wrong place, wrong time?)
As it is set in the duration of one day I did not expect much to happen. I did start to lose interest halfway through and nearly gave up but I soldiered on as its not a "thick" read and the print is a reasonable size! I found the chapters to be repetitive and didn't see the point of going over the same ground (in my opinion a lot of padding). The anticipation for the ending grow but I have to say it was an anti climax and I was disappointed. I know the story was about fate, crossroads and what ifs...I often look back at my life and think how things might have turned out if I had took a different road. Can you go back to something in your past and change your destiny? Would it be for the best, life is too short to have regrets or do you let sleeping dogs lie and move on with the life you have built? I was hoping for some answers but am sad to say the book provided me with none and merely left me confused. The idea of the story was good but I would have written it differently and with a better ending.
As it is set in the duration of one day I did not expect much to happen. I did start to lose interest halfway through and nearly gave up but I soldiered on as its not a "thick" read and the print is a reasonable size! I found the chapters to be repetitive and didn't see the point of going over the same ground (in my opinion a lot of padding). The anticipation for the ending grow but I have to say it was an anti climax and I was disappointed. I know the story was about fate, crossroads and what ifs...I often look back at my life and think how things might have turned out if I had took a different road. Can you go back to something in your past and change your destiny? Would it be for the best, life is too short to have regrets or do you let sleeping dogs lie and move on with the life you have built? I was hoping for some answers but am sad to say the book provided me with none and merely left me confused. The idea of the story was good but I would have written it differently and with a better ending.
December 17, 2020
I was planning to give this book 3 stars but I knocked one off for the ending as I found it very frustrating!
I don't think it helped that I read a book last week about two old flames meeting again where one was married and one had recently split up with their partner which is the exact same plot in this book.
Fern and Elliott were lovers at uni until Elliott cheated on her. After they went their separate ways, they both married other people and it is not until 20 plus years later that they run into each other at the station. The book takes you through their first relationship and mulls over what could have been.
Fern has a lovely husband and I think her wanting to get back with Elliott was really horrible to him. And Elliott never treated his wife like he should have done. So I didn't really respect either character.
And then the ending comes and changes everything on its head and makes everything you have read up to this point a bit pointless.
I don't think it helped that I read a book last week about two old flames meeting again where one was married and one had recently split up with their partner which is the exact same plot in this book.
Fern and Elliott were lovers at uni until Elliott cheated on her. After they went their separate ways, they both married other people and it is not until 20 plus years later that they run into each other at the station. The book takes you through their first relationship and mulls over what could have been.
Fern has a lovely husband and I think her wanting to get back with Elliott was really horrible to him. And Elliott never treated his wife like he should have done. So I didn't really respect either character.
And then the ending comes and changes everything on its head and makes everything you have read up to this point a bit pointless.
April 24, 2022
Does everyone really go around thinking about sex all the time?
Is everyone really as self-obsessed as these two?
Or were all those torrid details included purely to make the book long enough to be just about too long?
Is everyone really as self-obsessed as these two?
Or were all those torrid details included purely to make the book long enough to be just about too long?
August 18, 2020
"Would you go back in your past and change your destiny?"
I don't have a favorite quote from this book, and I'm telling you that this is one of my least favorite book in my reading challenge 2019.
I'm never a fan of contemporary romance novels, but I decided to try one because I've been reading a lot of classic literature lately, and I thought I should just grab one for light reading. And unfortunately, I stumbled upon The Moment. I thought it was cool because of the plot summary, and boy, I was wrong.
It's a single-day time frame and basically about two people, or ex-lovers who broke up 25 years ago then came face to face again in Paddington Station. We got to see the characters reflect on their past as memories flashed back while they're doing mundane stuff, and I just got bored in the middle of the book. But I still give it a chance, anticipating the ending, but it was anticlimactic and disappointing. The idea of the story was good but it could have a better ending.
I don't have a favorite quote from this book, and I'm telling you that this is one of my least favorite book in my reading challenge 2019.
I'm never a fan of contemporary romance novels, but I decided to try one because I've been reading a lot of classic literature lately, and I thought I should just grab one for light reading. And unfortunately, I stumbled upon The Moment. I thought it was cool because of the plot summary, and boy, I was wrong.
It's a single-day time frame and basically about two people, or ex-lovers who broke up 25 years ago then came face to face again in Paddington Station. We got to see the characters reflect on their past as memories flashed back while they're doing mundane stuff, and I just got bored in the middle of the book. But I still give it a chance, anticipating the ending, but it was anticlimactic and disappointing. The idea of the story was good but it could have a better ending.
November 13, 2018
I liked the idea of the what if storyline, that life could have gone so much differently. The start of the story was okay but as the story progressed I found myself skimming through pages waiting for something exciting to happen. It never did. I hated Elliott. He was a complete and utter jerk who didn't care as long as he ended up sleeping with someone.
Fern has a really good husband who is 20 x better than Elliott could ever be. So why would she think of even meeting that jerk for coffee? Like really? You would really think of giving up the good thing you have for some jerk who couldn't care less about anyone but himself.
I think this book could have gone somewhere but I just hated the characters so much it just pretty much ruined the storyline for me.
Fern has a really good husband who is 20 x better than Elliott could ever be. So why would she think of even meeting that jerk for coffee? Like really? You would really think of giving up the good thing you have for some jerk who couldn't care less about anyone but himself.
I think this book could have gone somewhere but I just hated the characters so much it just pretty much ruined the storyline for me.
August 12, 2018
Un uomo e una donna si rincontrano dopo 25 anni del tutto casualmente, scambio di numeri di telefono e idea di rivedersi la sera. Buona l'idea di rivivere nell'arco di una giornata la loro storia d'amore finita malamente, purtroppo questa viene narrata e rivisitata e rivisitata e rivisitata da tutte le angolature possibili mentre vengono anche riviste le loro storie coniugali. Tutto un susseguirsi di come sarebbe andata se..., sliding doors. Il finale non del tutto originale consente di terminare finalmente un libro nel complesso piuttosto noioso e ripetitivo.
November 12, 2020
3.5 stars, upping to 4 as I can't do half stars.
I liked this but it's definitely the sort of thing I would have enjoyed more on a beach. Its not so deep but it is quite saucy.
I liked what she tried to do with this and it definitely let's you pick a time line but I'm not sure I enjoyed the ambiguity.
Definitely worth a read!
I liked this but it's definitely the sort of thing I would have enjoyed more on a beach. Its not so deep but it is quite saucy.
I liked what she tried to do with this and it definitely let's you pick a time line but I'm not sure I enjoyed the ambiguity.
Definitely worth a read!
November 8, 2013
I'm not getting the comparison to One Day! I really didn't enjoy this or care about 'The Moment'!!
April 29, 2022
This book contained many of the worst obscenities and far too many torrid details of very explicit sex scenes that were written in a “Wham! Bam!” kind of way. They were abruptly included, shockingly almost and several completely unnecessary. They were gratuitous, more akin to Erotica than a decent story. Did her agent tell her she needed to include this?
The two main characters memories seemed to revolve around sex and Fern just wanted to be held and told everything was going to be all right and then she would be!
Even at the pottery class with Tom, whose wife was in the house next to and had made their lunch, the posh, middle-aged Fern (did she have to tell us she shopped at Waitrose?) was thinking of sex when he was showing her how to throw a pot and then jealous when he went on to do the same to the next student!!!!!!!!
Both Elliott and Fern were self obsessed and unlikeable, yet the author who invented these characters and should also have given them their ending, not left it up to us to make a choice and no, I didn’t think the author’s choice was obvious.
And what was “The Moment”? The book cover intimates it was 8 o’clock (clever book cover - the best thing about the book) but they met at 8 0’clock because Elliott’s train was late. It should’ve been 7.30. BUT “The Moment” could’ve been that morning when Fern saw Elliott by chance and walked towards him or it could’ve been when he chased after her in the street at 21 and things went different from there as is implied by one of the supposed speculative endings from “The Moment” - if that proposed ending was from “The Moment” then 8 o’clock definitely wasn’t "The Moment" so it was mis-titled or the cover was a mis-take. Either way I think that the author was advised to make three random endings of varying length under a tight schedule so they were hastily and therefore badly done.
Having said all of that she had a nice turn of phrase, eg. “The music swept over her like fingers in her hair”(though she was probably thinking about sex then as well😂).
The two main characters memories seemed to revolve around sex and Fern just wanted to be held and told everything was going to be all right and then she would be!
Even at the pottery class with Tom, whose wife was in the house next to and had made their lunch, the posh, middle-aged Fern (did she have to tell us she shopped at Waitrose?) was thinking of sex when he was showing her how to throw a pot and then jealous when he went on to do the same to the next student!!!!!!!!
Both Elliott and Fern were self obsessed and unlikeable, yet the author who invented these characters and should also have given them their ending, not left it up to us to make a choice and no, I didn’t think the author’s choice was obvious.
And what was “The Moment”? The book cover intimates it was 8 o’clock (clever book cover - the best thing about the book) but they met at 8 0’clock because Elliott’s train was late. It should’ve been 7.30. BUT “The Moment” could’ve been that morning when Fern saw Elliott by chance and walked towards him or it could’ve been when he chased after her in the street at 21 and things went different from there as is implied by one of the supposed speculative endings from “The Moment” - if that proposed ending was from “The Moment” then 8 o’clock definitely wasn’t "The Moment" so it was mis-titled or the cover was a mis-take. Either way I think that the author was advised to make three random endings of varying length under a tight schedule so they were hastily and therefore badly done.
Having said all of that she had a nice turn of phrase, eg. “The music swept over her like fingers in her hair”(though she was probably thinking about sex then as well😂).
November 28, 2018
Oh my gosh, what a load of tosh! Serves me right for being a sucker for a pretty cover. I hate not finishing a book, even if it's really bad, but at multiple times during reading I just wanted to stop and find something - anything - else to read. Elliott and Fern overthink everything; something I do myself, so I definitely don't need to read about it! There was nothing in this book that made me care about either of them or what happened next. The author probably didn't either, what with the THREE endings and all. I kept finding errors in the editing too, and sentences that didn't quite make sense, which bugged me a lot. Then there was the sex. Urg. Now I don't mind sex and swearing in books, but honestly I didn't need to read the same sex scene at three different points within the book. If I have to read about Meryl's breasts one more time... and it wasn't even good! Then the author dropped the c-bomb into it, and that was me done. No need. Just don't waste your time reading this; my copy is already on the way to the charity shop.
October 22, 2025
I've read multiple reviews about The Moment and unfortunately I'm agreeing with the negative ones.
I understand that our lives consists of endless choices forming our story and building our fate. I just didn't need to read dozens of pages about pottery class to internalize that point. The story was about Fern and Elliott who were lovers once before dramatic split. Then they met in a train station after decades and their choices flashed through their minds as the day went on. The story continued to describe every mundane task and feeling multiple times. The plot was dragging and the ending(s) felt like the biggest anticlimax. Not everything was bad and I still liked the language and the idea.
I never DNF but this could have been a valid DNF candidate. However, I actually feel bad for giving this harsh review because the writer has gone through all the trouble of creating the story and writing it down.
1,5⭐️
I understand that our lives consists of endless choices forming our story and building our fate. I just didn't need to read dozens of pages about pottery class to internalize that point. The story was about Fern and Elliott who were lovers once before dramatic split. Then they met in a train station after decades and their choices flashed through their minds as the day went on. The story continued to describe every mundane task and feeling multiple times. The plot was dragging and the ending(s) felt like the biggest anticlimax. Not everything was bad and I still liked the language and the idea.
I never DNF but this could have been a valid DNF candidate. However, I actually feel bad for giving this harsh review because the writer has gone through all the trouble of creating the story and writing it down.
1,5⭐️
January 31, 2025
I was really enjoying it until the end. I felt like something, anything could’ve happened but no. I understand the whole what if this what if that story but I felt like something could’ve happened. The ending just made me feel nothing and the book felt like it was setting itself up for atleast something a bit more spectacular than that? Also, if I had a pound for every time dark brown nipples were mentioned?? It just felt a bit unnecessarily sexual, or so maybe Elliott only remembered the sexual aspects of the relationship and nothing more. I also felt like in the book they kept mentioning that Elliott did ‘something’ but it turned out he just cheated. I wish it was something a bit more considering the build up. I felt like it had the foundations to really be something too…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2023
A book full of questions and few answers.
Very entertaining, the main story is very detailed, which we can all enjoy, although, I think sex is, sometimes, very unnecesary and may make you feel uncomfortable. The ending(s) are the main problem, personally, I was looking to have a closure with the story, if Fren and Elliott will be together or maybe Elliott just ask for forgivenes and left all the past behind but I receive nothing but more questions. I really like Fren is very relatable and sometimes I just hate Elliott but you can understand him at certain point.
Will I recomend it? Yes
Did I enjoyed it? A lot, actually
My favorite book? Not at all but I can say that is a good read.
Short review: Quite dessapointing but enjoyable
Very entertaining, the main story is very detailed, which we can all enjoy, although, I think sex is, sometimes, very unnecesary and may make you feel uncomfortable. The ending(s) are the main problem, personally, I was looking to have a closure with the story, if Fren and Elliott will be together or maybe Elliott just ask for forgivenes and left all the past behind but I receive nothing but more questions. I really like Fren is very relatable and sometimes I just hate Elliott but you can understand him at certain point.
Will I recomend it? Yes
Did I enjoyed it? A lot, actually
My favorite book? Not at all but I can say that is a good read.
Short review: Quite dessapointing but enjoyable
October 14, 2021
The storyline of Fern and Elliot is a fairly engaging one up to the end of the story. As the drama and details of their past emerges the reader begins to understand the moments that led them to the point where their paths crossed again across a train station concourse. What undoubtedly ruined the story for me though was the alternative endings at the finish of the story. It somehow felt like a cop out for the author to have not chosen a definitive path for her characters which naturally left a dissatisfaction with the outcome.
April 15, 2022
I can't believe the ending!!!! After pushing myself to finish the book, I don't understand the ending! Okay, I'll backtrack a bit. The book is written in a way that is similar to the main characters' thought processes, rambling, indecisive, too much faith on fate. So be ready to read a lot of sentences within sentences. Really, I haven't read a book like it and I finished it in 2 days 😂. Be warned, you'll feel a lot of things after.
September 4, 2020
One Leap of the Heart (2013)
December 6, 2022
Really wanted to love this but just didn't quite work for me, especially as the ending is so frustrating. The concept was great and parts of it were really enjoyable but found that it was a bit rambly and overly repetitive in places for me.
July 7, 2017
This book was a slow and tedious read,
February 27, 2020
a fair book ,good for women whose children are flying the nest. I found it a little bit badly written at the end,it sort of gives you three alternative endings
April 4, 2020
I did not enjoy this book...
There was too much... I should of said this ‘blah, blah’ but then I didn’t ...
I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on it ..
There was too much... I should of said this ‘blah, blah’ but then I didn’t ...
I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on it ..
November 20, 2020
Sorry I really don’t like to be negative but it was a tedious read and the ending was awful, a huge disappointment
January 6, 2022
I liked this book until the very unsatisfying and confusing ending
April 19, 2022
This book is an interesting concept. Getting an insight into the characters minds and their thoughts over the course of a day was thought provoking as they considered all the "what ifs" and "could have beens". Disappointing ending that I didn't really understand.
January 28, 2023
Not greatly written, good concept however wasnt invested in it or the 3 option endings.
May 23, 2023
okay, i started this book more than a year ago but i never finished the last 100 pages. because honestly, i didn’t like this book at all. but i finally finished it!! and the ending sucked x
June 10, 2023
Rubbish ending
August 30, 2023
Dragged out drivel. No idea how it's got good recommendations. They met up on around page 290. 290 pages of waffle and poor ending. Complete waste of time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews