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The Instant

Sunday Times Bestseller

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The Instant

By: Amy Liptrot
Narrated by: Amy Liptrot
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SHORTLISTED FOR THE WAINWRIGHT PRIZE FOR NATURE WRITING

'I loved this book' Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path
'Utterly absorbing' Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden

Wishing to leave behind 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 hoping for the unexpected. And it comes with an erotic jolt, in the form of a love affair that obsesses her.

The Instant is an unapologetic 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 by a generation who exist online.

This audiobook contains an exclusive essay by Amy Liptrot.

Animals Biological Sciences Friendship Love, Dating & Attraction Outdoors & Nature Relationships Science
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Critic reviews

"A slim, luminous account of living and loving in Berlin, picking up where The Outrun left off"
"Brilliant on the addictive bliss of romance . . . [The Instant is] a parable about the quicksands of internet dating, and a survivors’ handbook 'for the heartsick'"
"Intoxicating, generous and refreshingly original. The way Liptrot weaves her inner life with the natural world and the digital world is utterly absorbing. This book is so alive and so wild" (LUCY JONES)
"Beautiful . . . brilliant . . . The truest thing I’ve read in a long time. It feels revelatory to read serious, thoughtful writing on the sorts of experiences that so rarely receive it. . . The Instant is the most elegant examination of the internet’s distance pain I have ever read" (EVIE WYLD)
"Elegant, melancholic and deeply yearning, The Instant captures something vital about our age: its strange dislocations and connections. I drank it in" (KATHERINE MAY)
"Enthralling and instinct-sharpening"
"A book of rare power. Part heartbreaking love story, part pin-sharp exploration of relationships in the digital age, The Instant is an intense and intensely beautiful book about connection, longing and the gravitational power of nature, and human nature, on the heart" (ROB COWEN)
"Sensuous and full of promise"
"Wildness lurks in the edges of this book – nature in its more feral state, and unashamed eroticism. I gulped this slim, powerful, ravishing little book down in one" (CAL FLYN)
"The Instant is magical, it is sexy, it is redolent of the natural world and it is all the things that makes Liptrot one of the most unique voices writing today . . . We simply cannot get enough Liptrot in our lifetimes. I want her to write a book every year"
All stars
Most relevant
This book did keep me interested I love the information on birds and nature the most

Very Interesting

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Loved Amy’s second book with snapshots of Orkney, London and Berlin and her journey into self discovery, love, loss and redefining herself. Powerful, entertaining, educational and reminiscent of my upbringing in Orkney.

Honest beauty of heart break and adventure

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I so enjoyed this - memoir, (urban) nature writing, creative practice. A pleasure to listen to and beautifully read by the author.

Superb writing - honest, moving and funny.

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I loved The Outrun, one of my favourite books ever and thought that the instant could not possibly match it. So, in some way I approached this book nervous that I might be disappointed....which I did not.want to be as I kind of felt in love with Amy from her debut, stark, brave and beautiful tale.
The Instant is a lazily sensual delve into one chapter of Amy's life; a life that is already amazing but also familiar to each and everyone of us. Amy's courage to look at life in the face and allow herself to notice the enormity and minutiae of this experience is commendable. The fact that she shares her journey with us feels like a privilege, like cutting through the small talk and getting to the heart of a conversation....the conversation you really want to have.
This is not a long book, however it will be one I read again and joins The Outrun as one of those books that truly move me.

stunning....again

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I was thrilled to hear that Amy offers us another insight into her life and loves. I felt my heart breaking for her at times. A must read. Thank you Amy ❤️ I have new hope in my heart that true love exists

A must for addicts of love

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