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The Instant

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The Instant

By: Amy Liptrot
Narrated by: Amy Liptrot
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About this listen

Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing

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.

©2022 Amy Liptrot (P)2022 Canongate Books, Ltd.
Animals Biographies & Memoirs Love, Dating & Attraction
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Critic reviews

"I loved this book." (Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path)

"Utterly absorbing." (Lucy Jones, author of Losing Eden)

What listeners say about The Instant

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Insightful

Beautiful vocabulary & true honesty. Really touching & insightful. It was both raw and emotional. Really different to anything I’ve read or listened to before.

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Honest beauty of heart break and adventure

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.

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Underwater Techno

Listened to it all in an afternoon, the world through Amy Liptrot's eyes is riveting to me, I particularly loved her oceany description of a techno club in Berlin. Her emotional experiences are empathic and relatable and so very human. I loved the outrun, I loved this one too.

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Superb writing - honest, moving and funny.

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

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Honest simple and direct. Poetry in prose form.

The subject of The Instant is wide ranging, from belonging and the way people live online, to nature writing and recovery from addiction, to loneliness and longing, love and despair. There is a rare honesty here as Amy describes her heartache. And her thoughts are poetic and lyrical yet her writing style has a wonderful simplicity that is both original and direct.

The Instant is a quiet, unambitious book that punched far above my expectations.

Top marks, and then some more, from me.

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Exquisite

I was so looking forward to this book and it did not disappoint..A brutally honest account of her heartbreak in Berlin when her love affair ends abruptly and the importance of her relationship to the moon. Amy Liptrot writes and narrates beautifully.

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Completely absorbing, wonderfully candid story of time healing longing. Cleverly interspersed with interesting science

It ended! Can’t wait to hear what happens next to this amazing lady. Thank you - so moving

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A fine meander

It takes quite a slow few twists and turns to get there, but in the end a worthwhile read. Amy's honesty is what I'm here for.

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beautifully told story. great follow up to the Outrun

enjoyed the honesty, it being read by The author, the reminders of the important things in life

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A beautifully read, poetic journey

Otherworldly yet totally of this world. Amy really nails what it is to be human. A magical and infinitely relatable book.

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