The Life to Come
A Novel
Michelle de Kretser
- Winner
- of
- the
- Miles
- Franklin
- Literary
- Award
Shortlisted
- for
- the
- Stella
- Prize
Longlisted
- for
- the
- International
- Dublin
- Literary
- Award“For
- a
- novel
- concerned
- with
- dislocation,
- there's
- a
- lot
- of
- grounding
- humor
- in
- The
- Life
- to
- Come.
- Most
- of
- it
- comes
- at
- the
- expense
- of
- Pippa
- and
- her
- ilk,
- but
- de
- Kretser's
- observations
- are
- so
- spot
- on,
- you'll
- forgive
- her
- even
- as
- you
- cringe.”—Amelia
- Lester,
- New
- York
- Times
- Book
- ReviewSet
- in
- Australia,
- France,
- and
- Sri
- Lanka,
- The
- Life
- to
- Come
- is
- about
- the
- stories
- we
- tell
- and
- don’t
- tell
- ourselves
- as
- individuals,
- as
- societies,
- and
- as
- nations.
- Driven
- by
- a
- vivid
- cast
- of
- characters,
- it
- explores
- necessary
- emigration,
- the
- art
- of
- fiction,
- and
- ethnic
- and
- class
- conflict.Pippa
- is
- a
- writer
- who
- longs
- for
- success
- and
- eventually
- comes
- to
- fear
- that
- she
- “missed
- everything
- important.”
- Celeste
- tries
- to
- convince
- herself
- that
- her
- feelings
- for
- her
- married
- lover
- are
- reciprocated.
- Ash
- makes
- strategic
- use
- of
- his
- childhood
- in
- Sri
- Lanka,
- but
- blots
- out
- the
- memory
- of
- a
- tragedy
- from
- that
- time.
- Sri
- Lankan
- Christabel
- endures
- her
- dull
- job
- and
- envisions
- a
- brighter
- future
- that
- “rose,
- glittered,
- and
- sank
- back,”
- while
- she
- neglects
- the
- love
- close
- at
- hand.The
- stand–alone
- yet
- connected
- worlds
- of
- The
- Life
- to
- Come
- offer
- meditations
- on
- intimacy,
- loneliness,
- and
- our
- flawed
- perception
- of
- reality.
- Enormously
- moving,
- gorgeously
- observant
- of
- physical
- detail,
- and
- often
- very
- funny,
- this
- new
- novel
- by
- Michelle
- de
- Kretser
- reveals
- how
- the
- shadows
- cast
- by
- both
- the
- past
- and
- the
- future
- can
- transform
- and
- distort
- the
- present.
- It
- is
- teeming
- with
- life
- and
- earned
- wisdom—exhilaratingly
- contemporary,
- with
- the
- feel
- of
- a classic.
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