The Life to Come, Michelle de Kretser
The Life to Come, Michelle de Kretser
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

The Life to Come
A Novel

Author: Michelle de Kretser

Narrator: Shiromi Arserio

Unabridged: 11 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/13/2018

Synopsis

Set 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. As Hilary Mantel has written, "I so admire Michelle de Kretser's formidable technique—her characters feel alive, and she can create a sweeping narrative that encompasses years and yet still retain the sharp, almost hallucinatory detail."

Pippa is an Australian writer who longs for the success of her novelist teacher and eventually comes to fear that she "missed everything important." In Paris, 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 and can't commit to his trusting girlfriend, Cassie. Sri Lankan Christabel, who is generously offered a passage to Sydney by Bunty, an old acquaintance, endures her dull job and envisions a brighter future that "rose, glittered, and sank back," while she neglects the love close at hand.

About Michelle de Kretser

Michelle de Kretser was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Her family emigrated to Australia when she was a teenager, and she was educated in Melbourne and Paris. She is the author of four previous novels-including the Miles Franklin Award-winning Questions of Travel and the Man Booker Prize-longlisted The Lost Dog-and a novella, Springtime. De Kretser now lives in Sydney with her partner, the poet and translator, Chris Andrews. She is an Honorary Associate of the English Department at the University of Sydney.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on April 08, 2018

The settings of these interconnected stories parallel the author’s paths in life: born in Sri Lanka but moved to Australia with her parents; then school in Australia and Paris. There’s a lot about Australia and the supposed differences between the cities and the cultures of Sydney and Melbourne. The......more

Goodreads review by Janiece on March 24, 2018

I only persisted with this because it was set for book club. I found it a chore to wade through, as there was very little which engaged me. I had read and enjoyed de Kretser's The Rose Grower years ago, but this one disappointed me. One certainly doesn't have to like the characters in fiction, but t......more

Goodreads review by Michael on October 17, 2017

Loved this - an honest, funny and moving portrait of modern life. de Kretser's characters are often unlikable, but only because she's so unsparing in her portraits of them - every flaw goes under the microscope. It took me a while to settle into the structure, which jumps around in time a bit and sh......more

Goodreads review by Lesley on August 26, 2018

WON the Miles Franklin !!!. Announced today 27/08/18 UPDATE : Almost finished reading for the second time. UNABASHED 5 full stars!! Currently short-listed for the Miles Franklin Award, and I hope she wins. 4 1/2 stars rounded up. Such a joy to read!! So many triggers brought up forgotten errors of cho......more

Goodreads review by Greg on May 10, 2018

The disconnected stories of a large cast of characters with only tenuous threads to bind them didn't work for me. I read to the end because the writing is sharp and often beautiful.......more

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