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    The Life to Come: A Novel
    The Life to Come: A Novel
    The Life to Come: A Novel
    Audiobook11 hours

    The Life to Come: A Novel

    Written by Michelle de Kretser

    Narrated by Shiromi Arserio

    3/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateMar 13, 2018
    ISBN9781684412174
    The Life to Come: A Novel
    Author

    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 five previous novels, including the Miles Franklin Award winners Questions of Travel and The Life to Come and the Man Booker Prize long-listed The Lost Dog. An honorary associate of the English department at the University of Sydney, she lives with her partner, the poet and translator Chris Andrews, in Sydney.

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    Reviews for The Life to Come

    3/5

    26 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Stages of life portrayed through sveral short stories but all connected by one character who appears in each. Is there a point or main time to the stories? Hard to say. They were ok, but not terribly gripping.
    • 4/5
      A plot line little confusing, but some great descriptions of Australians and writers, and insightful and thought provoking characterisations.
    • 3/5
      The writing draws attention to itself. The narration is sardonic, and permeated with dislike for the characters.