''The Life to Come'' is a novel by

Michelle de Kretser Michelle de Kretser (born 1957) is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon), and moved to Australia in 1972 when she was 14. Education and literary career De Kretser was educated at Methodist College, Colombo, and in Melbo ...

. The novel switches points of view between five loosely connected characters, all

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

is the primary location of the novel's vignettes, but some take place in other parts of Australia, or in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, and other International locations. In his review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''s

Marcel Theroux Marcel Raymond Theroux (born 13 June 1968) is a British-American novelist and broadcaster. He wrote ''A Stranger in The Earth'' and '' The Confessions of Mycroft Holmes: A Paper Chase,'' for which he won the Somerset Maugham Award in 2002. His ...

wrote ''"The book is replete with examples of important things being forgotten, suppressed or misunderstood."'' ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' review remarked on the satirical nature of the novel, and the pretentiousness of the characters' obsession with exotic food, with one character explaining privileged Australians are obsessed with food ''“Because they live in a country of no importance.”'' In a review in ''

The Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikk ...

'' Boyd Tonkin wrote ''"De Kretser writes about the aura and texture of places with breath-stopping virtuosity. Briny and fumy, her Sydney appears regulated and hygienic but remains voluptuously receptive to chaos and filth''.

References

Novels set in Australia 2017 Australian novels Miles Franklin Award-winning works Allen & Unwin books {{2010s-novel-stub