THE LIFE TO COME

(Allen & Unwin £16.99) ThIS novel came out at the start of the year, but I’m still transfixed by it. A series of finegrained snapshots that hopscotch around Sydney, Paris and colonialera Ceylon, its diverse cast is led by Pippa, a backstabbing writer who mines an unsuspecting neighbour for material.

Poignant and satirical (especially about Australian society), it gnaws on juicy questions about identity and morality.

If there’s no overall plot — you might scratch your head about where it’s going — the sheer lineby-line brilliance of de Kretser’s laser-like insight made me feel everything else could wait.