I don’t enjoy reading in large print.

The Life to Come by Michelle de Kretser was a very different read for me.  The many and varied characters kept me on my toes throughout the read.“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.”

I had put a reserve in at the library for this book and didn’t realise it was in large print, not my favourite way to read a book I must say.  I kept wishing it was in smaller print.  Apart from that I did enjoy the actual story.

The book is full of so many characters each portrayed in detail and each appearing to intersect in the lives of others in the novel.  I sometimes had difficulty in working out which characters linked with whom.

The descriptive writing is beautiful and the characters are unusual.  If you expect the characters to be lovable and for everything to come out just so at the end then you will be disappointed.  The characters have many flaws but life is depicted realistically.

A great read.