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Shortlisted for the 2022 Miles Franklin Literary Award A profoundly original exploration of racism misogyny and ageism—three monsters that plague the world—this novel from a beloved and prizewinning author is made up of two narratives each told by a South Asian migrant to Australia “When my family emigrated it felt as if we’d been stood on our heads.” Michelle de Kretser’s electrifying take on scary monsters turns the novel upside down just as migration has upended her characters’ lives. Lili’s family migrated to Australia from Asia when she was a teenager. Now in the 1980s she’s teaching in the south of France. She makes friends observes the treatment handed out to North African immigrants and is creeped out by her downstairs neighbor. All the while Lili is striving to be A Bold Intelligent Woman like Simone de Beauvoir. Lyle works for a sinister government department in nearfuture Australia. An Asian migrant he fears repatriation and embraces “Australian values.” He’s also preoccupied by his ambitious wife his wayward children and his strongminded elderly mother. Islam has been banned in the country the air is smoky from a Permanent Fire Zone and one pandemic has already run its course. Three scary monsters—racism misogyny and ageism—roam through this mesmerizing novel. Its reversible format enacts the disorientation that migrants experience when changing countries changes the stories of their lives. With this suspenseful funny and profound book Michelle de Kretser has made something thrilling and new. “Which comes first the future or the past”