One Day We’re All Going to Die

Despite having a job that she loves, 27-year-old Naomi isn’t quite sure what she is doing with her life. She has never really had to forge her own path; coming from a privileged Jewish family in Melbourne (her parents even bought her a house), she has had everything handed to her on a silver platter. Turns out this doesn’t make for a happy young woman. Although her family is supportive, Naomi’s relationship with her mother is particularly co-dependent and not all that healthy. Her grandmother, Cookie, is hilarious and wise, but underneath it all remains deeply scarred by the past.

When a workplace crush turns into something more, and then becomes completely toxic, Naomi returns home to hide away from the world. Having always rushed headfirst into relationships, her fragile ego has taken a real battering this time, and she can’t move on. Trapped by her own insecurities, and by the wrong man’s attentions, Naomi quits the one thing that keeps her grounded, her job at a Jewish Museum. There she had found her place in the world, something she was good at. Researching objects from the past had put her own existence into perspective, and allowed her to experience something outside herself. Now she is lost, hurt, and spiralling. Fortunately, a new friendship, the support of her old friends, the love of her family (no matter how dysfunctional they are) and an inner strength she didn’t know she had, all allow Naomi to begin to figure out who she really is, and where her place in the world lies.

With a very familiar local setting, and some well-drawn and recognisable characters, this is a clever and emotionally intelligent debut. And fortunately for some of us, this ‘millennial coming-of-age story’ can also be enjoyed by people over the age of 30.