London 2030. When a postman knocks on his door, the news he delivers will cause 70-year-old Anthony Pablo Rubens to reflect on all the many sadnesses and joys of the past, while he begins to prepare for the surprises of the future.
The past still revolves around the moment in the summer of 1984 when young Anthony first realized he had fallen in love.
The present is a Kafkaesque nightmare worse than Orwell's 1984, "a hideous world where people don't need to be watched by Big Brother." It's a world that Anthony has mostly shut his eyes to, but which suddenly he is forced to confront.
And the future now encompasses the mystery, and excitement, and dread of a day as an exhibit at the National People's Museum.
A dystopian political satire, The Coldness of Objects is also a story of loss, and of different kinds of love.
Contains mature themes.