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Reading The Transit of Venus By Shirley Hazzard

7 replies

MsAmerica · 04/07/2024 02:08

and can't believe how boring it is. The occasional clever line doesn't make up for the general tediousness.

OP posts:
TonTonMacoute · 04/07/2024 13:57

Goodness, I read it years ago and thought exactly the same!

In fact I nearly abandoned it altogether, however I kept going and really enjoyed it by the end.

BetsyRegards · 04/07/2024 14:08

I keep meaning to reread it. All I recall is that the end makes the whole thing worthwhile.

(I went through an Australian novelist phase about 15 years ago - the best thing that came out of it was ‘discovering’ Patrick White. If you haven’t read Voss, or The Tree of Man - you should.)

MsAmerica · 10/07/2024 02:22

Well, I finally finished it, and no, I didn't like it any better. It's true that there's a sudden backstory, but it doesn't make the book any more palatable.

There's a small pleasure in her allusions or obscure words - which is really just my own smugness. The problem is, for me, that the characters are mostly an indistinct, colorless unmemorable bore. The only really distinctive character is Dora, the insanely neurotic stepsister, and the only character who sounds like potential fun is the very minor Valda, who revolts against the denigrating women's role at the office.

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BetsyRegards · 10/07/2024 05:02

Well done for getting through it!

I don’t remember any of the characters at all, just that authorial sleight of hand at the beginning and end - which was one of the most breathtaking things I’ve ever seen in fiction. Though ultimately a bit … pointless. Maybe.

Subfusc · 10/07/2024 10:34

God, I adore that novel!

BetsyRegards · 10/07/2024 11:04

Please expand, @Subfusc.

TonTonMacoute · 11/07/2024 15:31

I honestly cannot remember anything about it. Time for a re read obviously.

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