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43rd out of 235 books
—
274 voters
The Transit of Venus
The Transit of Venus is considered Shirley Hazzard's most brilliant novel. It tells the story of two orphan sisters, Caroline and Grace Bell, as they leave Australia to start a new life in post-war England. What happens to these young women -- seduction and abandonment, marriage and widowhood, love and betrayal -- becomes as moving and wonderful and yet as predestined as t...more
352 pages
Published
by Virago
(first published 1980)
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This is one of the most perfectly constructed novels that I've ever read. Twice in the opening pages, there are simple sentences that foreshadow all that comes after. All is not revealed until much later, and until that time, you will worry those apparent loose ends as you would an irritating pebble in your shoe, but never fear, Hazzard knows precisely what she's about. And the end, ah, the end. Against all the evidence, even this (view spoiler)...more
4 and 1/2 stars, though it is amazing.
An ambitious novel, well-conceived and well-executed. I loved the well-placed foreshadowing (esp one in the beginning that haunts the rest of the book) and the jolts that occur with the fruition of what you might've thought at first were mere throwaway lines.
There were times I felt disengaged, perhaps from the cleverness that at times took me out of the story -- my fault, more than a fault of the work, most likely.
If I ever reread this, I think I'd be even...more
An ambitious novel, well-conceived and well-executed. I loved the well-placed foreshadowing (esp one in the beginning that haunts the rest of the book) and the jolts that occur with the fruition of what you might've thought at first were mere throwaway lines.
There were times I felt disengaged, perhaps from the cleverness that at times took me out of the story -- my fault, more than a fault of the work, most likely.
If I ever reread this, I think I'd be even...more
7 likes · like · see review
Some years ago I read a New Yorker story by Hazzard, "In These Islands." I read it a second time, then and there. Turned back to the first page and read it again. Then a third time.
There are expansive writers--like the late DFW, Whitman, Henry Miller--and there those who fuse language in a crucible: Dickinson, Laura Riding, George Oppen: poets more often than novelists... though McCarthy has gone from one to the other, from the expansive Sutree to the compression of The Road.
No one can capture...more
There are expansive writers--like the late DFW, Whitman, Henry Miller--and there those who fuse language in a crucible: Dickinson, Laura Riding, George Oppen: poets more often than novelists... though McCarthy has gone from one to the other, from the expansive Sutree to the compression of The Road.
No one can capture...more
7 likes · like · see review
I was caught by surprise by this book. I heard about it from an interview with Ann Patchet I'd read online. I think it is one of the finest written novels I have ever read. The night I finished the book, I opened it back up and started reading it again. The second time through I was as engrossed - actually more than the first. It was tough to get started, she doesn't build the characters traditionally. You find out odd things about them that don't seem important until much later in the book. I t...more
8 likes · like · see review
Brilliant, gorgeous, searing--one of my new (and rare) gold standards.
As others have noted, this is worth sticking with (I actually tried the first few chapters last year and wasn't caught by them, but had no trouble this time). And there comes a point in the latter third that's a bit of a slog. The reward of Hazzard's prose throughout, though, is worth it; her descriptions and observations are amazing, so smart and perfectly, often devastatingly, wrought. It's no mean feat to be able to pull re...more
As others have noted, this is worth sticking with (I actually tried the first few chapters last year and wasn't caught by them, but had no trouble this time). And there comes a point in the latter third that's a bit of a slog. The reward of Hazzard's prose throughout, though, is worth it; her descriptions and observations are amazing, so smart and perfectly, often devastatingly, wrought. It's no mean feat to be able to pull re...more
5 likes · like · see review
I learned a lot about crafting stories from this book.
In the late 1700s, two explorers sailed across an ocean in tiny vessels to chart the transit of The planet Venus across the sky. For one explorer, all that preparation, all that risk, led to nothing. On the critical day, there was too much cloud. For the other, Captain James Cook, clear skies and complete success in the endeavour awaited. further success followed when he "discovered" and charted a portion of a new continent, Australia. Fast...more
In the late 1700s, two explorers sailed across an ocean in tiny vessels to chart the transit of The planet Venus across the sky. For one explorer, all that preparation, all that risk, led to nothing. On the critical day, there was too much cloud. For the other, Captain James Cook, clear skies and complete success in the endeavour awaited. further success followed when he "discovered" and charted a portion of a new continent, Australia. Fast...more
There seem to be two camps about this book. People either love it or hate it. I thought the author's use of language was generally 'too much.' She tones it down after the first 50 pages (perhaps the effort of keeping up that flowery pace was too much for her too), so if you are one of those people who hate it, you might give it at least the first 60 pages to see how it goes...
I didn't care for the story and I felt that she handed me a lot of detail that I didn't need to accomplish the story. Th...more
I didn't care for the story and I felt that she handed me a lot of detail that I didn't need to accomplish the story. Th...more
Hard to believe this was published in 1980. Sentence structure and language both formal and highly idiosyncratic which reminds me more of Patrick White and D H Lawrence and other modernist writers than something written in the late C20th. The richness of the language both beguiling yet forbidding, at times the sentences – whilst beautifully puzzling – also were so obtuse than i was unsure what was actually being written about. Does this matter? Perhaps not at times, perhaps it's good to be confu...more
I was torn as to how to rate Shirley Hazzard's Transit of Venus. Hazzard is an enormously gifted writer. But the novel itself had me asking the question, When does a great writer become a great artist? It's a fine distinction that one doesn't come across often, since such things unfold on their own. The discerning reader simply knows when they've read a great piece of literature. But Hazzard's own ambition here had me asking that very question. In other words, one gets the sense that Hazzard, in...more
Feb 21, 2011
Joan Winnek
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Joan by:
·Karen·
The writing in this book amazes me. I am reading slowly and savoring it.
Now I've read three chapters of Part II The Contacts. Some changes of scene, and the plots develop slowly.
Tonight I finished the book, was gripped by the last Part. Karen, you were right. It all comes together at the end. I found out how much I care about all these disparate persons (except Dora).
Can anyone tell me, what other Shirley Hazzard books should I read?
Now I've read three chapters of Part II The Contacts. Some changes of scene, and the plots develop slowly.
Tonight I finished the book, was gripped by the last Part. Karen, you were right. It all comes together at the end. I found out how much I care about all these disparate persons (except Dora).
Can anyone tell me, what other Shirley Hazzard books should I read?
3 likes · like · see review
This novel has a wonderfully rich sensibility and voice --- I'm astonished at the sheer deftness and chutzpah of the way Hazzard handles omniscient narration. I doubt that this book is for everyone, because it has the appearance of wandering from character to character, following the four central characters through much of their lives, and across continents, marriages, affairs, children, and losses. I felt that Hazzard had: of paths crisscrossing, driven by love and fear and lust, yet with an ov...more
Shirley Hazzard’s novel, The Transit of Venus is beautifully written: the language was wonderful, very descriptive. There were some excellent scenes. The characters, however, leave a lot to be desired. They all seemed to be either nasty or weak, or sometimes both. There wasn’t anyone there to really love or believe in. For lovers of language, this would be a satisfactory experience, but if you value the story as much as the language, you might be disappointed. I got to the last paragraph and was...more
So many book reviews begin with a description of what the book they are critiquing is about. I'm not sure how to do this with The Transit of Venus. There is the story, which is complicated and layered and moves through a large period of time; and there are the messages about love, family, obligation, war/peace, etc. that are equally sweeping in scope. The reader would be forgiven for thinking that he or she was entering a vast and lofty story. Instead, The Transit of Venus maintains a tone of d...more
Following a glowing endorsement by Jennifer Burne on Second Tuesday Bookclub this was added to my collection. I have to just ask Jennifer why...I just cannot connect with this book, with the characters, with the obscure writing style. I've decided life is too short to spend finishing books I'm not enjoying so this one is going to stay 3/4 read. There were a few passages I really enjoyed but it comes down to the characters, to me they were lifeless and dead, just emotional not present. The detail...more
I had heard about Hazzard when Anita Shriver said in an interview that she is her favorite author and "Venus" near perfection. My first Hazzard was the fascinating, complex "Great Fire." "Venus" really is just about the perfect novel, in my book. It is a coming-of-age story of two dissimilar sisters, strangers in a strange land: Aussies transplanted to England. Much of the narrative is almost stream of consciousness, with often-dreamlike dialogue. The language is flat-out gorgeous.
The protagonis...more
The protagonis...more
This is undoubtedly difficult to read, especially the first third of the novel. I've never consulted Merriam-Webster so often. However, the payoff is worth it; this is the literary equivalent of "The Sixth Sense." After I'd finished, I had to investigate passages I'd previously read, searching for the clauses or seemingly-irrelevant asides the author employs. The last scene, in particular, was foreshadowed in what I consider to be a manner worthy of Nabokov. If you don't pay attention, you will...more
I very much want to give this another try. I pushed myself through the first few chapters and found the writing lovely but somewhat overwrought and thick. The characters didn't draw me in, surprisingly, because that's what I understand many love about the book. Or maybe I'm just thick (likely) since I opted to take this up while on an exotic beach vacation -- and found myself tempted by the Vanity Fair taunting me from the side table. Hazzard is clearly a skilled and lush writer - she knows the...more
I'm torn about this. The writing is stunning. Her characterizations are sometimes brilliant (I loved her portrayal of Dora, the half-sister and the way she manages to give you a vivid idea of Portia's character without ever really discussing her much).
But I found the writing occasionally self-indulgent in its "writerly-ness." Obviously there is a very broad spectrum between "readerly" and "writerly" fiction. And, while I tend to lean towards the latter, it can be easy for a great writer to forg...more
But I found the writing occasionally self-indulgent in its "writerly-ness." Obviously there is a very broad spectrum between "readerly" and "writerly" fiction. And, while I tend to lean towards the latter, it can be easy for a great writer to forg...more
I could appreciate the intelligent writing in this novel - certainly Ms. Hazzard is quite cerebral. And there were some great points of memorable language and insight. But for me, this is not the brilliant novel that others seem to think it is. One of my problems was the characters: either they were a little obtuse as to make me wonder at their actions based on the way the author had drawn them, or they were so obvious they got boring - the self-satisfied, philandering husband, the long-sufferin...more
I wanted to keep reading this book but I kept getting annoyed with it also. I think it was mostly the way that the characters talked to each other. Their language is ponderous, academic - all the characters except a half-sister, Dora, who whines but whines like someone you might recognize. Perhaps I'm not learned enough to have been around the kind of people who talk like this: _There must be an end somewhere to deception. Ultimately there must be the truth- And do you think the human need to de...more
This was the book that our local book club decided to discuss, so I was required to read it. And I really tried to get into the book. The writing style from chapter one was not to my liking and I had to literally force myself to read each word. I was actually somewhat carousing through until I simply could not relate to the female protagonist at all. This book is an "artsy" book..heavy on metaphors...allegories..and all the high end literary terms one can think of. At the end of the day, if I ca...more
This is one of the best books I've ever read. Completely delicious at the level of the sentence, many of which I re-read as I went along partly because they took a bit of effort to "get", partly just to savor them the more. I can see how this might not be to everyone's taste, but it completely suits mine and I'm highly likely to re-read it, something I almost never do with novels. (Poems, yes.) But there are felicities at every level. The plot was unpredictable, complex, dramatic and surprising,...more
It’s taken me a long time to write this review, mainly because I became aware of how negative it was becoming.
But THE TRANSIT OF VENUS is a marvellous book, a literary love story which ponders beauty and time, and is written with Hazzard’s trademarked sharp, searing prose. Hazzard offers up deceptively tiny moments which come to define her characters and stories later on, and reward careful reading and re-reading (and I will likely re-read this book, despite having re-read about 3 books in my li...more
But THE TRANSIT OF VENUS is a marvellous book, a literary love story which ponders beauty and time, and is written with Hazzard’s trademarked sharp, searing prose. Hazzard offers up deceptively tiny moments which come to define her characters and stories later on, and reward careful reading and re-reading (and I will likely re-read this book, despite having re-read about 3 books in my li...more
I resisted this book at first. I wondered what Caro Bell (the character with the most page time) had to offer besides being an incongruous challenge for men to fall in love with; falling in love with her seemed to say something about their characters, but did little to illuminate hers. I also bristled at some of the prose. As with many elliptical and lyrical prose writers, Hazzard's overreaching imagery coexisted--sometimes awkwardly-- with searingly beautiful turns of phrase.
I was miffed. I als...more
I was miffed. I als...more
This prize-winning, gorgeously written mainstream novel follows the lives, especially the love lives, of Caroline and Grace Bell, orphaned sisters from Australia. They arrive in England in the 1950s and make their way through loves and losses, victories and betrayals over the course of three decades. Grace marries, Caroline does not. The author sometimes writes from a male character’s perspective to keep things interesting. A comfortable literary read but ultimately very sad. And everyone seems...more
With favorite authors such as A.S. Byatt and Doris Lessing, I very rarely complain about a novel being difficult (not one that I would voluntarily choose to read, anyway). But this one really was. The writing was often challenging, and most of the characters were hard to like. Having little time for reading these days, I nearly gave up on it in favor of something light. I'm glad I didn't. That moment when all of the foreshadowing comes together and you know exactly what happened without the auth...more
Shirley Hazzard is one of those writers who can skirt the borders of literary pretension and get away with it due to her beautiful writing style and her subtle skill with narrative form. Hazzard also has a splendid way of making an obtuse plot inviting, making The Transit of Venus a master class of highly literate writing that even those who feel most comfortable with so called genre novels can easily read and enjoy.
Hazzard is an Australian ex-pat who left the country in 1947 at the age of sixte...more
Hazzard is an Australian ex-pat who left the country in 1947 at the age of sixte...more
I had wanted to read this book ever since I read Anatole Broyard's praise of it in Intoxicated by My Illness which I read for a class a few years ago. My expectations were high, and the first third of it especially fulfilled those expectations, and slowly sloped downward to the end. Part I, especially, "The Old World", is full of what sounds silly to say but regardless is in fact exquisite prose. I don't usually go in for exquisite prose, but Hazzard did it for me. Hazzard's style is just off-ki...more
I've dithered for weeks over my rating for this one and finally settled on the five star 'it was amazing' category because yes, it was amazing. But I'm not sure if I actually liked it. It has to be said that I read it under pressure, which is criminal for a Shirley Hazzard. Fine for a plot-led thriller where the only point of interest is how it ends, but a novel by Ms Hazzard should be enjoyed at leisure. You should luxuriate in that exquisitely fine language, linger over the cadence of the sent...more
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I loved this novel. It is a novel filled with characters I wanted to hate for all their flaws and their amplified apathy towards love and relationships, but had to love them instead for being so heartbreakingly imperfect, so fearful, and so full of yearning and desire. Each character was startling relatable and identifiable and not easily judged and clearly defined.
Love in all its glory and all its depravity is exposed- its strength and weakness, its hideous obsession and complacency, its soari...more
Love in all its glory and all its depravity is exposed- its strength and weakness, its hideous obsession and complacency, its soari...more
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| What do you think is the significance of the title? | 2 | 15 | Sep 29, 2011 01:31pm |
Author of fiction and non-fiction. Born in Australia, Shirley Hazzard now holds citizenship in Great Britain and the United States.
Hazzard was born in Sydney, Australia. In 1947 she traveled through Southeast Asia with her parents.
Her diplomat father took her to Hong Kong, and then to New Zealand where her father was Australian Trade Commissioner. She travelled to Italy in 1956, and worked for a y...more
More about Shirley Hazzard...
Hazzard was born in Sydney, Australia. In 1947 she traveled through Southeast Asia with her parents.
Her diplomat father took her to Hong Kong, and then to New Zealand where her father was Australian Trade Commissioner. She travelled to Italy in 1956, and worked for a y...more
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“When you realize someone is trying to hurt you, it hurts less."
"Unless you love them.”
—
8 people liked it
"Unless you love them.”
“Dora sat on a corner of the spread rug, longing to be assigned some task so she could resent it.”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
Jan 22, 2013 09:18am
Yes! Among others.
Jan 22, 2013 09:19am