Marianne (Australia) (2011/02/04): 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 completely confused, having dismissed an earlier vital clue as an extraneous detail. I had to go online to read some discussion groups before I had figured it out. I’m not sure the reading experience, the quality of the writing, was worth the effort for the final outcome. I found it heavy going. I’ll hesitate before devoting time to another Shirley Hazzard book.
