I finished Shirley Hazzard’s Transit of Venus last night – absolutely loved it, and will read it again soon – and did a quick google to see what others thought.
Apart from reading an Amazon reviewer that made me want to read more of their reviews for the first time, I loved the review from the woman who sniffs, “it’s no Jane Austin”. Jane Austin? No, I guess it’s not.
mmm. see what you mean
“So why on earth would anyone want to read The Transit of Venus? Some say the writing is pretentious: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”
….?
Ok, so it’s not the best start in the world. But the rest of the review is extremely perceptive.