Transit

By: Rachel Cusk

Narrated by: Kate Reading

The stunning second novel of a trilogy that began with Outline, one of The New York Times Book Review's 10 best books of 2015.

In the wake of her family's collapse, a writer and her two young sons move to London. The process of this upheaval is the catalyst for a number of transitions - personal, moral, artistic, and practical - as she endeavors to construct a new reality for herself and her children. In the city, she is made to confront aspects of living that she has, until now, avoided, and to consider questions of vulnerability and power, death and renewal, in what becomes her struggle to reattach herself to, and believe in, life.

Filtered through the impersonal gaze of its keenly intelligent protagonist, Transit sees Rachel Cusk delve deeper into the themes first raised in her critically acclaimed novel Outline and offers up a penetrating and moving reflection on childhood and fate, the value of suffering, the moral problems of personal responsibility, and the mystery of change.

In this second book of a precise, short, yet epic, cycle, Cusk describes the most elemental experiences, the liminal qualities of life. She captures with unsettling restraint and honesty the longing to both inhabit and flee one's life, and the wrenching ambivalence animating our desire to feel real.

©2016 Rachel Cusk (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Slow but sure

The writing is a bit repetitious; so many descriptions of eyes; so many references to children or child like; a bit pretentious. The reading voice has strange inflections that distort the sentences.

TO BE A WRITER

In “Transit”, Rachel Cusk offers a master class for people who wish to be writers. Cusk creates a picture of a writer’s life, i.e., the places they go, conversations they have, and work they do in writing a story. Cusk explains what it is like to be a writer. Whether writing about oneself, an incident, an acquaintance, or an important “other”, the art of writing is in the details and how they are arranged to stimulate readers’ or listeners’ interest.

Cusk’s story may or may not be about herself, but “Transit” offers valuable insight to anyone who is interested in becoming a writer. Cusk’s heroine is both relatable and informative while telling a story through the lens of a writer’s lived life which, like all lives, is in “Transit”.

Who’s Afraid of RAchel Cusk?

Rachel Cusk is a writer of sensitive incisive perception of human behavior and thought. Her novel story is told in first person but is about the lives and events. Of her characters. It is a creative lierary piece of art. It definitely requires and deserves re-reading to fully appreciate all the rich detail of her writing
Carolyn Jacobson

Spare writing, little plot, but still transporting

Not much happens in this novel, a sequel to Outline. I'm not sure you need to have read that novel first but it probably gives you more context. While there's little to no plot to describe (our recently divorced heroine has now returned to London after her time in Athens in the first novel, and is renovating a flat), Rachel Cusk pulls you in with the atmosphere of Faye's world and the people she encounters. It's a little unrealistic I think that so many people spill so much of their personal narrative to Faye, but that's a quibble in an otherwise lovely novel. But if you long for an exciting plot, this probably not for you.

Disconnected and pointless

I am baffled why this was nominated for any kind of award, we 'read' it for book group and were in 100% agreement that it was just tedious. The weird first person/third person narrative style created distance and disconnection and the stories went nowhere and seemed pointless. Within one of the stories a 'writer' made a scathing comment about other writers needing to write about extremes to please readers, which might suggest the author has a principled belief that 'good writing' should focus on the everyday and not attempt to engage the reader. Well she succeeded for me. Oh and this goes for both the first two books in the series - won't bother with the third.