I really haven’t enjoyed this audiobook at all. I tried so hard to get into it but I just couldn’t. Thank you for sending it to me. But it just wasn’t for me.

This is an audio version of the 2021 edition of Transit of Venus, originally published by a master of English composition, Shirley Hazzard. Although I read it over 30 years ago, this edition read by Juliet Stephens adds depth and furthers my appreciation of Hazzard's craft. There is an enlightening forward by Lauren Groff, who counts it as one of her favorite novels, a perfect novel, and who has read it at least 4 times, adding her insights. Also, at the end, a real treat. Chapter 3 read by Ms. Hazzard herself.

An intriguing book that demands patience and ultimately earns it without ever really transcending its status or taking that next step into greatness (at least for me), <i>The Transit of Venus</i> is somewhere between rediscovered classic and forgotten apocrypha. This reissue (its first time appearing in audiobook form) does justice to the text despite me never feeling like it was the optimal way of experiencing it - Hazzard's prose is literary and languid, and as a reader, I would have probably preferred to take my time with the prose, appreciating all the ways in which it unfolds at my own pace. That's not to say Juliet Stevenson doesn't do a great job - she does! Certainly! I just think that on the page is where this novel really has the opportunity to sing. I quite enjoyed Lauren Groff's introduction (from the 2021 reissue, as far as I can tell) with additional context about her encounters with this novel over the years - I'm not sure I share her passion and will find myself revisiting this again and again, but I do think it's a worthwhile entry in the canon of traditional 20th century literature, even though it feels flung out of space from a world untouched by postmodernism. I think there are depths here to be plumbed, and I hope its most passionate readers do so.

<i>My thanks to Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks for this in exchange for my honest review.</i>

Great saga. It’s important to know a whole story to understand the story. Sit down, dig in and enjoy the story, the deep, expressive story, and enjoy!

*A big thank-you to Spiegel & Grau and NetGalley for a free audiobook in exchange for my honest review.*
I never heard of Ms Hazzard and I am happy to have discovered her novel. The beginning was hard for me to follow, however, as the novel progressed, I became fully engaged in the story about two sisters, early orhpaned, who leave Australia and arrive in England to seek happiness.
I did not warm up to any of the characters, however, the complex personalitites, motives for their actions and everything life offered them, forced me to listen to the audiobook continually (or nearly). Paul's full story, revealed at the end of the novel, was most memorable to me.
Ms Stevenson, the narrator, reads equisitely, as always, and her voice is a perfect fit for Ms Hazzard's fiction.

While I didn't like this book, I think the narration was done well. Juliette Stevenson's accents added to the experience.

This is a welcome format for this classic novel. The narrator does an excellent job with all the outsized personalities and range of accents

Shirley Hazzard has a beautiful and poetic prose to her writing and I absolutely loved this book. This is life, the uncertainty of it, the secrets in it, the joys of it. Kudos to NetGalley for the ARC/audiobook.

I've tried for several days to get into this book and failed at about 36% of the audiobook (I decided enough is enough and ordered the paperback version because I know I will enjoy reading it myself). The reason is unbelievably because of the lyrical & beautiful writing where you can quickly get lost in and I mean... lost.

The monotone of the narrator did not help. Some of her pronunciation can be a little confusing at times: 'eat' sounds like 'ek'

It is the kind of book that you need to read and take your time with it and not suitable to be consume in audio format the way many classics books are.

I’ve really struggled with this one, was listening on an audiobook and I am not really able to follow the plot, I don’t know if it would be easier to read. I found the characters didn’t develop, I didn’t know much about any of them except their story, not about their characters or personalities.
The phraseology is beautifully descriptive and evocative at times, but for me that didn’t make up for the missing action and depth. It’s possible that this is just not my style of book, as I know it has received high praise elsewhere.