Transit: A Novel (Outline Trilogy, 2)

“Transit” is a continuation of “Outline”, and works with the same literary devices. These two points suggest to me a line, pointing to what I expect will be the third and conclusive volume three.Once again, the one word of the title is used once in the book, and again well into it. Here the key sentence (p. 176), opens a chapter: "It was the day the astrologer's report had said would be of particular significance in the coming phase of transit." This sentence comes at us out of nowhere—it is the only reference to "the astrologer", and that theme is not explicitly developed further. Implicitly however, the chapter in question is about the rehabilitation of “Faye’s” house, which in astrological terms means character and identity. From Earth, the only planets that can be seen in a “transit” across the sun are Mercury, which astrologically rules clear thinking, communication and travel, and of course Venus.Both books proceed in a series of conversations between “Faye", identified by name only once in each book, and various others. Whereas in "Outline" other people described themselves and were identified as people who Faye was not, so that the series presented only an empty outline of Faye, in "Transit" Fay begins to express herself in these conversations—her ideas and values. Here, however, there is an interesting problem: I at least found these statements disappointing, kind of half-baked, not exactly true and certainly less than one would expect from so intelligent an author. For example, she was “beginning to realise that [evil] was not a product of will, but of its opposite, of surrender...the abandonment of self-discipline in the face of desire...a state of passion.” (p.196) Or again, “forgiveness only left you more vulnerable to what you couldn’t forgive.” (p.200), Or elsewhere (I can’t find the page just now) freedom is defined not as the escape from a box, but the box from which one escapes. Well, no. As these accumulated (and there are many other similar fallacies throughout) I had to decide whether to be disappointed, or to see that Cusk was portraying a person precisely in transit, passing from loss of identity into an increasingly self-reliant sense of self. I concluded that this last made the most sense.I therefore predict that the third volume will portray that personal renaissance, the discovery of a vita nuova, as a strong, confident, woman on her own—from “outline” through “transit” to ... I wonder what she’ll call it.

Well, I thought I had posted a review of this wonderful book, but I must not have saved it, so I'll do the best that I can from memory. Transit is the second book in Cusk's Outline trilogy. This book is better than the first, so I can hardly wait to get to the third and final installment, Kudos. The main character is a successful female writer. Outline traced her travels to Greece to teach a creative writing course. Cusk used the novel to demonstrate, in a way, the writer's process of outlining her story. The protagonist's role is primarily to listen to the stories of others--the passenger sitting next to her on an airplane, the students in her class--and record them. In other words, the writer's primary task is listening and observing, gathering potentially usable information, then shuffling all the material into the loosely organized shape of a developing novel. Transit focuses more on the writer herself at a point of transition in her own life. She has returned to England, her marriage has fallen apart, she's getting a bit bored with the book talk circuit, and she's ready to reassess and rebuild--much as an author would do while working on a draft. Her rebuilding takes a literal form as she moves out of the central city and into a seedy fixer-upper in a rather unsavory part of town. There are two problems: the contractors who call to give estimates for the essential repairs are dubious as to whether the house can really be fixed up, and the elderly couple who live downstairs are are every neighbor's worst nightmare. She finally settles on a pair of Polish builders who assure her that they can handle both problems. In the meantime, she deals with her two young sons and their not-all-that-involved father, the writer's conference from hell, and friends who just don't understand why she decided to leave the city. While we still see her sitting back and observing the whirl of events around her. we also see the writer herself as a developing character, one taking on the task of rebuilding her life and revising her approach to it and to others.Cusk seems to be having a lot more fun with Transit than she did with the first novel. There's more humor here (the book festival episode is at times hilarious), and her characters are more defined. The writer herself does a good deal of self-assessment. Terrific writing here as well! I can't wait to read the next installment. I've been stuck in some not-so-great books, so I may just have to spring for the full price rather than waiting for a sale or for a library copy.

Volume 2 of Cusk's Outline trilogy and Faye is now back in London. Having moved from bare outline in the first book to something a little more filled in, this develops her story from the despair of separation to a state that can at least imagine the possibilities and potentials of change.For me this is an extraordinary literary experiment, and one that *works*. Innovative technique combines with a ravishing readability, prose which is pellucid and precise, which must be the result of editing and rewriting but which bears no visible weight of revision.I'm excited to read the third volume.

This, the second book of a trilogy, was an excellent read and one that provoked much thought about the transience of much of our lives. The title is very apt as all the characters appear to be in some sort of flux. The characterisation is entirely credible as are the interpersonal relationships. I wholeheartedly recommend this novel but do suggest you read the first book in the trilogy, "Outline" first so that you can track the development of the central character.

I had high hopes for this novel after reading Outline and A life's Work. But I found the story line almost non existent and the protagonist vacuous. Some thoughtful philosophy meandered throughout but did not compensate for the emptiness.

A wonderful wonderful trilogy. Every sentence contains a truism as the narrator slowly disappears and we only see her through what other people choose to tell her. All three books are extremely well written with a choice of language that puts most top 10 authors to shame. I would put CUSK on the same planet as Stefan Zweig. Both tell stories where facets of human nature are contained in every sentence.

Thoroughly enjoyed. Not much to say other than very enjoyable and beautiful observations, and very original, that should be 20 words.