The Transition
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- 7,99 €
Description de l’éditeur
Black Mirror meets David Nicholls in this dark and funny novel about love in dystopian times
LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR FICTION
Karl has let his debts get wildly out of control and, in desperation, has sort of semi-accidentally committed credit-card fraud. Now he could have to go to prison, so when he and his wife Genevieve are instead offered a place on a mysterious self-improvement scheme called The Transition, they agree. It’s only six months, after all, and at first all it requires is that they give up their credit cards and move into the spare room of their ‘mentors’, Janna and Stu, who seem perfectly lovely . . .
‘A total page-turner’ Nathan Filer , author of The Shock of the Fall
‘The sort of book that has you walking blindly through seven lanes of traffic with your face pressed obliviously to the page’ The Times
‘Very funny, compassionate and scathing. Just the ticket for fans of Jonathan Coe’ Laline Paull, author of The Bees
‘Richly enjoyable, tenderly devastating’ Guardian
Reviews
‘The sort of book that cuts you off from your family and has you walking blindly through seven lanes of traffic with your face pressed obliviously to the page’ The Times
‘Richly enjoyable . . . what really makes this novel stand out is not the Black Mirror-style black comedy but the tenderly devastating portrait of mental illness. The dystopia turns out to be a love story after all’ Guardian
‘Very funny, compassionate and scathing. Just the ticket for fans of Jonathan Coe’ Laline Paull
‘Terrific. Clever and funny and a total page-turner to boot’ Nathan Filer
'Disquieting and witty but with such tenderness at its core that it's often heart-stopping. Gorgeous stuff. I devoured it' Lisa McInerney, author of The Glorious Heresies
‘Extremely smart and extremely funny, Luke Kennard's first novel is a brilliant dismantling of our corporatized century. It also features one of the most endearingly hapless heroes since Lucky Jim. In a world where everything real has been outsourced if it can't be demolished, a book like The Transition is not just a ray of light – it's utterly vital’ Paul Murray, author of Skippy Dies
‘Essential reading for generation rent. Funny, necessary and all too close to the bone’ Jenn Ashworth, author of The Friday Gospels
‘Completely gripping – a unique idea executed with verve, confidence and razor sharp wit’ Isy Suttie
‘Black Mirror with a lighter touch. A day-after-tomorrow novel that defines a generation’ Matthew De Abaitua, author of The Red Men
About the author
Luke Kennard is the author of five collections of poetry. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2005 and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2007. He lectures at the University of Birmingham. In 2014 he was selected by the Poetry Book Society as one of the Next Generation Poets. His latest poetry book, Cain, was published by Penned in the Margins in June 2016. The Transition is his first novel.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Poet Kennard's sharp, witty debut novel is about a generation who can't seem to launch themselves into adulthood. In the near future, Karl, a debt-ridden 30-something, keeps afloat by using his useless English degree in morally dubious ways, writing fake five-star consumer reviews and "bespoke" essays for college students. When one of his writing gigs lands him in legal trouble, he is faced with a choice: serve a prison sentence or enroll, along with his blameless wife, Genevieve, into "The Transition," a rehabilitation program aimed at rescuing "a generation suffering from an unholy trinity of cynicism, ignorance and apathy." Opting for the latter, Karl and Genevieve must move in with Transition mentors, Stu and Janna, who counsel the younger couple on everything from financial responsibility and new career paths to personal hygiene and reading habits: "We want you both to read a newspaper.... A part of you still feels that newspapers are for grown-ups and that you're not grown-ups." While Genevieve excels under Stu and Janna's guidance, the hapless Karl chafes against the cultlike aspects of the Transition and, after a series of often amusing transgressions, humiliations, and punishments, seeks to expose it as a less-than-benevolent self-help program. Enlivened by crisp dialogue and Wildean epigrams ("That's the problem with self-respect...you start to feel offended when someone insults you"), the novel splendidly hums along. Kennard calibrates satire and sentiment, puncturing glib diagnoses of a generation's shortcomings while producing a nuanced portrait of a marriage as precarious as Karl's finances.
