Transit of Mercury is weird. Not in a bad way, but in a “I have to read this book so many times for it to make sense” way. I found myself incredibly confused through most of the book. It was still enjoyable, in that I was able to finish it, but if I ever want it to make sense, I would probably have to read it at least twice more.
If you’ve read Transit of Mercury and have figured out how to make it less confusing, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to know what was going on. Multiple points of view actually helped, but I still had trouble truly knowing what was going on.
Synopsis
The story of Transit of Mercury is told through three perspectives:
Miranda, a lawyer in New York, who has received information that her uncle has died. She was supposed to receive a huge inheritance, but a cousin she never knew about has received the inheritance instead. She takes a leave of absence to find this cousin.
Tom, a banker in London, has found information that a high level executive at his bank has been embezzling, but Tom gets framed and is fired. As he tries to figure out what’s gone wrong, he becomes embroiled in mystical events that he can’t explain.
Count Scala, the leader of a secret society, has spent years trying to find the secrets of the universe. His group follows him through thick and thin, even as they discover more and more wackiness in their leader.
My Thoughts
This book is weird. I know I said it before, but while this book is SO good, it’s sometimes hard to follow. I will probably read it again in the next couple months, just to try to make sense of it.
I loved the development of the characters, even when I wasn’t quite sure what was really going on. I also, really bad, want to know why the author named the book Transit of Mercury. I never could really figure that out.
This book takes astronomical signs, mystical secret societies, and reincarnation (to a point) to get its message across. The author’s use of language makes this book interesting, without overwhelming it with big words.
One thing I didn’t really like is the use of single quote marks for everything: conversations, quotes, or the like. This sometimes made it hard to distinguish when someone was talking and when they weren’t. I’ve ran into this in books before, and for some reason it confuses me, and sometimes affects my enjoyment of the book.
Luckily, for this book, I was able to get used to that part soon enough in the story that it didn’t affect my overall enjoyment. I will still likely read the book again. This is the author’s first book, so I wasn’t able to find much information on him. I do hope to see more of his work. His imagination, and way of putting a story together really appeals to me. While this book has some idiosyncrasies that I don’t really enjoy, my dislike of them isn’t specific to this book. They are just things I don’t like in anything I read.
Recommendation
If you enjoy paranormal books, or books about secret societies, you will likely really enjoy this book. I know I did! Normally, I try to find a small excerpt to include in my review, but I couldn’t find one that wouldn’t completely spoil the story. This book is convoluted, but in a way that eventually makes sense. I like that. I enjoy things I can’t figure out right away, and this book definitely did that for me.
I really enjoyed this book and will keep it as part of my collection for a re-read at a later time. I want to congratulate this author on a debut that kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t wait to figure out what happened next!
Conclusion
I usually have trouble with books that are told in multiple points of view, but I didn’t have an issue with this book. It was really good, kept me guessing through the whole story, and is definitely one I will read again. If you are interested in adding this book to your Goodreads TBR, check out the link below. This book isn’t available on Amazon yet, but as soon as it is, I will add a purchase link. The link will provide me a small commission through Amazon Associates and will require no extra purchase on your part.
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Until Next Time, Friends!
