Transit of Angels by Desney King

Title: Transit of Angels

Author: Desney King

Genre: Literary Fiction

Publisher: Pilyara Press

Published: 19^th October 2020

Format: Paperback

Pages: 285

Price: $27.99

Synopsis: Is there life after death? 

Angelica is thirty-four when her beloved husband, Bill, is killed in a motorbike accident. She knows Bill is dead. Yet she yearns to be reunited with him.

In desperation, she begs him for a sign. What happens next makes her leave the city and move to a quaint mudbrick cottage in a remote river valley where even the impossible feels sane.

As Angelica delves further into mysterious realms, she finds that not all is as it seems, and that grief – and life – have a way of carrying you forward, whether you like it or not.

~*~

Angelica’s life is turned upside down when her husband dies. She begins to spiral, wanting to know where he is and wanting to be with him. She’s constantly searching for a sign from him, but nothing comes. She’s living in Sydney when she’s asked if she wants to move into a mudbrick house in the Hawkesbury. She’ll be closer to her twin, Essie, and slowly, things begin to unfold as Angelica finds a new path in life.

Yet she still longs to hear from Bill, and she begins to delve into the mysterious realms of spirits and contacting spirits, and how different cultures view the afterlife. But what will she discover, and what will her new life bring?

This slow and meditative book takes readers on an esoteric and spiritual journey, examining life after losing a loved one and the possibility of life after death, as well as mediums who can connect us with loved ones. Reading this book reminded me of a book I edited last year, called The Voice of Spirit, about a medium’s journey and life connecting with the spirit world, written by Judy O’Brien, friend of a friend. I was lucky enough to attend the book launch pre-COVID, mere weeks before everything shut down in March, and saw Judy in action, passing on messages from loved ones. This experience was interesting, and when I read Desney’s book, I was reminded of Judy, her gift and her book, and it certainly has elements of what Judy does, and what I read in her book.

Transit of Angels moves along in a slow ebb and flow, the waves flowing back and forth along the sand calmly. Life, love, and loss form the heart of this book, and pull the reader along on Angelica’s journey, and her acceptance of Bill’s death, and everything she must go through to get to where she truly feels that she belongs in this world. Grief forms the backbone to this novel, and yet, it is also filled with hope, proving that there are many stages and aspects to grief than what we see on the surface when someone is grieving or going through a hard time.

There is something powerful about this book. Everyone will take something different from it, and for me, it was about the power of life changes and what can be done to change things, and doing things your way, without letting anyone else tell you how to live your life. I found Angelica’s strength in finding her own way, and not letting her sister, Sage, judge everything she does, refreshing and powerful.

The Hawkesbury setting was vivid and alive – brought to life in a few simple words, it is a world I have seen from the train and have imagined what it must be like to live in one of those isolated properties. Desney manages to convey the beauty, isolation and danger in this novel, and the healing power of the land.

A touching and poetic book about moving on.