At first glance, The Transition is a novel in the tried-and-tested mould. Set in an unspecified time in the future, when consumerism and the vagaries of modern techno-capitalism determine the shape of lives, it is the story of a millennial couple trying to cope with their many crippling financial troubles.
But as you dive deeper into the book, you are exposed to nuances and insights that are startling, uncanny, and deeply unsettling.
Karl Temperley “writes consumer reviews of products he has never used” and his wife Genevieve is a primary school teacher.
To keep her in good spirits, Karl lives well beyond his means, maxing out credit card after credit card, and using the next to pay off the previous.
But the chickens come home to roost soon enough, and the bills begin to mount. To settle these, Karl gets himself another murky job on the Internet, which lands him straight into an online fraud ring.
To avoid prison time, Karl accepts — on his and Genevieve’s behalf — a place in a mysterious self-improvement scheme called The Transition, which will, for six months, put them in the hands of ‘mentors’ — a slightly older couple who have navigated a similar rough and tumble — who will guide them towards financial stability.
But soon, Karl wants to unshackle himself from the constraints of The Transition, whereas Genevieve finds herself much at home with the mentors. From here onwards the troubles mount and never cease.
Kennard places his novel in a future most urban millennials will be able to envision themselves in — with autonomous cars, self-restocking fridges and so on. Yet it is also grounded in reality.
It focuses its gaze on the effect this future has on human relations and behaviour. For Kennard, even in an age where artificial intelligence is at its zenith, human beings are as naïve as ever before and still in dire need of interdependence. He spares no one in his scathing criticism of modern behaviour, and the tendency to react overzealously and without consideration.
In The Transition, Kennard, who is known for his poetry, has a clever, funny and sharp debut novel.
The Transition ;Luke Kennard, Forth Estate, ₹450
