Transcription Review

Another hit by Kate Atkinson! I aspire to this level of writing talent and consistency. At this point in my life, the only one who enjoys my writing is my pen pal.

Transcription did not mesmerize me like Life After Life or A God in Ruins, but it came pretty close. I have previously extolled the brilliance of Atkinson’s writing style, so I will not repeat myself, but this book continues this excellence. Perhaps I did not connect with the protagonist, Juliet as much as I did with Ursula and Teddy. Juliet is a competent and imaginative young woman recruited into MI5 to work with a Gestapo double agent during WWII. She completes espionage missions, but also listens in on conversations between British fifth columnists and transcribes their utterances (see, Transcription? It’s very clever). Juliet reminds me of Charlotte, the protagonist of Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks (also a WWII spy, but the stories diverge there), which I also very much enjoyed.

The narrative arc was very compelling, and I could not predict where the story was going at all. A feat, as I am usually adept at foreseeing fictional futures. Transcription kept me guessing right until the end. The story takes place in parallel timelines, during Juliet’s work as a spy in the 1940s, her life after the war in the 1950s, and in her golden years in the 1980s. We experience her life, piece by piece, which adds to the air of mystery.

Someone, please write a fan-fiction where Juliet Armstrong and Charlotte Gray are friends.