This article was written for Annabel & Grace, which is now part of Rest Less.
Synopsis:
In 1940, eighteen-year old Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited into the world of espionage. Sent to an obscure department of MI5 tasked with monitoring the comings and goings of British Fascist sympathisers, she discovers the work to be by turns both tedious and terrifying. But after the war has ended, she presumes the events of those years have been relegated to the past for ever.
Ten years later, now a producer at the BBC, Juliet is unexpectedly confronted by figures from her past. A different war is being fought now, on a different battleground, but Juliet finds herself once more under threat. A bill of reckoning is due, and she finally begins to realise that there is no action without consequence
My review:
As always with Kate Atkinson she has a very different approach to a subject or period of time in her novels. Transcription is no exception. There is so much to enjoy in this book. It is sharp, precise and funny. I love Juliet’s unspoken commentary on events and people as she sees so much absurd around her. Yet the war years were a very serious period in our history. The author portrays this humour in that celebrated British manner. She manages to capture this quirky character and as with many of Atkinson’s main characters you are not sure you like them until the end.
Transcription is a work of rare depth and texture, a bravura modern novel of extraordinary power, wit and empathy. It is a triumphant work of fiction from one of this country’s most exceptional writers.
I am always thrilled when I see a new book from Kate Atkinson as I know I am going to be in for a good read. This is an author that I cannot wait for the paperback and so I splash out on the hardback.
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