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Transcription

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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Random House presents the audiobook edition of Transcription by Kate Atkinson, read by Fenella Woolgar.

THE MAGNIFICENT NEW NOVEL BY BESTSELLING AWARD-WINNING KATE ATKINSON


‘Think of it as an adventure
, Perry had said right at the beginning of all this.And it had seemed like one. A bit of a lark, she had thought. A Girls’ Own adventure.’

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 sympathizers, 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 realize that there is no action without consequence.

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.

20th Century Espionage Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense War & Military Fiction Exciting War
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Critic reviews

No other contemporary novelist has such supreme mastery of that sweet spot between high and low, literary and compulsively readable as Kate Atkinson. I look forward to a new Atkinson book like I look forward to Christmas…what lends the novel enchantment is that patented Atkinson double whammy: gravity and levity. Tragedy and comedy as so skilfully entwined that you find yourself snorting with mirth…brimming with dark wit that reminds you how deeply satisfying good fiction can be. (Allison Pearson)
Transcription stands alongside its immediate predecessors as a fine example of Kate Atkinson's mature work, an unapologetic novel of ideas which is also wise, funny and paced like a thriller. (Stephanie Merritt)
Kate Atkinson is a wonderful writer. I want to write like her when I grow up. Transcription shows she's at the peak of her powers. Full of beautiful, delicate, sharp sentences and characterisations. A spy novel that dismantles the whole genre. A class act, as ever. (Matt Haig)
Superb...Transcription is the sort of book that reminds you how profound and satisfying and moving and exhilarating good fiction can be. It’s the best novel I’ve read all year. I can’t praise it enough.
Never loses its sense of absurdity of human beings even in their most tragic or noble moments...How vehemently most novelists will wish to produce a masterpiece as good. (Jake Kerridge)
On a graph plotting the literary qualities versus saleability of contemporary British novelists, Kate Atkinson would surely occupy the highest point where the two meet...There are plenty of twists and turns in this terrific page-turner, some shocking moments, and a narrator whom the author encourages us to love. (Claire Harman)
Atkinson handles her mazy, Le Carre-style plot with complete authority. But there’s a lot more to the novel than its page-turning thrills. The increasingly sceptical Juliet makes for a very appealing heroine and the darker material is interspersed with some neat comedy. Above all, Atkinson recreates the atmosphere of both wartime and post-war London with utter conviction. (James Walton)
[A] superb story of wartime espionage...Hilary Mantel once said of Atkinson's ground-breaking first novel that she had a "game-plan more sophisticated than Dickens", and that skill is more than evident in this latest offering...remarkable...Transcription is a fine course in the art of deception. The sheer bravura of Atkinson's storytelling is such that you will find it impossible not to want to revisit those clues so cleverly placed, as you shake your head in disbelief at how effortlessly you have been taken in. (Gerri Kimber)
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I have been a great admirer of Kate Atkinson since 'Behind the Scenes at the Museum' reading everything that she has published since. I thought that she was at the top of her game with 'Life After Life' and 'A God in Ruins' so was really looking forward to 'Transcription'.
I stuck with it thinking that it was going to emerge as some sort of pastiche but it never did. If cliches weighed an ounce each and you took 'Transcription' on a plane for a holiday read then you would have spent all your holiday money on excess baggage. I can only think that Random House was being deferential to one of their established authors. If she had submitted this manuscript in place of 'Behind the Scenes..'.my guess is that it would have ended up in the slush pile. Sorry Kate - maybe best to leave this sort of stuff to John le Carre and go back to what you do best.

Not her finest hour

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I had only read Life After Life previously which was excellent so I had high hopes for this book. Unfortunately Kate Atkinson managed to make an exciting subject really quite dull. I stuck it all the way to the end and it did get better eventually but not enough to make it worth recommending.

Disappointing

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The tangled web usually comes back to trap its creator as it has no other purpose but to entangle those that use it to create illusions of truth or morality.
The characters are well described, and the plot is eloquent and with enough surprises to make it a true thriller.
I hate the fact that the emphasis by the promoters of this books is on gender and not people, but that is the world we live in now. The fact that is based on a real character and events gives it a flavour and filling of real danger.

Worth reading, the book brings to life two periods that have for the most part been buried in time, the support of Hitler by British citizens. The infiltration of the left by communist Russia or as it was known then the Soviet Union immediately after the war, now described as the Cold War and how pervasive it was in Britain.

The complexities of deceit.

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I found the story absorbing, with a frisson of fear in the background. The narration struck the right, rather detached note, which suited the characters very well. Kate Atkinson has a writing style that keeps me wanting to read more.

Beautifully written and narrated.

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I loved this book. There’s a strong female lead as is in a lot of Kate’s books and a captivating story line that doesn’t disappoint. I can’t wait for her next book.

Another fabulous book from Kate Atkinson

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