Transcription

By: Kate Atkinson

Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

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

The magnificent new novel by best-selling 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, 18-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.

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.

©2018 Kate Atkinson (P)2018 Random House Audiobooks

Completely taken by surprise by this one

Well, most surely I did not expect to like this book this much! Although it can be described as an espionage novel (While/Post WW2 espionage - Cold War), it is so much more. With wonderful writing, humorous at times, this book addresses many important topics, some of them very close to my heart. I found it a complete joy to listen to. And I intend to listen to it again. And the performance... yes! After this, it has become clear to me that I prefer British narrators, the performance is always exquisite! Almost all my favourite audiobooks I've purchased on Audible have been narrated by British voices. So, so, so good!

Terrible ending

This novel left a bad taste in my mouth. It was pretty good until the last chapter, when the story changed completely with a twist that was really a cheat. Kate Atkinson is a good writer but this novel pulled a cheap trick that really she should have passed over.

Understated and excellent.

Kate Atkinson's authors note at the end of Transcription, is perhaps the best review of this excellent book. The author is so fondly interested in niche aspects of history and her writing touch so light that it is a delight to accompany Juliet on her journeys. It is part historical fiction, part spy novel and part character drama. Had Jane Austen lived through the 20th Century perhaps Juliet could have been her character, the internal discourse and commentary on a new and strange gentry - MI5 and the BBC.
Brilliantly read, no mean feat dealing with Atkinson's character's continual internal musings, dialogue and time shifts.
What a thorough pleasure.

Fascinating and compeling

I loved listening to this book - Fenella Woolgar's superb and sophisticated reading drew me in to a world beautifully written by the brilliant Kate Atkinson