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Transcription

By: Kate Atkinson
Narrated by: Fenella Woolgar
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Summary

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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Kate Atkinson seldom fails to delight the reader (we can forgive her Emotionally Weird). Her writing is smooth yet complex and underpinned by an almost forensic interest in historical fact and littered with references to her predecessors, the great writers in the English language.

This is a must for readers who, like me, have a lasting admiration for the role and extreme bravery of the young women in the 1940s whose contribution to the war effort is too often understated.

Another masterful novel

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Struggled to warm to any characters. For such a subject tension and peril were surprisingly absent. I look forward to Kate Atkinson's books but this one fell flat.

Disappointing

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Really enjoyed this very original book, such a dry humour running through it, I laughed out loud many times.

Try it!

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Another masterpiece. If you haven't listened to Life After Life yet, you must! Characters and storyline as good as ever.

Fantastic! My favourite author and narrator combo.

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This could almost pass at factual, Kate has done a sterling job of adding details to gild the plot. I've not read any of her other work, but as a fan of history, particularly the science, engineering & espionage surrounding the major conflicts of the 20th century, this was a bulls-eye.

The narration from Fenella Woolgar was delightful & atmospheric. A great addition to any library.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

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