Historical Fiction: Transcription by Kate Atkinson

Kate Atkinson, author of the well-loved and celebrated Life After Life, as well as its follow-up, A God in Ruins, has come out with yet another historical fiction novel centered around World War II and its aftermath. Transcription follows the life of a young girl and her somewhat reluctant entrance into the world of espionage, in an attempt to play her own small part in the battle against Nazi sympathizers.

The Situation: Juliet Armstrong is recruited by Britain's MI5 at the ripe young age of 18 years-old. Recommended by someone she trusts as just the type of girl MI5 is looking for, Juliet is given the seemingly tedious task of transcribing the dialogue between a group of Nazi sympathizers as they speak with someone they do not realize is not actually on their side. Juliet has stepped into the world of espionage, and the myriad of precautions she must take, as well as the constant guessing game regarding people's intentions, makes this abundantly evident. It is never quite clear to her who is hiding what, who is keeping secrets as opposed to telling her the truth, as who is really on which side. Soon, Juliet's duties are expanded beyond mere transcription, and she is sent into the field to take down a wealthy and well-connected socialite. She imagines this type of work will only last as long as the war does, but at this point, it is impossible to know for sure.

The Problem: Ten years later, Juliet imagines the life she led as a transcriber and agent during WWII to have been left behind, until it becomes abundantly clear that it hasn't. Various figures from the past keep popping up, and Juliet cannot help but wonder if these are strange coincidences, or if the actions of her past are catching up with her. Then she receives an ominous note, claiming that she will pay for what she has done. Also, she is fairly certain she is being followed. Plus, it does not help that she occasionally does side jobs for her previous employer. Using everything she has learned from her brief days as an agent for MI5, Juliet attempts to take on the role of the hunter rather than the hunted. With the few people she can trust, and the various clues she can find, Juliet must attempt to outsmart those that have been controlling the situation since before she joined the scene ten years before.

Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set partly in WWII England in the year 1940, and partly ten years later in the year 1950. In the former, Juliet is a young, naive, freshly recruited MI5 agent tasked with transcribing the conversations between a group of British fascists. Eventually she is given the more complicated task of befriending someone in an attempt to gain information and have them arrested. Ten years later, Juliet has made a career for herself in broadcasting, but it seems the events of the past are catching up with her...or they never quite went away. More than anything, Juliet wants to be done with the war and is over receiving cryptic notes, while also having figures from her past coming back to haunt her. But what is reiterated to her more than once is that she will never truly be done, and there are people on both sides who want to make sure that is the case.

My Verdict: After reading Transcription, I can see why there was not as much fuss made over this book as there was about Life After Life. There was a certain cleverness, and also devastating heartbreak, that was present in that book that simply does not appear in this one. Juliet tries to be clever, but ends up coming off as more annoying. In fact, her attempts at wit and cleverness can often serve to prove her naivete rather than dismiss it. Also, the events of Juliet's life, whether within MI5 or outside of it, simply are not that interesting. There is some curiosity surrounding who from her past could resurface and why, but when that mystery is solved, anti-climactic is a more than generous word for how the scene feels. Perhaps it is that historical fiction books (particularly about WWII) are plentiful, and there are better ones out there for a reader to spend their time on. Whatever it is,  Transcription was disappointing, and often boring.

Favorite Moment: When even the dog, Lily, seemed dubious of the entire operation.

Favorite Character: Godfrey, an agent playing the part of a Nazi sympathizer, always managed to remain just out of Juliet's reach, much to her own frustration.

Recommended Reading: There are elements of this book that reminded me of Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. That is a book that people either love, or they hate it with extreme prejudice. I am glad to fall into the former category.