Transcription by Kate Atkinson, from the beginning, introduces a lot of characters other than the main character Juliet Armstrong, and I am not sure which ones will be important later and which ones I should remember. The book then also jumps in time and place, making it more difficult to keep the characters straight or invest in any of the side stories. Unfortunately, I find myself without a connection to any of the characters or the story itself, making it a really challenging read.
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/05/transcription.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/05/transcription.html
Reviewed for NetGalley
Kate Atkinson's writing is shot through with wry British humor, the sidelong type that keeps you guessing a bit about what is actually going on. Distinctive characters who each have a secret or two up their sleeves. Based on some actual happenings in Great Britain during World War Two and afterwards. A very enjoyable read.
In 1940 Juliet is 18 and works for M15 transcribing recorded conversations among suspected German sympathizers. She then becomes a spy and infiltrates that ring. In 1950 post WWII London she is working for the BBC and suddenly keeps coming across some of the old people she used to work for and is lured back into the spy business. She comes across at 18 as innocent and naïve and at 28 as more hardened worldly. The book begins and ends with a few pages each in 1981 where she is struck by a car crossing the road and then has this flashback to her life in 1940 and 1950. Then in the last 20 or so pages we learn she was a double spy for Russia, had to escape the country to Italy, and then in 1981 again she dies. I couldn't keep up with all of who was spying for who and the double agents. Maybe because I was reading it too late at night and was sleepy. But that twist at the end was a little surprise even though there were some hints along the way that all was not as it seemed. I thought the 1981 ending was a little abrupt. Not suspenseful.
