Kadomi reviewed Transcription by Kate Atkinson
Review of 'Transcription' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
That's it, it's official, Kate Atkinson is one of my favorite authors ever. I have read many WWII espionage novels through the years, and they've never super-grabbed me. This one did. Our protagonist is Juliet Armstrong, a young woman who gets recruited by MI5 right after secretary school. Her job is to do transcriptions from a spy operation in London. An older spy is working with British fascists and organizing them, and Juliet transcribes their communication from the flat next to theirs. She also gets to infiltrate a high society Right Wing Club and all could be fine and dandy, but things go wrong, and have repercussions, following her into post-war life when she works at the BBC in the early 50s.
Juliet is naive, not always charming, but witty, and, I dunno, it was just a joy to me to read about her and figure out where the plot …
That's it, it's official, Kate Atkinson is one of my favorite authors ever. I have read many WWII espionage novels through the years, and they've never super-grabbed me. This one did. Our protagonist is Juliet Armstrong, a young woman who gets recruited by MI5 right after secretary school. Her job is to do transcriptions from a spy operation in London. An older spy is working with British fascists and organizing them, and Juliet transcribes their communication from the flat next to theirs. She also gets to infiltrate a high society Right Wing Club and all could be fine and dandy, but things go wrong, and have repercussions, following her into post-war life when she works at the BBC in the early 50s.
Juliet is naive, not always charming, but witty, and, I dunno, it was just a joy to me to read about her and figure out where the plot was going and genuinely being surprised at the end. The cast of characters was interesting. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed a WWII espionage novel and read it super-quickly. Will wonders never cease?