As a kind of literary explorer, Kate Atkinson has conquered every genre she has taken on: the classic character-driven mystery thriller as well as historical fiction and history as time travel. Now she has busted a move on the spy novel. But this is not the grey game of John LeCarre or Graham Greene, but rather a piece of historical fiction where espionage is the engine of the narrative but the vehicle is something else entirely -- a very human story of ordinary people acting on their beliefs. Transcription has all the hallmarks of an Atkinson book: the finely drawn characters, the attention to historical detail, the sparkling dialogue. What it doesn't have is the real sense of menace, intrigue and suspense of the best spy fiction, which takes the reader into what someone once called "the wilderness of mirrors." The reflections are all straightforward in Transcription, just like the verbatim accounts of meetings compiled by our protagonist. There is nothing bad about this novel; it's a good read and worth the time. But cloak and dagger, it ain't. Any similarity between Transcription and spy fiction is purely coincidental.

In my opinion, I was disappointed in Transcription by Kate Atkinson. I found it slow and a little boring at times. It alternated between 1950 (post World War II) and 1940 (World War II).

Juliet, a young eighteen year old woman, living in England during World War II, was anxious to secure a promising job. She was hired by a branch of the MI5. Her job was to listen to conversations between an English spy and German sympathizers and record it in a transcript. Juliet found her job a little boring. It was hard to hear the conversations at times and so she imagined what they probably said and recorded it. After a while, her superior offered her the opportunity to spy on another German sympathizer and try to find the "red book' this woman was in possession of. This assignment put Juliet in more danger than she had bargained for.

The story skipped ahead to 1950 where Juliet now worked for the BBC. Her past involvement with the MI5 seemed to follow her, though. She thought that someone was following her and trying to harm her. She became more and more paranoid as people from her past from MI5 began to materialize and infiltrate into her present life. Juliet felt as if she was in more danger now than she had been back in the 1940's.

The ending of Transcription saved this book for me. Kate Atkinson's explanations in the Author's Notes made things clearer as well. I was expecting more from Transcription and it did not give it to me. It was not hard for me to put this book down. I almost gave up a few times but was determined to finish it.

Thank you Netgalley, Little, Brown, and Company and Kate Atkinson for allowing me to read Transcription.

Reading transcription made me feel like I was back in time, in the 1940's. I never thought about that part of the war effort. It was very interesting looking into every day life in war time. Ms. Atkinson's books are always a good read.

Juliet's story is certainly an interesting take on world WarII espionage. Sometimes I thought the back and forth between the war and then subsequent stories were hard to keep straight. Also Juliet has a son at the end of the book but we know nothing about her life after 1950 I enjoyed this but not as much as some of her earlier books. I would not hesitate to recommend it however. Thank you for letting me read this advance copy.

Transcription is a book which left me with many mixed feelings. At the start of the novel, I was drawn into the story with ease. Yet around the 60% mark, I had started to loose interest and decided to take a break. I am glad that I went back and finished the novel. I enjoyed the puzzle like nature of the book due to the multiple change in time periods. I do believe that the twist at the end was barely foreshadowed and it didn't seem palpable because there didn't seem to be much lead up to it (no spoilers). The man in the astrakhan coat was quite perplexing. At one point he called Juliet by her real name and not her "spy" name. I was never quite certain if that was a typo or intentional. A reading guide would be a great addition at the end of this novel. I believe it would be an excellent novel to discuss with book groups.

While it kept me reading, I kept waiting for something to "happen." Very little did. I loved Life After Life & was hoping to love this one, too, but such is not the case.

It’s 1940 and Juliette Armstrong has been recruited to work for M15. She’s 18 years old and quite naïve. She’s been given the tedious job of transcribing recordings of meetings of British Fascist sympathizers. But she’s soon pulled even deeper into this frightening espionage world. When the war is over, Juliette believes the past is behind her. But she learns that there are still consequences that need to be dealt with.

There are sometimes light hearted moments in this novel that are deceiving because this is quite a deep, thought-provoking work. While I very much enjoyed Juliette’s witty remarks, there are layers and layers to explore in this book. I feel like starting the book from the beginning again and dissecting it, scene by scene, which is not something I’ve ever enjoyed doing. The fragility of loyalty, how thin the line can be between “them” and “us”, how contradictory our inner beliefs can be and how history can be re-shaped in its telling are all explored.

On the negative side, I did get bogged down some with all of the boring transcriptions but I don’t really see how the author could have gotten around those. Also, while most of the book is very realistic and believable, there were some scenes toward the end that were a bit far-fetched.

Overall, this is was a very interesting and enjoyable read. Recommended.

We meet a very young Juliet in the early 1940's as she is recruited to the M15 as a transcriber. She takes this job soon after her mother passes and she has to have a job. By the 1950's Juliet is a radio producer with the BBC. She soon realized again she is working in a similar sinister environment again. Again, Kate Atkinson has grabbed our attention and kept us under her spell with not your usual spy novel. Intriguing, interesting, and captivating. Thank you #netgalley #transcription

Kate Atkinson's latest novel, Transcription, is not your typical spy novel. In a relatively slow-moving story, we follow Juliet Armstrong, a naive young women through her time at MI5 and the BBC. The story was a bit slow to start, but then everything clicked for me and I really enjoyed the story. So many little details of Juliet's past gave me a chuckle and I loved some of the characters that she interacted with, such as Perry Gibbons.

I'd previously loved Life After Life and A God in Ruins, so I'd had high hopes for this one. I didn't love it as much as those books, but it was still a worthwhile read. I'd give it a 3.75.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Little, Brown, and Company for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for a review.

Though my curiosity was piqued from the first page of Transcription, I found that the disjointed nature of the narrative detracted from the quality of the storyline. Juliet’s story had the potential to present readers with a lesser known side of World War II, but the introduction of too many characters and the periodic tendency toward “stream of consciousness” made it difficult to appreciate and fully comprehend the plot at times. Bits of the story were enjoyable and sufficiently suspenseful, but the novel’s conclusion was dissatisfying. Having never read Atkinson before, I had hoped for a more inspiring first foray. However, the author’s note was interesting and presented a value add to an otherwise underwhelming reading experience.

Juliet Armstrong is a solitary nineteen-year-old woman living in London in 1940. MI5 recruits Juliet to transcribe conversations that take place in a flat where Fascist sympathizers meet weekly to report to their handler what they have observed. Juliet has recently lost her mother, and she doesn't mind the solitary work. Cyril, the technician she works with, is an amiable, kind companion in the made over flat.

Time passes, the horrors of the war are over, and ten years later Juliet is working for the BBC. Her handlers start appearing again, and she finds out that the original job was a job for life. Juliet finds herself doing "just one more job" for MI5. Some of the mysterious people surface, and we find out what happened to others.

Transcription is a wonderfully layered novel with Juliet's inner voice as the narrator. We find out how a lonely woman might survive during dangerous times with tragic outcomes. KA writes with details that are precious and often quite funny. This will be another Atkinson winner of a novel for 2018.

I received an advanced copy of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley.

I enjoyed this story of MI5 operatives before, during and after World War II, yet it seemed that something was missing. I think perhaps the denouement occurred too quickly, without enough explanation and while it was somewhat unexpected, I seemed to have missed any of the hints that may or may not have been there.

The plot switches among three time frames as the story unfolds, but the timelines were clearly delineated and easy to follow. The writing was solid and I found some of the tongue in cheek comments quite amusing. Many of the observations about nationalism and fascism were quite relevant to our times.

Kate Atkinson's style of storytelling takes a little getting used to, but once you latch on it's a fun trip! I love that this story runs parallel to events that truly happened. This must have been a fun storyline to research.

There are so many WW2 books out there, but so few that come from the point of view like Juliet's, who finds herself working as a transcriptionist for agents spying on British fascist sympathizers, and while working in this position she finds herself witness to many interesting and terrifying things.

I felt the beginning dragged a tad bit, there are a lot of characters and at times it was hard to tell who was fighting for whom. I suppose, though, that is exactly how it was back then: agents, double agents, etc.. so possibly this was intentional. The second half of the book really held my attention as we got to know the protagonist a bit more (I liked the details of the protagonist's mental ticks of the protagonist, such as rhyming names to objects.). I actually wondered a few times throughout if she might be on the spectrum, as she was extremely literal and matter of fact. I found her a fascinating character.

I would definitely recommend this book. I sped through it pretty quickly, not wanting to put it down.

I loved Life After Life and A God in Ruins by Atkinson, but this latest book left me disappointed. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be a straight historical fiction or a farce, which is problematic. The premise of the book is a story of a young British girl who goes to work in WWII for MI5, the domestic spy group. As Juliet is dragged from a secretarial role of transcribing secret recordings of Nazi sympathizers in London into actually being a spy, the story rolled off the tracks for me. Characters that just did not make sense to me, plot twists that were so contrived they were laughable, and an ending that was a complete let down all combined to make this book a big "miss" for me. Thanks to Net Galley for a free book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for my review. Here is my review:

I JUST finished reading this book and am still digesting it. My initial reaction is "HUH??" WHAT happened?

Juliet Armstrong was recruited for MI5 during the early days of WWII - actually, before Britain was even involved. Her job was to listen to secretly recorded conversations between Nazi sympathizers and transcribe them for "someone" to then read. Everything was very hush-hush, of course, and she was never totally sure who she was working with or FOR, as it turns out!

In addition to her daily work, she was also used as a spy to infiltrate the upper echelons of the group of traitors. This sets up one of the saddest events in the book and changes how Juliet sees her "job"s.

It was very confusing at the first, set in 1981. It was finally explained at the very end, but by then I had to go back and re-read it. The action jumps around, 1940s, 1950s, 1980s? Sometimes it is difficult to keep up, and I didn't really enjoy the 1950s parts.

Kate Atkinson never disappoints. Although there have been a number of female spy in WWII novels lately, Atkinson's superb sense of character makes the story seem so memorable. Juliet is representing a version of all those women who carried on during the war, discovering their strengths and having adventures that will shape and haunt the rest of their lives. The details of the MI5 world shows her skill at historical research and her imagination makes it fit seamlessly together. I always wait for her next work, and gave this 4 stars against all her other work, but 5 next to anyone else.
I received this as a Netgalley ebook advance.

Honestly, this was boring. Maybe it's because this year I also read "Red Joan" by Jennie Rooney, which was an impeccably crafted book about a woman's experience in the British Secret Services, but I don't think it's just that. Juliet isn't that interesting and neither are the people around her. The plot is sort of plodding and dull. To be fair, that's probably the realities of life is a situation like this - a lot of nothing and then something sudden and out of the blue which requires immediate response and then back to drudgery, but it doesn't make a great story. A lot happened in the last three or so chapters which I guess could've made the rest interesting, but it didn't suffice to me.

Kate Atkinson does it again! Suspense, non-linear narration, history, a narrator who isn't sure if she's reliable or paranoid. It's all good! I do admit to feeling a touch confused at the end--not unlike the narrator herself.
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At age 18 in 1940, as she enters a secretarial pool, Juliet is recruited into the world of espionage by MI5. She begins as a transcriptionist (which is painfully boring), and slowly gets involved in some local spying. She struggles to understand who her loyalties lie with, because she can't tell where anyone else's loyalties lie--as a low-level employee, everyone is above her and she knows it is complicated. Somehow she makes it through her confusion and some frightening situations.

In 1950, she is working for BBC radio, another generally boring job. She receives a threatening note, and then runs into two of her colleagues from ten years ago. Is she paranoid? Or is she in someone's sights for her past actions?
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As much as I enjoyed this book, I can't give it 5 stars because:
1) Who is the man in the Astrakhan coat? Were he and Godfrey working for the Americans? I am still a touch confused about the allegiances. Maybe I should not have stayed up way too late to finish the last 10% of my galley?
2) Why did the man in the Astrakhan coat call Juliet by the wrong name the one time they met? She did not notice, I thought this was a huge clue. It went nowhere. Or was this a typo in the Galley?
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Thanks to Net Galley and Little, Brown for providing me with an electronic galley in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I REALLY like Kate Atkinson’s writing, and the writing in this new novel is first-rate. But even my favorite of hers (Life After Life) left me feeling not quite *bright* enough to get the ending and the meaning of the whole thing. Transcription left me with that feeling as well, but I didn’t have the same feelings for the main character to pull me through.

Juliet is a spy, working a boring day-spy job as a transcriptionist and a less boring side job trying to snare other spies for MI6. She is a strong character with a wry take on life, but seems so uncommitted to, well, anything that it was hard to develop strong feelings for her. The plot follows a non-linear timeline, and many of the secondary characters were so indistinguishable that I often had a difficult time understanding what was happening or its implications. But, in the end, Atkinson’s sparkling writing kept me involved enough that I read through my confusion. This was not the tour de force of either Life After Life or A God in Ruins, but I enjoy her writing enough not to be too bothered.

The premise of the novel - the role of women in MI5 during WWII - immediately interested me. Though it was an easy read with strong writing, I just didn’t feel a real connection to the story or the characters.

Thanks to netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.