Transcription. Kate Atkinson. 2018.
Atkinson seems to specialize in mysteries that aren’t really mysteries, or in thrillers that you don’t realize were mysteries until they end and you find out how much you didn’t know. There’s more to her than that - much. But I think at heart most of her novels can be considered deconstructions of the detective novel. There’s some crime that has been committed, or some secret that needs to be uncovered, and a character leads the reader on the path of discovery. Maybe that’s a more succinct way of putting it - all of her novels, in some way, are about discovery.
So what is discovered in Transcription, and who is discovering, and why?
Maybe that all wars are dirty, even World War II - the last one we all agree was justly fought. All of the spies in Transcription are looking for confirmation, rather than information. They already know the status of the people they’re spying on, they know what side they're on, and they seem to know everything about what those people are up to. All they’re looking for are smoking guns; evidence enough for prosecution or execution or exile, or else something they can use for blackmail. A lot of the spying seems largely perfunctory - as if there are certain people who just need watching, and maybe something useful will come of it and maybe not. A lot of the spying seems boring.
Transcription itself isn't boring, but it might be the least glamorous spy novel I’ve ever read, and I’ve read Le Carre. It’s similar to his work, I think, and fans of his might like this. There aren’t heroics, but there are sordid betrayals, and there is a lot of grunt work. Juliet, the main character, can’t properly be called a heroine, but she is real and vital despite all she keeps back.
I’m afraid this is another review I’m keeping brief and vague - there is plenty for the reader to discover here, and it should be discovered at one’s own pace. Atkinson likes to play with time, and the way people both remember and forget things. It wasn’t a favorite of hers, but it’s worth reading.