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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another amazing feat of storytelling by Kate Atkinson who, once again, has me feeling conflicted about the ending. Still, I'm glad to have known Miss Juliet Armstrong and the cast of characters she encounters on her life's journey.
“Juliet could still remember when Hitler had seemed like a harmless clown. No one was amused now” (p. 85).
MI-5, WWII, spies, and a young female protagonist. Fun!
MI-5, WWII, spies, and a young female protagonist. Fun!
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Kate Atkinson is becoming a favourite author for me.
Her stories are well-written, gritty - without being too depressing, authentic and real page turners.
Highly recommended. Loved this story.
Her stories are well-written, gritty - without being too depressing, authentic and real page turners.
Highly recommended. Loved this story.
I love spy novels, and Transcription instantly piqued my interest and kept a firm grasp on it with the things that set it apart from the vast majority of other books in the genre. Namely:
A female protagonist.
A setting (mostly) away from the action, in this case WWII London, taking place mostly before the Blitz, and ten years later.
And slow burn rather than the overstuffed action of many thrillers in the genre.
But rather than just being a spy novel, Transcription also has great depth, with characters that come alive off the page and scenes detailed with a fine point. Protagonist Juliet, thrust into the world of espionage, staunchly keeps her wits about her throughout the drudgery and the danger of both the war and the world of the BBC. All this is bolstered by Atkinson’s research in the archives of MI5 and plenty of resources about the war and the BBC, as discussed in the author’s note. Overall, this book is fantastic, and I plan on buying a copy when it is released and recommending it to many people.
A female protagonist.
A setting (mostly) away from the action, in this case WWII London, taking place mostly before the Blitz, and ten years later.
And slow burn rather than the overstuffed action of many thrillers in the genre.
But rather than just being a spy novel, Transcription also has great depth, with characters that come alive off the page and scenes detailed with a fine point. Protagonist Juliet, thrust into the world of espionage, staunchly keeps her wits about her throughout the drudgery and the danger of both the war and the world of the BBC. All this is bolstered by Atkinson’s research in the archives of MI5 and plenty of resources about the war and the BBC, as discussed in the author’s note. Overall, this book is fantastic, and I plan on buying a copy when it is released and recommending it to many people.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I like Kate Atkinson's writing, it makes me excited to dive into her backlist.
Juliet was a great unreliable narrator, there were little things in the story about here and there that made me not fully trust her. Each character was well done, I could completely see them in my mind. The only drawback for me was that I wanted more explanations, I know that there are things that are left in the dark on purpose but I wanted more answers, like was her getting hit by the car a setup, or was it an accident?? And the double agent reveal, love it!
Juliet was a great unreliable narrator, there were little things in the story about here and there that made me not fully trust her. Each character was well done, I could completely see them in my mind. The only drawback for me was that I wanted more explanations, I know that there are things that are left in the dark on purpose but I wanted more answers, like was her getting hit by the car a setup, or was it an accident?? And the double agent reveal, love it!