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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
This book was a weird book, I must say. I really enjoyed the diverse characterizations but I didn’t enjoy the book overall. It felt fragmented, and even though it spanned decades, the main character didn’t really grow. When she lays dying in the street, I think I cared less at the end of the book than I did during the flash forward at the beginning.
Interesting enough. Probably best read at once and not listened to in pieces. WW2 spies.
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Yay WWII spy novels!
It was hard to feel an affinity with the proagonist, as she was a compulsive liar, and therefore hard to pin down. But I enjoyed her spunk, her naïveté, and her conscience, when others around her seemed to have little of it. Well, lying didn't bother her conscience, but other things certainly did.
I am still thinking about the cryptic ending, the layers of meaning, the symbology (birds and lambs), and who was really on what side.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse into life in a country and time where the war was so all-consuming that neighbors suspected each other and everyone was subject to rationing and blackouts. Toward the ending, there were some interesting reveals. Atkinson is really funny, too. I had so much enjoyment from this one.
A favorite passage, in which our heroine goes on a weekend excursion with her MI5 boss/handler, whom she finds handsome and is hoping will seduce her:
"They drove to the Hambledon Valley, where they swapped the comforting warmth of the car’s interior for a chilly riverbank. It’s still only April, for heaven’s sake, she thought, but Perry seemed insensible to weather, although his layers of tweed must be keeping him warmer than her own ensemble—a rather light coat, thin sweater and her best skirt. Not to mention her good pair of stockings and smart shoes, for she had been expecting to be viewing the landscape from the windows of the car, not to find herself standing in the middle of it. “Countryside” was more of a concept for Juliet than a reality.
“Otters,” he whispered, spreading a tarpaulin sheet on the riverbank.
“Sir?” Had he said otters? Not seduction then."
It was hard to feel an affinity with the proagonist, as she was a compulsive liar, and therefore hard to pin down. But I enjoyed her spunk, her naïveté, and her conscience, when others around her seemed to have little of it. Well, lying didn't bother her conscience, but other things certainly did.
I am still thinking about the cryptic ending, the layers of meaning, the symbology (birds and lambs), and who was really on what side.
It was fascinating to get a glimpse into life in a country and time where the war was so all-consuming that neighbors suspected each other and everyone was subject to rationing and blackouts. Toward the ending, there were some interesting reveals. Atkinson is really funny, too. I had so much enjoyment from this one.
A favorite passage, in which our heroine goes on a weekend excursion with her MI5 boss/handler, whom she finds handsome and is hoping will seduce her:
"They drove to the Hambledon Valley, where they swapped the comforting warmth of the car’s interior for a chilly riverbank. It’s still only April, for heaven’s sake, she thought, but Perry seemed insensible to weather, although his layers of tweed must be keeping him warmer than her own ensemble—a rather light coat, thin sweater and her best skirt. Not to mention her good pair of stockings and smart shoes, for she had been expecting to be viewing the landscape from the windows of the car, not to find herself standing in the middle of it. “Countryside” was more of a concept for Juliet than a reality.
“Otters,” he whispered, spreading a tarpaulin sheet on the riverbank.
“Sir?” Had he said otters? Not seduction then."
I love Atkinson's sense of the absurd in the everyday as well as her use of language and wry humour. She comes up trumps yet again in this 'things are not what they seem' tale of Britain's MI5 in the Second World War and the subsequent Cold War.
I rarely write reviews, but I am stumped by all of the positive reviews here. Atkinson has been hailed for the “complex storytelling” in this novel. I would say convoluted, wandering and confused storytelling. Well developed characters? I would say haphazardly drawn and bizarre characters. This book was a slog-I obviously missed the brilliance contained therein.
I liked this book a lot. On its own, it is well written, funny, and interesting. As a part of Kate Atkinson's repertoire, it is decent, but not amazing.
It is historical fiction, following a young woman who finds herself working as a spy for MI5, doing transcription and other minor duties.
The ending is great.
Her inner dialogue is also amusing and adds some lightheartedness to the whole affair. It jumps around in time a bit but is not confusing.
I recommend this to anyone that likes war novels, historical fiction, or is searching for a female protagonist with spunk and smarts.
It is historical fiction, following a young woman who finds herself working as a spy for MI5, doing transcription and other minor duties.
The ending is great.
Her inner dialogue is also amusing and adds some lightheartedness to the whole affair. It jumps around in time a bit but is not confusing.
I recommend this to anyone that likes war novels, historical fiction, or is searching for a female protagonist with spunk and smarts.
Transcription vamp: relax, everyone, the new Kate Atkinson’s here and it’s OK. There was a worry after her last that she, much like her characters, was doomed to repeat the same cycle of events time after time. And, whilst Transcription has a certain book group coziness about it, there is a welcome return of the dash of vinegar that used to be her hallmark. A torrid tale of wartime espionage, Fifth Columnists routed, a distaff version of Dad’s Army, but ultimately everything ‘s not what it seems - it’s over today. Plus, I learned what a siren suit is, and a librarian of my acquaintance is namechecked in the credits. Huzzah!
What is in a name?
Sliding effortlessly back and forth across Juliet's story, we are immersed in the politics of Politics, the machinations of MI5, and the suspicions of spies. As we dig deeper into this fabulous story we begin wonder who Juliet was and who she is now. Deeper still, we ask that of ourselves.
Really good fiction is borne from imagination. Great fiction is derived from truths. And Atkins bears this out in her meticulous research, available to all in the resources pages. I for one will be adding so many of them to my "want to read" list.
Atkinson at her best.
[b:Transcription|37946414|Transcription|Kate Atkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521173471s/37946414.jpg|64175388]
Sliding effortlessly back and forth across Juliet's story, we are immersed in the politics of Politics, the machinations of MI5, and the suspicions of spies. As we dig deeper into this fabulous story we begin wonder who Juliet was and who she is now. Deeper still, we ask that of ourselves.
Really good fiction is borne from imagination. Great fiction is derived from truths. And Atkins bears this out in her meticulous research, available to all in the resources pages. I for one will be adding so many of them to my "want to read" list.
Atkinson at her best.
[b:Transcription|37946414|Transcription|Kate Atkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1521173471s/37946414.jpg|64175388]