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chrissie_whitley 's review for:
Transcription
by Kate Atkinson
This was my third [a:Kate Atkinson|10015|Kate Atkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1363801830p2/10015.jpg] novel, but my first in print form. Having previously discovered her through the audio editions of [b:Life After Life|15790842|Life After Life (Todd Family, #1)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1358173808l/15790842._SY75_.jpg|21443207] and [b:A God in Ruins|3722183|A God in Ruins (Todd Family, #2)|Kate Atkinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451442002l/3722183._SY75_.jpg|42652219], I was so pleased to find her beautifully organic and lyrical writing was not dependent on the performance provided by an audiobook.
Atkinson's writing has such a stream-of-consciousness feel to it while still being fully grounded in the plot. Instead of going off and feeling completely untethered from the main storyline, Atkinson uses these flashback moments (which can be, and often are, just a sentence long reaction/memory) to enhance the story. Phrases, smells, sights, and sounds all encourage organic remembrances and Atkinson uses this to full advantage here with deft subtly.
The main character, Juliet Armstrong, has two main time periods, 1940 and 1950, working in large chunks throughout the novel—with a complementary bookended time period of 1981. We spend long swaths of time in each at a go, so it never feels clunky, choppy, or sporadic. It is between these two important eras in Juliet's life that the story oscillates. Some of the moments in 1950, especially any part that lands in the first half of the book, appeared with a hint of stagnation. But the recovery found in the second half was worth it.
Transcription gave me more of what I was looking for in [b:The Alice Network|32051912|The Alice Network|Kate Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492238040l/32051912._SX50_.jpg|50492909] but didn't get. I need a book that lands more in the character study realm rather than something laden with setting descriptions and an emotionally removed narrative. Atkinson has a wonderful way with developing her characters naturally and indirectly so that the people in her books come fully formed and we are getting to know them as we read, rather than the forceful way a plot-driven book can end up being more tell than show.
I will definitely work my way through Atkinson's other published works.
Atkinson's writing has such a stream-of-consciousness feel to it while still being fully grounded in the plot. Instead of going off and feeling completely untethered from the main storyline, Atkinson uses these flashback moments (which can be, and often are, just a sentence long reaction/memory) to enhance the story. Phrases, smells, sights, and sounds all encourage organic remembrances and Atkinson uses this to full advantage here with deft subtly.
The main character, Juliet Armstrong, has two main time periods, 1940 and 1950, working in large chunks throughout the novel—with a complementary bookended time period of 1981. We spend long swaths of time in each at a go, so it never feels clunky, choppy, or sporadic. It is between these two important eras in Juliet's life that the story oscillates. Some of the moments in 1950, especially any part that lands in the first half of the book, appeared with a hint of stagnation. But the recovery found in the second half was worth it.
Transcription gave me more of what I was looking for in [b:The Alice Network|32051912|The Alice Network|Kate Quinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1492238040l/32051912._SX50_.jpg|50492909] but didn't get. I need a book that lands more in the character study realm rather than something laden with setting descriptions and an emotionally removed narrative. Atkinson has a wonderful way with developing her characters naturally and indirectly so that the people in her books come fully formed and we are getting to know them as we read, rather than the forceful way a plot-driven book can end up being more tell than show.
I will definitely work my way through Atkinson's other published works.