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thrifty_librarian 's review for:
The Transcriptionist
by Amy Rowland
This is the story of Lena, a news transcriptionist, and a blind stranger. Lena meets the stranger on the way home from work one day. Lena is in the throes of a migraine, and the stranger takes Lena's hand and helps her through it. Just days later, Lena transcribes a story about a blind woman who committed suicide by feeding herself to lions at the zoo. What follows is Lena's search for more information about the woman she met so briefly and what would cause her to choose to die in this way.
Though the above is the main thread of the novel, most of the scenes actually take place at Lena's workplace. For the most part, Lena is treated as a machine. The people who call in or drop off stories for her to type forget that she's a person and interact with her as little as possible. Lena questions what makes something newsworthy and thinks a lot about her interactions with her coworkers and the public.
The concept of this novel is like nothing else I've seen before. I loved the mysterious elements, the strange encounters, and the sprinkled news articles. At times, though, the novel is too self-aware, like the story exists to prove a point rather than for the sake of it. Of course, all good books have a message, but what makes them GOOD is that the reader feels that she has come to the message herself, rather than that the author has delivered it to her.
Lena, despite her menial work, is an academic. She's read quite a lot and can quote, like, all of it. And boy, does she. I don't mind when authors reference famous works, but here the references are so frequent that they were tiring. It's like, we get it, author, you've read a ton of stuff and are therefore qualified to write something yourself. Lena is so caught up in her head and spends so much time thinking deep thoughts that at times I hoped she'd visit the lions herself.
The last third of the book was the best part. I enjoyed the resolution to the mystery, Lena's evolution and how the other relationships in her life were tied up. And as a dedicated hippie animal lover, I loved the bits about the lions' feelings and the pigeon who lived outside of Lena's transcription room.
A unique debut. Hopefully more will follow from the author.
Though the above is the main thread of the novel, most of the scenes actually take place at Lena's workplace. For the most part, Lena is treated as a machine. The people who call in or drop off stories for her to type forget that she's a person and interact with her as little as possible. Lena questions what makes something newsworthy and thinks a lot about her interactions with her coworkers and the public.
The concept of this novel is like nothing else I've seen before. I loved the mysterious elements, the strange encounters, and the sprinkled news articles. At times, though, the novel is too self-aware, like the story exists to prove a point rather than for the sake of it. Of course, all good books have a message, but what makes them GOOD is that the reader feels that she has come to the message herself, rather than that the author has delivered it to her.
Lena, despite her menial work, is an academic. She's read quite a lot and can quote, like, all of it. And boy, does she. I don't mind when authors reference famous works, but here the references are so frequent that they were tiring. It's like, we get it, author, you've read a ton of stuff and are therefore qualified to write something yourself. Lena is so caught up in her head and spends so much time thinking deep thoughts that at times I hoped she'd visit the lions herself.
The last third of the book was the best part. I enjoyed the resolution to the mystery, Lena's evolution and how the other relationships in her life were tied up. And as a dedicated hippie animal lover, I loved the bits about the lions' feelings and the pigeon who lived outside of Lena's transcription room.
A unique debut. Hopefully more will follow from the author.