#19 in Literary fiction
Transcription
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About the book
From the “most talented writer of his generation” (The New York Times), a lightning flash of a novel that is at once a gripping emotional drama and a brilliant examination of the devices, digital and literary, we use to store—or to erase—our memories. The narrator of Ben Lerner’s new novel has traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, where he is to conduct what will be the final published interview with Thomas, his ninety-year-old mentor and the father of his college friend, Max. Thomas is a giant in the arts who seems to hail “from the future and the past simultaneously” and who “reenchants the air” when he speaks. But the narrator drops his smartphone in the hotel sink. He arrives at Thomas’s house with no recording device, a fact he is mysteriously unable to confess. What unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is both the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to one another, that store or obliterate memory. Haunted by Kafka (there are echoes of “The Judgement” and “A Hunger Artist”), but utterly contemporary, Lerner combines trenchant insight with lyric mystery. Ultimately, Transcription demonstrates what only a work of fiction can record.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.6 across 53 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 22% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Literary fiction average of 8.3. That is how 8.1 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.6 | 53 | 100% |
Reader voices
The most-liked reviews on Hardcover (credited to their authors).
“I always feel a little targeted by these books. Thanks for the call out to The Left Hand of Darkness and references to specific Providence cross-streets. Still, it's nice. As others noted, it's a quick read and Lerner is a thoughtful writer. I think his narrative writing is a little stronger than his dialogue. And so I was disappointed when the third section was a near-unbroken monologue. I also don't believe that Max and his wife are lawyers. The novel touches on some important ideas - the way we comfort ourselves with technology and how it mediates our relationships to others, the difficu…”
“takes place in 2020-2021ish (early Covid), and told in 3 parts. part 1: unnamed narrator interviews his old professor & mentor Thomas, an eccentric 90yr old dude w memory issues who likes to go on random tangents about history and linguistics. Narrator drops his phone in the sink and can't record this last conversation. He is Stressed about it. Part 2: narrator is confronted by his colleague about falsifying thomas's last words, given that that last convo wasnt actually recorded. Part 3: narrator's college best friend Max recounts his struggle with his daughter's ARFID & difficulty connecting …”
Frequently asked
What is Transcription rated?
8.1 out of 10, from 53 reader ratings across 1 independent sources.
Is Transcription worth reading?
Readers give it 8.1/10 from 53 ratings, which puts it ahead of 62 % of the Literary fiction shelf.
Where does Transcription rank?
#19 in Literary fiction on the current snapshot.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Literary fiction — with scores between 8.1 and 8.2, closest to this book.
