Marvellous! This tale of an 18 year old girls very rapid growing up at the onset of WW2 and her induction into MI5 and subsequent adventures is told in the style of the wonderful writers of postWW2 England, such as Muriel Spark and Penelope Fitzgerald. Actually, Atkinson hails Fitzgerald in the Author’s Note that concludes this wonderful book. While I have read Atkinson’s 'Life After Life' and thought it fine I likely would not have read another if ‘Transcription’ had not been recommended in the pages of Louise Erdrich’s amazing story “The Sentence” and its whacky book store characters and their favourite novels, of which “Transcription” was one… but I digress. Ms. Atkinson applies the style of post WW2 writers very effectively, and the narrator/heroine Juliet has an amazing voice; articulate, droll, insightful, witty, brave, and full of cheeky lies. In fact, she lied to me also, and will to you too should you read this tale. The story is based mostly in two time windows, the war and 10 years later, as Juliet’s experiences in MI5 play out, and then the follow up as the past has its consequences. I loved following her adventures and thoughts. 4.5 easy! ( )

Not my favorite of [a:Kate Atkinson|10015|Kate Atkinson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1363801830p2/10015.jpg] but a cracking good tale about a young woman working for MI5 during WWII and the machinations of her co-conspirators. It will keep your interest. ( )

I have quite mixed feelings about this book. I expected to like it: this is Kate Atkinson after all, mistress of the clever, well constructed plot. But though it's well written, though it tells a good tale, I was never fully absorbed. I had the odd feeling of looking down at the story from a height without any real connection to it. The war time section was better. Somehow, the chapters set in the 1950s failed to convince me. I'm writing this review over a week since I finished the book and .... I can't remember the ending. Maybe three stars is a bit generous then. ( )

Her best yet--and that is saying something. Masterful, engaging. I read it nearly in one gulp. ( )

Four stars ‘till near the end, which didn’t come together for me ( )