2 Nov 2019

Transcription - by Kate Atkinson

Although this was different from earlier books by this author, I still really enjoyed reading it. It is complex, with a couple of timelines, but I never found myself lost or confused. There were just enough twists and turns in the story, a good pace and it had a fairly clear ending.

If I have one disappointment, it is that I like to feel that I have learned something from reading a book, even a novel. In this case, I may have learned something about MI5 during and after WW2. However, there were a few very minor factual errors that shake my confidence. For example, it was suggested that people with any German connections in the UK were given a hard time, including those who owned German Shepherd dogs. This sounds reasonable, except that the widespread use of this name for the breed did not come until the 1970s. The author does, to give her credit, say that this is a work of fiction, so the odd fact may be astray. But I do feel this is a little lazy.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Colin,
I read this and found it a tad underwhelming - perhaps not my best start with this author. I suppose my interest in crime fiction means I expected something more pacey. L