This powerful debut follows a woman who sets out to challenge the absurdity of the world around her. Lena, the transcriptionist, sits alone in a room far away from the hum of the newsroom that is the heart of the Record, the New York City newspaper for which she works.
For years, she has been the ever-present link for reporters calling in stories from around the world. This powerful debut follows a woman who sets out to challenge the absurdity of the world around her. Lena, the transcriptionist, sits alone in a room far away from the hum of the newsroom that is the heart of the Record, the New York City newspaper for which she works. For years, she has been the ever-present link for reporters calling in stories from around the world. Turning spoken words to print, Lena is the vein that connects the organs of the paper. She is loyal, she is unquestioning, yet technology is dictating that her days there are numbered.
When she reads a shocking piece in the paper about a Jane Doe mauled to death by a lion, she recognizes the woman in the picture. They had met on a bus just a few days before. Obsessed with understanding what caused the woman to deliberately climb into the lion's den, Lena begins a campaign for truth that will destroy the Record's complacency and shake the venerable institution to its very foundation. An exquisite novel that asks probing questions about journalism and ethics, about the decline of the newspaper and the failure of language, it is also the story of a woman's effort to establish her place in an increasingly alien and alienating world. In a room with walls painted the color of an old opossum, Lena Respass sits alone, headset in place, transcribing tapes for the reporters of a New York City newspaper. Located on the 11th floor of the building, it is rare when anyone has occasion to come to the Recording Room in person. Lena's sole company is a pigeon who inexplicably never leaves the ledge outside the dingy window.
Lena is losing herself in all the words. Through the Dictaphone, it all comes through her, into her ears and out In a room with walls painted the color of an old opossum, Lena Respass sits alone, headset in place, transcribing tapes for the reporters of a New York City newspaper. Located on the 11th floor of the building, it is rare when anyone has occasion to come to the Recording Room in person. Lena's sole company is a pigeon who inexplicably never leaves the ledge outside the dingy window. Lena is losing herself in all the words. Through the Dictaphone, it all comes through her, into her ears and out of her fingertips, endless words and headlines and quotes.For those readers who enjoy a tale that is slightly on the odd side, this may be one for your consideration.
A medical transcriptionist is a skilled typist, excellent at interpreting what they read or hear, and a good grammarian.They also have to have strong familiarity with medical language and terms. Further, medical transcriptionists must be able to take what they hear and edit it, transform it, or make it logical without changing relevant details or medical information.
It is a quiet little book with a haunting quality to it. With lions and pigeons and reporters, the pecking order proves most interesting. In our lives, we are all encaged in one way or another.
This debut novel will leave you with some things to ponder. I picked up The Transcriptionist from a pile of books heaped on a table; an offering between friends.
The stark coloration and lack of back-cover blurb seized my attention; in a world of merchants and pundits, it feels good to choose one's media on a whim lightly sold. So when I cracked the cover I already felt a hint of serendipity, though little did I know how deep this feeling would reach.Several years ago I conceived a story inspired by Herman Melville's short story Bartleby; The Scrivener. I picked up The Transcriptionist from a pile of books heaped on a table; an offering between friends. The stark coloration and lack of back-cover blurb seized my attention; in a world of merchants and pundits, it feels good to choose one's media on a whim lightly sold.
So when I cracked the cover I already felt a hint of serendipity, though little did I know how deep this feeling would reach.Several years ago I conceived a story inspired by Herman Melville's short story Bartleby; The Scrivener. In that famous tale, the young man referenced in the title systematically detaches himself from society despite the best intentions of his boss who also narrates the drama. It isn't until the end of The Scrivener that the source of Bartleby's depression is revealed; he worked for years at the Dead Letter Office, a branch of the post-office tasked with sorting undeliverable mail.
And the weight of all this lost human connection had slowly squashed his soul. The story I sought to write was the story of a woman working in the modern incarnation of the Dead Letter Office. She would work alone, largely taken for granted, with the weight of her unenviable profession slowly sapping her life the way as it had Bartleby's 150 years before. She discovers a sense of purpose when she stumbles upon a letter that isn't quite dead; perhaps she recognizes a name. Holy smokes this book.
Thank you Amy Rowland.ACTUAL REVIEWthere are few books about suicide that are transcendentally life-affirming. I'm thinking of. What these book do, they get suicide. They get that some people have reasons (let us not dare reduce those reasons to a finite, let alone small, number) to want to terminate their lives. These books accompany the suiciders, often (as in the cases above) through a character who tries to Holy smokes this book. I’m so moved.
Thank you Amy Rowland.ACTUAL REVIEWthere are few books about suicide that are transcendentally life-affirming. I'm thinking of. What these book do, they get suicide. They get that some people have reasons (let us not dare reduce those reasons to a finite, let alone small, number) to want to terminate their lives.
These books accompany the suiciders, often (as in the cases above) through a character who tries to figure out their lives (not their deaths; their deaths are easy to figure out).The Transcriptionist joins the above masterpieces in their special pantheon. In it, the protagonist, lena, the eponymous transcriptionist for the NYC paper of record (coyly called 'The Record'), the last of her kind, decides to find out why a woman she once met briefly on the bus (this woman made an impression on her) decided to die in a most bizarre and probably painful way (she crossed the moat that surrounds the lions' island at the zoo at night and was mauled).The Transcriptionist is about gentle souls who are overwhelmed by the enormity of other people's/creatures' pain and don't know how to keep this pain in their mind while also staying themselves alive. It is really about bravery cuz, most of us, what we do, we put this enormity out of our minds. But there are brave gentle souls who can't.
Lena, our hero, decides that the best way to keep the pain of the world at a remove is to put words between it and herself. As a transcriptionist, she metabolizes pain and suffering into signs and that's it, it's out of her mind, it's gone.except it isn't.ever.this book is lena's journey toward acceptance of the fact that one can hold the pain of others inside and still live and thrive. It is harrowing, in some ways (as are the two books i mention above), but also a majestic lesson in how maddeningly simple it all is.
The key (quite a few keys make their appearance in this book) is there for the taking, and the lock for the opening. And one must, quite simply, cross the threshold, and sit, and look around at what is rather than what isn't, and be okay. What an odd one. On one hand, I found it quite poignant and moving and subtle and lovely, and on the other, I found it a bit pretentious and uncommitted and more than a little unsettling. It's like Amy Rowland has written a whimsical short story but there's no magical realism and it's 250 pages long, and the whole thing just feels very different than most books I've read lately. I think I liked it, and I think it's a 3.5, but really I'm just not all that sure.There are some really beautifully What an odd one.
On one hand, I found it quite poignant and moving and subtle and lovely, and on the other, I found it a bit pretentious and uncommitted and more than a little unsettling. It's like Amy Rowland has written a whimsical short story but there's no magical realism and it's 250 pages long, and the whole thing just feels very different than most books I've read lately. I think I liked it, and I think it's a 3.5, but really I'm just not all that sure.There are some really beautifully written passages, and some interesting observations on the news and the brutality and beauty of humanity, and some memorable details (cold cereal in the fridge!). But I'm not sure I actually get it. It seems like I'm missing something out of the lion motif- is it a metaphor?
Regardless of my lingering doubts, I'll be happy to read whatever Rowland comes up with next, because her voice feels fresh and smart and snappy.Also: good cover. I'd like it in a hipster t-shirt, please. Lena is a transcriptionist.
She sits alone in a small room on an upper floor of the Record, a newspaper in New York city, and listens to the recordings of reporters hour after hour, day after day, in a job that seems.endless and is bordering on obsolescence. One day she encounters a blind woman on the bus and they form a temporary bond that will throw Lena's careful life into a crisis of sorts. From that will grow this very interesting novel.The Middlemarch passage that the blind woman quoted Lena is a transcriptionist. She sits alone in a small room on an upper floor of the Record, a newspaper in New York city, and listens to the recordings of reporters hour after hour, day after day, in a job that seems.endless and is bordering on obsolescence. One day she encounters a blind woman on the bus and they form a temporary bond that will throw Lena's careful life into a crisis of sorts.
From that will grow this very interesting novel.The Middlemarch passage that the blind woman quotedfloats before her eyes, as if she is transcribing for theauthor and watching the words appear above. 'If we had akeen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, itwould be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel'sheart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies onthe other side of silence.' (p 24And as she sought more information on this woman's death (don't worry, this is not really a spoiler), Lena hears that roar of her own pseudo-life, the newspaper, the reporters around her.I enjoy Rowland's descriptions of New York and of Lena's experience of New York. Here is the black out in the city.If white is the color of panic, what is blackness,this blackness?
A black blanket thrown over the panic,not snuffing it out, no, not the absence of panic, nothere, not now, not anymore. But still it is a soothingdarkness, a hot black frost that, for once, allowsNew Yorkers to spill out onto the streets with a senseof wonder that they can never show in the light. Andmore thrilling is the notion that there is dangerunderneath, that they are children walking on thesleeping dragon's back.
(p 59)As Lena seeks out answers for the life of this other woman, she also, increasingly seeks answers in her own life. This is an existential search that I am very happy I witnessed.This being Rowland's debut, I am very much looking forward to what will follow.A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for the purpose of review. Pros:I was invested in the protagonist, Lena, throughout the book.NYC setting was very well done.Satire (or at least critique) of the news biz was well done without being made into a huge drama (or farce), and using a peripheral character here worked especially well.Cons:The pacing/plotting was tricky in that the book was rather slow at first, and hurried later. However, it's a debut novel, so I'm cutting slack a bit for that.
Had the book been much longer, it would've seemed drawn out.Story Pros:I was invested in the protagonist, Lena, throughout the book.NYC setting was very well done.Satire (or at least critique) of the news biz was well done without being made into a huge drama (or farce), and using a peripheral character here worked especially well.Cons:The pacing/plotting was tricky in that the book was rather slow at first, and hurried later. However, it's a debut novel, so I'm cutting slack a bit for that. Had the book been much longer, it would've seemed drawn out.Story required a bit of suspension-of-disbelief at times (no deal breaker, but happened).Audio narration was very good.Definitely recommended, and I'd be quite interested in more from the author. I loved this - it's very taut writing, carefully building a plot that is unusual - even weird - but somehow works. It's surprisingly riveting for being such a strange and largely introspective story.
There's also Rowland's use of equally strange but apt imagery and motifs that recur throughout: the lions, which appear on the cover, and the idea of hunting and being hunted; but also blindness/deafness, and the idea of using one's senses to be a filter for others' thoughts and words, being a kind I loved this - it's very taut writing, carefully building a plot that is unusual - even weird - but somehow works. It's surprisingly riveting for being such a strange and largely introspective story. There's also Rowland's use of equally strange but apt imagery and motifs that recur throughout: the lions, which appear on the cover, and the idea of hunting and being hunted; but also blindness/deafness, and the idea of using one's senses to be a filter for others' thoughts and words, being a kind of animate machine absorbing and then regurgitating pain. And then there is the idea of identity itself. Objectivity and subjectivity. Who are you, who do you become, if you are (reduced to?
Used as?) a pain machine? There is a clever description of a homeless woman's giving up her name, and then choosing a new one; Lena, our protagonist, is called Carol for the longest time by a reporter; even the lion motif plays into this identity/naming theme with a story from Lena's childhood about a mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther (take your pick) coming up again and again and being important in any number of ways that link to strands of the story. There is memory and remembrance and legacy, and most importantly, there is the exploration of what it is to exist, what it is to be, with its companion, what it is not to be (trigger warning: there is a lot of death and suicide in this novel), and what, in the end - despite all our puny sorrows - gives a life meaning.The setting feels both timeless and anachronistic (is that possible? It is here!). Everything seems slightly surreal but also very real, in that we are clearly in NYC, landmarks are named (Gramercy Park, Times Square, The Algonquin Hotel, the New York Public Library with its - natch - stone lions). This was a book I picked up recently, having read nothing about it. The premise of a woman working alone, as the last transcriptionist in a New York newspaper intrigued me.
Lena is a lonely woman, and an eccentric soul for a young woman of the 21st century. She lives in the YMCA, a very old-fashioned choice for a single woman of her age. Her life appears to be limited in a number of ways. She interacts with few people. One is a homeless woman who asks her for 50 cents everyday. She used to ask This was a book I picked up recently, having read nothing about it. The premise of a woman working alone, as the last transcriptionist in a New York newspaper intrigued me.
Lena is a lonely woman, and an eccentric soul for a young woman of the 21st century. She lives in the YMCA, a very old-fashioned choice for a single woman of her age. Her life appears to be limited in a number of ways. She interacts with few people. One is a homeless woman who asks her for 50 cents everyday. She used to ask for 25 cents but inflation affects all our transactions.
At work, she works on one of the top floors, the only person on that floor. As a resident of the YMCA, she has access to a gated park nearby, something more often associated with London neighborhoods. So even in her leisure time, she is protected from the general public.Her work focuses on words.
This leads her to wonder what happens to the words that are captured in print, and those that are discarded. She muses about the changes in what and who we remember, and who and what we forget. Important public figures have obituaries on file, ready to publish when they die.
Some people barely merit a short obituary, and others are forgotten. Lena is haunted by someone she meets who dies soon after their chance encounter. She needs to know more about this woman.This is a novel that asks questions about the meaning of the news, how we get it, why words matter, and what happens to all the words and news that are discarded. How has our world changed as our way of getting the news has moved from newspapers to digital outlets? What is lost beyond words? There is an older man she meets who spends his time hidden away in a forgotten office organizing copies of obituaries.
After finishing the book, I remembered a friend who lived in New York who was an actor (mostly unemployed). He started making scrapbooks of newspaper obituaries of artists - actors, film stars, painters etc. In the late 1970's-early 1980's.Sadly he died after a fall when he was still young.
He was one of those people whose obituary didn't appear in the New York Times, and ironically wouldn't have been in his scrapbooks.This is a book that reminded me of. Not because the themes or even the characters were similar, but because it created a feeling in me that was similar. I am always delighted when I discover a book with no preconceptions of what I will find between the covers, that I love.
This is one of those rare finds. Lina works as a transcriptionist in an important New York newspaper. But transcripting isn't just her job - it's her whole being.
She lives her life through the words of others. She is almost invisible, hidden in far corner of the newspaper building, without anyone knowing her name.
The only person who calls her by name does it by the wrong one. In response to events in her daily life, quotes from books she has read and from articles she has worked on keep popping into her mind.
She almost never Lina works as a transcriptionist in an important New York newspaper. But transcripting isn't just her job - it's her whole being.
She lives her life through the words of others. She is almost invisible, hidden in far corner of the newspaper building, without anyone knowing her name. The only person who calls her by name does it by the wrong one. In response to events in her daily life, quotes from books she has read and from articles she has worked on keep popping into her mind. She almost never has words of her own. As opposed to all of those verbal reporters she works with, Lina is almost speechless. Speech is one of the strongest motifs in the novel.
Lina is like the dictaphone she uses for her work - recorded in her mind are texts written by others in different times and places, but no original texts which reflect her authentic self.In the beginning of the novel, Lina hears about a blind woman who has entered the lions' den in the zoo and was eaten by them. Later she remembers that she has met the woman a few days beforehand on the bus. It seems that the idea of losing a sense is very troubling to Lina. One of the episodes' title sayd that hearing is the last sense we lose before we die. For Lina, losing her hearing is death.
She also seems to be much troubled (but also drawn to) death, especially the choice of suicide. She watches reporters jump to their deaths, and is interested in the possibility that the blind woman's death was a suicide. But is Lina's life can truly be considered as living? If you can't find your own words and live authentically, are you really alive? Lina tries to convince the pigeon on her window seal to jump into the scary air outside.
Will she be able to jump out and fly, or will she fall down?Profound writing, thought provoking and unique. Once upon a time, I worked in a profession that involved transcribing depositions and legal documents so when I saw the title of this novel, I just had to read it. While the 4th floor newsroom of a large New York City newspaper is abuzz with activity, our protagonist Lena takes the creaky old elevator up to her lonely space The Recording Room on the 11th floor. Day after day she sits alone transcribing news stories. Her only consistent companion with whom she carries on one-sided conversations Once upon a time, I worked in a profession that involved transcribing depositions and legal documents so when I saw the title of this novel, I just had to read it. While the 4th floor newsroom of a large New York City newspaper is abuzz with activity, our protagonist Lena takes the creaky old elevator up to her lonely space The Recording Room on the 11th floor. Day after day she sits alone transcribing news stories.
Her only consistent companion with whom she carries on one-sided conversations is a pigeon who perches outside her window. Hers is a career on the brink of extinction. Words are a huge part of her self, totally absorbing her. Even during sleep – her brain doesn’t rest. When Lena comes across a story about a blind woman who entered a zoo’s lions den and was mauled to death, she recognizes the woman as someone who she sat next to on a bus and carried on a brief but memorable conversation just days before. Lena becomes obsessed with the reported details of the case and begins her own quest to find out what really happened to this mysterious woman, challenging the journalistic institution and its principles. Written by a woman who spent a number of years as a transcriptionist at the New York Times, the story is insightful.
It is a subtle and steady book and an impressive debut. I think this book has a lot going for it.
It has an interesting premise: newspaper transcriptionist gets obsessed with a news story about a blind woman who commits suicide by jumping into the lion cage at the zoo. It's terribly Literary and has lots of Themes, like whether or not true objectivity exists, the death of printed news, etc. I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Russell, who's a total douchebag with enough earnest enthusiasm for you to sometimes forget that he's a total I think this book has a lot going for it. It has an interesting premise: newspaper transcriptionist gets obsessed with a news story about a blind woman who commits suicide by jumping into the lion cage at the zoo.
It's terribly Literary and has lots of Themes, like whether or not true objectivity exists, the death of printed news, etc. I particularly enjoyed the characterization of Russell, who's a total douchebag with enough earnest enthusiasm for you to sometimes forget that he's a total douchebag. But all in all, it felt rather dull, and if not precisely predictable, then certainly nothing as inspired and unique as the premise and accolades suggest.The priceless expression of the HR generalist handling my paperwork after she asked, 'What are you reading?' And I replied with, 'This book about a newspaper transcriptionist and a lady who gets eaten by lions,' made it all worthwhile, though. Kind of like that time I mentioned to my roommates freshman year of college that I consider The Basic Eight, which is essentially about a girl who kills her classmate with a croquet mallet, to be one of my all-time favorite comfort reads.
Occasionally I wonder if out there somewhere is the perfect novel which I will never know about. How could you, when you think about it? So many books to read and only one lifetime (unless heaven is a vast library). And then this book was recommended to me and that fear subsides a little: at least one perfect novel found and read.I had never even heard of this author or this book, but I'm captivated by the writing and the original plot.
This is the sort of book I could read in a day because I Occasionally I wonder if out there somewhere is the perfect novel which I will never know about. How could you, when you think about it? So many books to read and only one lifetime (unless heaven is a vast library). And then this book was recommended to me and that fear subsides a little: at least one perfect novel found and read.I had never even heard of this author or this book, but I'm captivated by the writing and the original plot. This is the sort of book I could read in a day because I don't want to put it down. However, even I can't mow the lawn or chop the logs and read at the same time, so, as usual, I'll update when finished.Well, all I can say is if you love books, words and find people endlessly fascinating, read this novel. The plot defies description to be honest, except to say it's about someone's quest to find herself through attempting to find someone else.Wonderful novel.
Every page is a gem. I see many glowing reviews here, and I know I'm going to be the awkward potato this time. Because, I couldn't bring myself to finish this supposedly great book.I couldn't stand the writing style!
The unimportant details! The slow pace! The flat voice of Lena!At first, I was curious about what had actually happened with the dead woman, but as the story went just as statically boring as being the transcriptionist itself, I couldn't give anymore damn about this book.More complete rambling on my I see many glowing reviews here, and I know I'm going to be the awkward potato this time. Because, I couldn't bring myself to finish this supposedly great book.I couldn't stand the writing style! The unimportant details! The slow pace!
The flat voice of Lena!At first, I was curious about what had actually happened with the dead woman, but as the story went just as statically boring as being the transcriptionist itself, I couldn't give anymore damn about this book.More complete rambling on my book blog,. Picking up The Transcriptionist was definitely a cover-lust moment for me.
I can't say I'm thrilled I gave in this time, but I'm not unhappy either which kind of sums up how I felt about the novel overall.1. Was the story fun to read? I think this was a classic case of misplaced expectations.
By the description, I thought The Transcriptionist was going to be a genre-bender, a literary mystery, and I was so curious to discover why a blind woman would swim a moat in order to feed Picking up The Transcriptionist was definitely a cover-lust moment for me. I can't say I'm thrilled I gave in this time, but I'm not unhappy either which kind of sums up how I felt about the novel overall.1. Was the story fun to read? I think this was a classic case of misplaced expectations.
By the description, I thought The Transcriptionist was going to be a genre-bender, a literary mystery, and I was so curious to discover why a blind woman would swim a moat in order to feed herself to lions. There had to be a reason that was as fascinating as the act itself, but there wasn't.
The premise was so incredible that the resolution couldn't help but be anticlimactic.2. Did the characters intrigue me?
I didn't relate to any of them, and none were fascinating enough to really draw me into their worlds. The protagonist mostly just hated her job and was lonely. She seemed passionless overall with a few moments of intense emotion, which I think was the point, but it didn't make for an interesting character. I was right there with her wanting to uncover the mystery of the lion suicide, but then her search seemed more about finding her own voice than an answer. I get it; I just wanted to be reading a different book.3. Did the premise make me think? You can't help but mull this one over.
It's about voice, identity, and how we can be so obsessed with remembering and repeating the words of others, we forget to have something to say for ourselves. The symbolism was a little overwhelming: big cats everywhere they could be squeezed into the narrative, birds that couldn't fly, etc.
Were it a little subtler, I might have enjoyed discovering it upon closer inspection, but in this case, no further inspection was needed. It screamed at me, 'SYMBOLISM!' I couldn't help but see it.The Transcriptionist felt, to me, like a book that would have been on my list of required reading in college. We would have had a seminar, in which every student would have found it incredibly easy to participate. I recommend this book to people who love to delve into stories and pick them apart, to discuss and write papers.
I don't feel it's ground-breaking, but it would be a great read for practicing literary analysis. And of course, the whole thing is just so beautifully written. I gave up on this book - and only 3-4 chapters in - which I rarely do. What is the opposite of subtle? Whatever it is, that is the adjective I would assign. A paragraph in the first chapter is a perfect example. The writer includes several metaphoric sentences to describe the newsroom (something about an opossum), then ends the paragraph with, 'Gray.'
I wanted to shout, 'Yes, we got it! Why are you hitting us over the head with it?' She really did herself a disservice by spelling it I gave up on this book - and only 3-4 chapters in - which I rarely do.
What is the opposite of subtle? Whatever it is, that is the adjective I would assign. A paragraph in the first chapter is a perfect example. The writer includes several metaphoric sentences to describe the newsroom (something about an opossum), then ends the paragraph with, 'Gray.' I wanted to shout, 'Yes, we got it! Why are you hitting us over the head with it?' She really did herself a disservice by spelling it out for us.
I don't think this is spoiler, but I find it impossible to believe that a transcriptionist would read a story about a blind woman who was mauled by lions and spend hours wondering why the blind woman seemed familiar, when she had just had a highly unusual and unsettling conversation on the bus ABOUT LIONS, WITH A BLIND WOMAN, a mere three days ago. I found this even harder to buy into once I learned that the transcriptionist rarely has conversations with anyone.I read a few reviews just now, and many other readers gave this book 3 or 4 stars.
Maybe I would have given a different rating if I'd actually finished the book. But with all of the amazing and well-written books out there, why would I struggle through one that annoyed me so much?
It went back to the library yesterday. A strange little book, this, and I mean that in only the most complementary way.
When one sets out to write a story that is just a bit off-kilter, it seems to me that the biggest challenge the author faces is a consistency of tone that does not become tedious, but Rowland pulls it off with seeming ease. This really is quite a wonderful read.As the title suggests, our heroine, Lena, is a transcriptionist. She works for a major daily newspaper in New York City, transcribing tape recorded A strange little book, this, and I mean that in only the most complementary way. When one sets out to write a story that is just a bit off-kilter, it seems to me that the biggest challenge the author faces is a consistency of tone that does not become tedious, but Rowland pulls it off with seeming ease. This really is quite a wonderful read.As the title suggests, our heroine, Lena, is a transcriptionist. She works for a major daily newspaper in New York City, transcribing tape recorded interviews and stories of those reporters who don't have ready access to a computer but can call in to her many tape recorders.
Rowland has two distinct advantages here: she does, work for a major daily, in fact The New York Times, and was once (though no longer) a transcriptionist there. Though one hopes the job was not nearly as bleak as is described here, it certainly can't have been very fulfilling, at least not over the long haul.Lena has a chance meeting on a bus with a blind woman. She barely gets to know her, but the trajectories of their lives becomes entwined until they are inextricably linked. Reporters come and go, and Lena has what on the surface appears to be a normal life at the newspaper. But all is not well in Lena-land, and she is quite evidently on the verge of a crisis. And the unfolding of the events of her life over just a few days are the bulk of the story that Rowland has to tell.
And a fine story it is.This book disturbed my equilibrium a bit, which I always think is a good thing. I really enjoyed this offbeat tale and its appealing protagonist. I think you probably would, too. What a fantastic debut novel!full disclosure: i worked as a transcriptionist for our provincial police for several years, so had a strong connection to this book as it was highly relatable. It was fascinating work, but also all-encompassing and, at times, very dark. But i loved the job a lot.having said that - you don't need first-hand experience to appreciate this story. Rowland has done a tremendous job giving us a fully realized world - both the inner and outer lives.
And rowland also did a what a fantastic debut novel!full disclosure: i worked as a transcriptionist for our provincial police for several years, so had a strong connection to this book as it was highly relatable. It was fascinating work, but also all-encompassing and, at times, very dark. But i loved the job a lot.having said that - you don't need first-hand experience to appreciate this story. Rowland has done a tremendous job giving us a fully realized world - both the inner and outer lives.
And rowland also did a really good job creating suspense. I found this new novel to be different - a bit of a new story, well-written and well imagined.i loved, too, how we got a peek into the newspaper world, and having new york city as the backdrop. FUN!still processing my thoughts, so may work on a better review and post later. Over the last year, Ive read more than a handful of debut novels.
This one ranks close to the top of my favorites.Lena is the sole transcriptionist at The Record in Manhattan. She becomes obsessed with the story of a Jane Doe who was mauled to death by lions at a zoo. Over the last year, I’ve read more than a handful of debut novels.
This one ranks close to the top of my favorites.Lena is the sole transcriptionist at The Record in Manhattan. She becomes obsessed with the story of a Jane Doe who was mauled to death by lions at a zoo. While brief, this story is so unique and unusual, you will find yourself thinking about the author's intent in her use of carefully chosen quotes and symbols. High 4 stars for originality and writing.Lena is working as a transcriptionist for a large newspaper in NYC and becomes consumed by a story about a blind woman who dies in the lion cage at the zoo.Lena works alone and lives alone in a city teeming with people.
Her love of language has her memorizing and reciting passages from poetry to While brief, this story is so unique and unusual, you will find yourself thinking about the author's intent in her use of carefully chosen quotes and symbols. High 4 stars for originality and writing.Lena is working as a transcriptionist for a large newspaper in NYC and becomes consumed by a story about a blind woman who dies in the lion cage at the zoo.Lena works alone and lives alone in a city teeming with people. Her love of language has her memorizing and reciting passages from poetry to coincide with her observations.
She is lonely and has a hard time interacting with others. She even allows a coworker to continually call her by the wrong name without correcting him. The mundane, gruesome and tragic news stories she transcribes daily begin to take a toll. The slow beginning to the plot accentuates Lena's gradual transformation. I read portions with a sense of dread as Lena alters her routine existence. A little dark, but brilliantly written.I really enjoyed this book.
The symbolism of the lion named Robert was genius. I was immediately struck by the clarity of Rowland's voice in this, her first novel. It wasn't surprising to later learn that she has had a career at The New York Times; the journalistic influences are clear and make her writing easy to devour. The protagonist, Lena, is presented as a somewhat reclusive, odd, and yet extremely well-educated wallflower- making her equal parts identifiable and underwhelming. In fact, the novel is populated with characters of this sort, and they all seem to be I was immediately struck by the clarity of Rowland's voice in this, her first novel. It wasn't surprising to later learn that she has had a career at The New York Times; the journalistic influences are clear and make her writing easy to devour. The protagonist, Lena, is presented as a somewhat reclusive, odd, and yet extremely well-educated wallflower- making her equal parts identifiable and underwhelming.
In fact, the novel is populated with characters of this sort, and they all seem to be caught up in their own, magnanimous agenda. I should stress that the best parts of the novel happen in the beginning, and Lena's interaction with the blind woman is definitely powerful. She also has a smart, easy humor that is quite entertaining. Themes of ephemerality, loss, and imprisonment are employed with a heavy hand, and the ending seems contrived. That being said, the novel is enjoyable, and I hope to see more from Rowland in the future. This is when I dislike stars as a review measure.
Maybe I'll go back and change all my stars to nothing and let the reviews speak for themselves.This story read more like a short story or fable with a strong message about listening, isolation and what is deemed 'news worthy'. In a time (right now) where George Clooney is getting more airtime about his engagement than the girls kidnapped in Nigeria, I can see where people in the field of news get fed up. Like Lena in this story.I gave it 3 stars This is when I dislike stars as a review measure. Maybe I'll go back and change all my stars to nothing and let the reviews speak for themselves.This story read more like a short story or fable with a strong message about listening, isolation and what is deemed 'news worthy'. In a time (right now) where George Clooney is getting more airtime about his engagement than the girls kidnapped in Nigeria, I can see where people in the field of news get fed up.
Like Lena in this story.I gave it 3 stars because I liked it. And as a debut novel, I was impressed with Rowland's ability to use descriptive prose to give the reader a feeling of isolation. I truly felt lonely while reading it and hoped for Lena to make a connection with someone other than a pigeon and those there were times where I was underwhelmed.For more thoughts please visit the full review at. I'm not sure how to explain this book other than to say it's about bigger ideas than the life of a big-city paper transcriptionist who feels like a ghostly presence in her own life.
The afterword by the author explains that she, like her character Lena, worked at the New York Times as a transcriptionist during the morose months surrounding 9/11. The novel, she says, is not about 9/11, but it's about the losses that stemmed from it, big institutions taken down and the advent of technology and the I'm not sure how to explain this book other than to say it's about bigger ideas than the life of a big-city paper transcriptionist who feels like a ghostly presence in her own life.
The afterword by the author explains that she, like her character Lena, worked at the New York Times as a transcriptionist during the morose months surrounding 9/11. The novel, she says, is not about 9/11, but it's about the losses that stemmed from it, big institutions taken down and the advent of technology and the demise of old-style news reporting that led over the years to a sense of community amongst its readers. I liked this novel; it's a spare and extremely gloomy book, so let that be a caution if you might not be in the mood, but it will stick with you for a while. I hope more people read it. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,I think the story was boring. If anything, this book makes me glad that being a transcriptionist is a dead profession.
I don't think the author painted anything about the job in a good light and made it seem really depressing. Also it bothered me tremendously that she would give the most unimportant things the most amount of detail.
It was a short book to begin with but if you cut out the useless adjectives and worthless setting descriptions, you'd have a 100 page short story about woman who I think the story was boring. If anything, this book makes me glad that being a transcriptionist is a dead profession. I don't think the author painted anything about the job in a good light and made it seem really depressing. Also it bothered me tremendously that she would give the most unimportant things the most amount of detail.
It was a short book to begin with but if you cut out the useless adjectives and worthless setting descriptions, you'd have a 100 page short story about woman who hated her job and how one story caused her to get fired. Also the random sex scene was completely unwarranted. I hated Lena as a character and the last thing I wanted to know was about her sex life. I enjoyed the darkness of this novel, and the unique perspective of what its like to spend too much time transcribing the words of others. Ive had a little experience with that task, and love how she describes the body as a conduit, with the sound coming in your ear and leaving through your fingers.Also, the character is obsessed with literary quotes, which made for fun reading. My favorite, from Italo Calvino: It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear. I enjoyed the darkness of this novel, and the unique perspective of what it’s like to spend too much time transcribing the words of others.
I’ve had a little experience with that task, and love how she describes the body as a conduit, with the sound coming in your ear and leaving through your fingers.Also, the character is obsessed with literary quotes, which made for fun reading. My favorite, from Italo Calvino: “It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear.”.
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March 2023
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