The Transcriptionist
A Novel
Amy Rowland
- “Haunting
- and
- provocative
- .
- .
- .
- Rowland’s
- writing
- is
- compelling
- and
- masterful.”
- —Delia
- Ephron,
- author
- of
- The
- Lion
- Is
- InOnce,
- there
- were
- many
- transcriptionists
- at
- the
- Record,
- a
- behemoth
- New
- York
- City
- newspaper,
- but
- new
- technology
- has
- put
- most
- of
- them
- out
- of
- work.
- So
- now
- Lena,
- the
- last
- transcriptionist,
- sits
- alone
- in
- a
- room--a
- human
- conduit,
- silently
- turning
- reporters’
- recorded
- stories
- into
- print--until
- the
- day
- she
- encounters
- a
- story
- so
- shocking
- that
- it
- shatters
- the
- reverie
- that
- has
- become
- her
- life.This
- exquisite
- novel,
- written
- by
- an
- author
- who
- spent
- more
- than
- a
- decade
- as
- a
- transcriptionist
- at
- the
- New
- York
- Times,
- 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.“The
- Transcriptionist
- is
- suffused
- with
- prescient
- insight
- into
- journalism,
- ethics,
- and
- alienation
- .
- .
- .
- A
- thought
- provoking,
- original
- work.”
- —New
- York
- Journal
- of
- Books“Rowland
- seems
- that
- rare
- thing,
- the
- naturally
- gifted
- novelist
- .
- .
- .
- [She]
- deftly
- maps
- a
- very
- specific
- kind
- of
- urban
- loneliness,
- the
- inner
- ache
- of
- the
- intelligent,
- damaged
- soul
- who
- prefers
- the
- company
- of
- ideas
- and
- words
- to
- that
- of
- people
- .
- .
- .
- That
- urge--to
- make
- words
- holy--is
- at
- the
- heart
- of
- this
- novel’s
- strange,
- sad
- beauty.”
- —The
- Washington
- Post“The
- Transcriptionist
- holds
- many
- pleasures
- .
- .
- .
- [and]
- can
- be
- read
- through
- many
- lenses
- .
- .
- .
- Rowland
- plays
- with
- the
- notions
- of
- truth
- and
- reliability
- .
- .
- .
- Sharp
- and
- affecting.”
- —The
- New
- York
- Times
- Book
- Review“A
- strange,
- mesmerizing
- novel
- .
- .
- .
- about
- the
- decline
- of
- newspapers
- and
- the
- subsequent
- loss
- of
- humanity—and
- yes,
- these
- are
- related.”
- —Booklist,
- starred
- review“Ambitious
- and
- fascinating
- .
- .
- .
- Disturbing
- and
- powerful.”
- —Library
- Journal“Entering
- the
- city
- Rowland
- creates,
- with
- its
- tightly
- strung
- dialogue
- and
- soulful,
- lonely
- citizens,
- is
- a
- memorable
- experience.”
- —The
- Boston
- Globe“Unforgettable.
- Written
- with
- such
- delight,
- compassion,
- and
- humanity
- it’s
- newsworthy.”—Alex
- Gilvarry,
- author
- of
- From
- the
- Memoirs
- of
- a
- Non-Enemy Combatant
pro-mbooks3 : libris
