The spy who DUPED ME
JULIET ARMSTRONG IS A MYSTERIOUS GESTAPO AGENT – OR IS THAT MI5?
One of my top 10 novels of all time is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. Set mostly during the Second World War, this is a rather tricky book that constantly plays with its readers. While the same things could be said about Kate’s latest novel, Transcription, it is a very different sort of story – quieter, less showy and ultimately more sinister.
Juliet Armstrong is a naïve young woman of 18 when she is recruited to be a spy by MI5 at the beginning of the war. On the face of it, the world of espionage she inhabits is desperately dull. Juliet appears to be little more than a typist transcribing the secretly recorded conversations of a group of fifth columnists – British citizens sympathetic to the enemy – in London.
This odd little group of people believe they are meeting with a Gestapo agent – although of course, the whole thing is a set-up. And Juliet gets to listen in on their mostly humdrum conversations. A lot of tea and scones are consumed in the course of her work, and even when she gets a mission of her own, it seems fairly unexciting. So when we realise how close danger has been all along, it comes as a shock to the reader, as well as Juliet.
The plot has two alternating strands, one telling of Juliet’s war experiences and the other her life as a radio producer for the BBC later on in peacetime, when the past comes back to haunt her. These eras are described in the author’s trademark clear prose, with a constant undertone of sly, wry humour. But the final part of Juliet’s life is only faintly sketched, which I thought was a pity – I’d have liked to have known more.
I would describe Transcription as a literary thriller. While compelling enough, it is a story to savour, rather than race through. For a wartime tale it is understated and restrained, and feels more true to life than the usual melodramatic spy saga.