"Lerner's 'Transcription' is less than a hundred and fifty pages long, yet it teems with erudition and artistic ambition, exploring the instability of memory and the mediating powers of language."
"The narrator, an intellectual klutz, breaks his phone before interviewing his mentor, symbolizing the disconnect from technology and the challenges of communication in their relationship."
"Characters in 'Transcription' are constantly mishearing, misremembering, and missing each other's bids for attention and affection, highlighting the complexities of human interaction."
"Kluge, at ninety-four, found Lerner's text impressive, describing it as friendly but also very independent, reflecting the emotional depth that can surpass fictional narratives."
Ben Lerner's novel 'Transcription' is a concise exploration of memory, language, and technology. The story follows a middle-aged writer interviewing his mentor, Thomas, who embodies complexity and contradiction. The narrative highlights the challenges of communication, as characters frequently mishear and misremember. The protagonist's broken phone symbolizes a disconnect from technology, emphasizing the emotional depth that real-life experiences can provide over fictional narratives. Lerner's work continues to challenge literary conventions while reflecting on the impact of technological change on human relationships.
Read at The New Yorker
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