Transcription by Ben Lerner

I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about Ben Lerner’s new novel Transcription (Amazon) which comes out tomorrow. From the book’s description:

What unfolds from this dreamlike circumstance is the unforgettable story of the triangle formed by Thomas, Max, and the narrator, and an exploration of fathers and sons, male friendship and rivalry, and the challenges of parenting in a burning world. One of the first great novels about the early days of COVID, it is also a brilliant meditation on those technologies that enrich or impoverish our connection to one another, that store or obliterate memory. Full of startling insight, but written with the intensity of a séance, Lerner shows us how the air is full of messages, full of ghosts. Ultimately Transcription demonstrates what only a work of fiction can record.

And the cover is great:

I read Lerner’s 10:04 years ago and really liked it…I might pick this one up (and at only 144 pages, I might actually finish it).¹

More reading: Ben Lerner and the Impossible Interview, The Gentle Parenting Of Ben Lerner’s ‘Transcription’, A Novel as Slim as an iPhone Has a Lot to Say About Technology, Ben Lerner’s Latest Is a Strange and Brilliant Attempt to Resurrect the Novel, and Ben Lerner’s Big Feelings.

1. I’ve not had good luck with reading lately. Lots of audiobooks but I haven’t read more than 20-30 pages of an actual book since returning from Japan in November. ↩

• Ben Lerner
• books
• Transcription