Haunting and provocative .
Rowland's writing is compelling and masterful.
--Delia Ephron, author of The Lion Is In Once, 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.
