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“A haunting and provocative novel about the mysteries of life and a
death, the written word, things seen and unseen, heard and forgotten.
Amy Rowland’s writing is compelling and masterful.”
— Delia Ephron, New York Times bestselling author
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“The Transcriptionist can be read
through many lenses… Rowland plays with the notions of truth and
reliability…It is the responsibility of a journalist to report the
truth, but what if—Rowland asks—objective reality is a fiction?…
Sharp and affecting”
— New York Times Book Review
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“If one had to name an antecedent for the strange, golden sheen that
covers Amy Rowland’s debut novel, possibly early John Cheever, with its
dreamy imaginings of commuter intrigues, or beautifully cadenced,
resonant verbal exchanges, would be closest. Entering the city Rowland
creates, with its tightly strung dialogue and soulful, lonely citizens,
is a memorable experience.”
— Boston Globe
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“Rowland, a former transcriptionist for the New York Times,
has written a strange, mesmerizing novel about language, isolation,
ethics, technology, and the lack of trust between institutions and the
people they purportedly serve…A fine debut novel about the decline of newspapers and the
subsequent loss of humanity—and yes, these are related.”
— Booklist (starred review)
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“Sands beautifully captures the odd life of the haunted lead character in
Rowland’s novel…Sands gives a quiet, subdued performance that
beautifully captures the complex, lonely protagonist. She keeps her
characterizations to a minimum. It’s a subtle performance that pulls the
listener solidly into Lena’s world. Sands’s performance, like Lena, is
mesmerizing in its seeming simplicity. Listeners will discover that
these still waters do, indeed, run deep.”
— Publishers Weekly, audio review
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“Rowland expertly covers a lot of ground in this polished and literary
first novel, while Xe Sands’ narration effortlessly brings the listener
into Lena’s world.”
— Library Journal (audio review)
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“Unforgettable. Written with such delight, compassion, and humanity it’s newsworthy. Amy Rowland is the debut of the year.”
— Alex Gilvarry, author of From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant