Ben Lerner’s latest novel, Transcription, marks a departure from his previous sprawling autofiction like The Topeka School, opting instead for a spare, three-part structure set during the COVID-19 pandemic. The narrative unfolds through three pivotal conversations involving the protagonist, his aging mentor Thomas, a curator, and Thomas’s son Max. Central to the plot is the protagonist’s failure to record a final interview with Thomas due to a broken phone, forcing a reliance on fallible memory and reconstruction.
This work matters as a critical examination of how digital technology and the pandemic have fundamentally altered human consciousness and the act of remembering. By tracing a historical arc from 1930s Germany to the iPad-addicted present, Lerner explores the intergenerational stakes of inheritance and the 'glitches' inherent in personal and historical records. The review highlights Lerner's continued obsession with the 'present tense' while questioning the reliability of fiction as a form of preservation.