Transcription

Synopsis

In Transcription, Ben Lerner transforms a simple mishap into a profound meditation on memory, art, and the limits of language. Arriving in Providence to conduct what is meant to be the final published interview with his ninety-year-old mentor, the narrator accidentally destroys his smartphone—the very device meant to record their conversation. Unable to admit what has happened, he enters the interview unprepared, setting in motion a quietly mesmerizing novel about friendship, inheritance, and the fragile ways we preserve the past.

Blending philosophical inquiry with emotional intimacy, Lerner explores the technologies—both digital and literary—that shape what we remember and what we lose. Haunted by Kafka yet unmistakably contemporary, Transcription is a compact, dazzling novel that asks what fiction can capture when every other form of record falls short.

About the Author

Ben Lerner is an American novelist, poet, and essayist whose works include Leaving the Atocha Station, 10:04, and The Topeka School. A recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, and Fulbright Scholarship, he has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Poetry. Widely regarded as one of the most innovative writers of his generation, Lerner's work explores the intersections of art, memory, politics, and contemporary life.

Publisher

McClelland & Stewart

Publication Date

April 7, 2026

Format

Hardcover

Pages

144

Subjects

Literary Fiction · Contemporary Fiction · Psychological Fiction · Philosophical Fiction

ISBN

9780771039065